Bells Hopslam

Fresh batch, bottle. Pours a honey/gold with a frothy white head which dies down to cling to the sides leaving ample lacing down the sides of the glass. Nose of pineapple and tangerine, honeyed hop, some pine. Remarkably sweet smooth hoppiness. Much like a tangerine hop candy. No bracing bitterness, just pineapple, tangerine, some pine at the end. 10% abv is not hinted at, nor is this beast syrupy. Feels light and refreshing.

Bottle. Clear orange poor with a small offwhite head and a little lacing. Aromas of grapefruit zest, oranges, peaches, pepper, pine, creamy caramel and hoppy. Sweet start but the bitter peppery bitterness hits you big time right at the end. Slightly sweeter than most IIPAs. Alcohol is present but far from overwhelming. Smooth, creamy and velvetty mouthfeel. Taste is very citrusy and very hoppy as well. Tastes amazingly fresh.As it warms the flavor changes to a very nice sugary grapefruit. Very Good.

My very first rating has been reserved for my very favorite beer. Bitter, big, and delicious. Certainly best when fresh. Bought the last case i could find.

Fresh 2009 bottle courtesy of fiver29. Thanks John for handing this over in Vegas. Pours a cloudy orange colour with a short head that dissolves quickly. Aroma is sweet pink grapefruit and a touch of pine. Nice bitter flavour but thanks for not going too far over the top. There is some sweetness and a little malt to balance out the hop punch. Nice balance for a DIPA. Glad I got a chance to try this so fresh.

12oz bottle. Pours clear copper with a small white head. Citrusy and piney hop aroma with a malty sweet balance. Heavy citrus hop flavor, but the honey in this beer gives it the perfect sweet balance to the bitterness. Full-bodied finish. World class.

Pours dark orange with an off-white head. Heavy carbonation. Aroma is of hops, citrus, caramel, and pine. Taste is of sweet, almost juicy hops with grapefruit, pine, and caramel malt. Lingering grapefruit taste. Alcohol content is well masked within the other flavors. This beer is not nearly as bitter as advertised. Instead it is an overly sweet, drinkable beer. With a name like Hopslam, I expected facerape. It is a very good beer though.

Just in Wednesday, January 14th, 2009. I have been waiting for this years’ offering because it is one of the best doubles that I have had. Now maybe it’s my imagination, but it seems to be slightly different from last year offering. After I had my first, I was so impressed that my hophead brother in law and I popped open a bottle of Dreadnaught just to compare. We truly thought it had more character in all the right places and was actually better than Dreadnaught, which up until now had been my favorite all time. This beer is so far above Yulesmith and at $18 a six pack is a great value. On a per/oz. basis, it is half the cost of Dreadnaught. This year it seems more balanced, slightly sweeter in a very subtle way. It’s 8 AM and I’m craving one now. If you’re a hophead, this is liquid gold.

Nice tropical aromas of pineapple, grapefruit and lime. Nicely balnced for a beer that’s supposed to be loud. However, this didn’t blow me away, and for the proice there’s other things out there. Infact, you can almost buy 2 six packs of two hearted ale for this price! But its good to try different things. They should offer a one liter bottle?