Bells Hopslam

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

UPDATED: FEB 18, 2011 2/17/11 (Draft) 5/5/5/4.5/5: Poured on tap into a Guinness pint glass at Ice House Pub in Punta Gorda, Florida on 2/17/11. Appearance: Pours a clear light golden amber with orange highlights and a 2-3 finger frothy white head. Excellent head retention and lacing. Smell: The most amazing bouquet of hops I’ve ever smelled. Grapefruit, orange, pineapple and pine all mixed perfectly with just a touch of honey. Simply amazing. Taste: The perfect balance between bitter and sweet, the malt is just enough to balance out the hops. The hops run the gamut from floral to bitter and sweet citrus. There’s a nice bitterness to the aftertaste that lingers for what seems like forever. This is the nectar of the gods. Mouthfeel: Medium-to-full-bodied with just the right amount of carbonation. Goes down very smooth. Drinkability: Excellent drinkability. The alcohol doesn’t come through in the flavor at all. This is scarily drinkable. Overall: There’s no better beer out there that I’ve tried (yet). I thought nothing would top Hopslam in the bottle, but this did it. If you see Hopslam on draft, buy a pint - at least one. This beer was as close to perfect as I can imagine any beer being. 1/23/11 (Bottle) 4.5/5/5/4.5/5: 2011 Edition Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a Duvel tulip. Batch code 10127 indicates bottling date of January 11, 2011. Appearance: Pours a clear light golden amber with orange highlights and a perfect 2 finger creamy and foamy white head. Excellent head retention and lacing. Smell: Perfect fruity aroma featuring orange, grapefruit and pineapple mixed with floral hops and pine. Hops are abundant. This has the best aroma of any beer I’ve ever smelled. Taste: Excellent balance between bitter and sweet. There is just enough malt background to even out this hoppy concoction. The hop profile ranges from floral to sweet citrus to bitter citrus. Sweet citrus with a little caramel malt up front followed by a hint of pepper and pink grapefruit in the middle followed lemon zest at the finish. Aftertaste is quite bitter in a great way. Mouthfeel: Medium-to-full-bodied with just the right amount of carbonation. Goes down very smooth. Drinkability: Excellent drinkability. The alcohol is masked extremely well for a beer with 10% ABV. The only detractor is the price. I paid $19.99 plus tax for a 6 pack at Total Wine. Overall: About as perfect a DIPA as you’ll ever find. There is nothing to complain about here (aside from the price). I really wish Bell’s would make this a year-round release and drop the price a bit. If they did, this would be my go to beer without a doubt. If you see it, buy it. Don’t let the sticker shock stop you from trying the perfection that is Hopslam.

Rating from memory. From bottle. Pours golden amber with big white head. Aroma of flowers and grass abundant sweet smelling hops. You can taste the honey in this brew but it is balanced against the hop slam. Balanced. Tastes as advertised. This is a special IPA, and I’m usually not an IPA guy.

12oz. poured into my Piraat tulip, three finger off-white head. Smell is like fresh hop cones, pungent grapefruit & pineapple, it smells...clean. Moderate slick body, but not over oily. The taste is Hops! fresh pineapple and grapefruit, clean malts. It has a bitter dry finsh, it is the most drinkable Double IPA I’ve yet tasted, the Honey must give it the Clean taste I keep thinking and writing about..

I didn’t see "Casablanca" until I was married and in my 30s. By that time, I had heard ceaseless praise and seen countless parodies of this classic picture. Yet, somehow, the real thing not only met these ridiculously high expectations; it shattered them, and remains one of the most affecting movies I have seen to date. This preamble gets me to my main point which is that, no matter how much praise you have heard for Hopslam, I assure you that the real thing is better than the advertising. I poured a 12 oz bottle into a snifter. The honey makes this light and drinkable, so not surprisingly it pours very much like a standard ipa. The appearance is reddish-orange with a thin cap and a ton of lacing. Palate-wise, it is also similar, with silky smooth carbonation lending a light body to a tremendously flavorful beer. The nose and flavor are much stronger, though, with intense hop juiciness, lemons, and pineapple in the aroma, and hop + alcohol burn dancing on the front of your tongue while the honey and malt pour salve on the back of your palate. An outstanding beer from an outstanding brewery.

Bell’s Hopslam has a huge, white head, but the color was paler than I had expected. The hop aromas hit me as soon as I opened the bottle. The aroma is chock full of the familiar hoppy flavors of grapefruit and pine. The flavor is very interesting. The hops are definitely there, and huge, but the addition to honey adds a sweet finish. It’s dry, the hops linger longer than the honey, and you won’t find better lacing. Bell’s Hopslam does have a ton of hops, but I wouldn’t say it’s as overpowering as I expected. Despite the 10% ABV, that isn’t overpowering, either. Considering how much is going on, it’s amazingly well balanced.

UPDATED: FEB 5, 2011 very pleasantly surprised by this. amazing nose and overall perfect balance of hops. best hop forward ipa in my opinion.

12 oz. bottle. Aroma is exploding with hops. Mostly grapefruit and citrus with some pine. Appearnce- Clear copor color with a decent amount of white haed leaving behind plenty of lacing.Taste- hops is most prominant with enough malt to hold it up. Agressive bitterness. A very full slick mouthfeel. A great DIPA for sure.

On tap served in a pint pour was copper with a touch of gold. With two fingers of white wispy head and solid retention. The nose was great with floral hops,bubble gum malt and light fruits. Taste was well balanced malt to hops flavor its not near as hoppy as I was told hands down the best double IPA I’ve ever had