Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

In the bottle (#9502) from Total Wine Tampa. Pours dark gold to light amber with a thick and creamy white head of a concrete consistency. Simply a beautiful pour in the glass. Low carbonation. Oranges and butterscotch aroma. Now I see what all the hubbub is all about. It’s like peppering down a taste of honey. Very thick with a very smoothly blended use of hops. Remarkably, not all out of whack. I taste lemon grass. A bolus of lavender. The finish is hugely sweet. The honey flavors just get stronger as the beer warms. I’d call this beer a braggot if I did not know any better.

UPDATED: APR 19, 2011 Batch 9505. Oh Nellie, this is my kinda beer. Silenus looked deep into his cellar before he poured this clear golden nectar into my cup. Like Dionysus throwin a naked party by the river, this man-child lives up to all the hype. Picture an amazing hop experience with just enough honey and malt to give it support. The most balanced uber hoppy beer I have tasted. It’s not over florally or citrusy. The honey and pine mix perfectly to dissolve that semi-bitter aftertaste usually associated with DIPA’s. This mid-west nectar is so well balanced, that hop heads all over San Diego County must be rethinking their place as the ruling heads of state in the world of hoppy brews......

Bells does it again. A wonderful beer. Pours a golden hue with bright white head. Initial malt and hop aromas. Balanced malty attack which fades to a balanced, hoppy, yet not bitter finish. What a great beer.

If you don’t like full flavor and aroma caused by huge hop additions, keep moving. This stuff pulls absolutely no punches! It is exactly what the name implies, but still remains very drinkable and smooth. Next to Two Hearted Ale, probably my favorite Bells product.

UPDATED: JAN 12, 2011 From a December 2009 bottle; drank in June 2010. Will have to come back next year to rate this fresh.

Pours a gorgeous gold tone. Ample head and moderate sudsy lacing. Nose of honey and hops, very citrusy and floral. Lovely mouthfeel, medium body, wonderful and sweet with a substantial but not overwhelming bitter finish. Wonderful hop character and a great malt and sugar backbone to support it. Great DIPA. 9/5/9/4/17 - 4.4

Batch 10073 (Dec 29, 2010!) bottle on 1/12/2011

Not much more to report here, but I’m not getting the level of aromatics that I remembered from last year’s bottle. The nose is pleasant, fits how I described it last year, but is fairly subdued, it’s more like Hopkiss or a Hophint. Mouthfeel, carbonation, sweetness and bitterness are all spot on with this batch, great mildly bittersweet finish. I’m a little let down, honestly. Have I just had better beers (Pure Hoppiness, Broo doo) in the meantime?

8/5/9/4/16 - 4.2

12oz bottle to pint glass. Pour is clear amber with thin finger of dense lacing head. Nose is hops - floral and piny. Tastes of hops, again - what you’d expect: florals, pine, and resin. Medium, flat body that finishes warm, bitter and slightly dry. A really good IPA, perfect representation of the style. You get exactly what you’d expect.

UPDATED: FEB 13, 2011 Fresh Batch Poured 1/29/10. A-the color pours a slightly hazy golden color with a pure white head that leaves a big lacing on the glass S-the nose is big hops and huge grapefruit with a touch of citrus T-huge hops, awesome flavor. some piney resign, tons of bitter grapefruit and a touch of honey and citrus at the finish M-medium body and slightly syrupy, coats the mouth slightly, very smooth and the perfect carbonation D-I love this beer! this is so smooth and creamy with huge flavor and a fantastic taste, give me one, two, three, floor! *** A-nice hazzy ambered copper color with strong 2 fingers of slightly off white head that lingers for quite some time leaving a decent lacing on the glass S-sweet caramel malt dominates the smell accompanied by pine resign and a hint of citrus T-a little sweet malt and hint of carmamel hits first followed by an onslaught of hops, pine, grass clippings, hint of citrus and some grapefruit with a hit of bitter hops towards the back of the mouth M-smooth and slick, slightly syrupy in a very nice way. medium bodied and low amount of carbonation D-so tastey and delicious. I am biased towards hoppy beers, but the smoothness and slick syrupy texture accompanied by all the hops make me want more! January batch properly cared for by the distributor and drinkin in November. Some of the hops have fades and the sweet malt is slightly more pronounced. Still Awesome and actually holds up better than most DIPA’s!

Bottle @ RBESG, Rome. Pours unclear golden with a creamy white head on top. Lots of resiny hops. Pine and grape. Floral, stikcy, dry and crips. Lasting bitter end. Nice