Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

12oz bottle pours a nice, one-finger head that dissipates slowly and leaves lots of sticky lacing. The aroma is hops, hops, and hops. Very natural. The taste is also very hoppy, but is incredibly well-balanced by the sweetness from the malt. The alcohol certainly noticeable, but is not overwhelming, especially for this high an ABV. All in all, this is an outstanding beer.

pours deep golden colour with moderate carbonation. Citrus, floral with some pine on the nose. Taste of citrus and pine comes through in the taste also. I find this beer to be very well balanced with some sweetness battling the hoppy bite. Medium body with minimal lingering aftertaste. Amoungst my favorite double ipa’s.

It pours a clear orangey copper with a frothy ivory head. Lots of fine spiderweb lacing. Beautiful smell. Floral and sweet citrusy hops. Hints of tangerine and apricot, orange rind and a hint of alcohol. In the mouth, the alcohol is quite apparent. Quite hot actually. It is quite sweet but the malt provides very little body to offset the copious amounts of bitingly bitter hops. The hops are pretty unpleasant actually without the malt to offset the spice. It comes off exceedingly harsh. And thin! Long hoppy aftertaste. Wow, really lacking as a double IPA. It’s kind of a mess. Horrendously overrated. A fantastic brewery (the best brewer of stouts in America in my estimation) but this is a beer that is surprisingly lacking in craftmanship and taste. Miss it.

I was sure I rated this, I drank enough of it but I’m over a year behind transferring my tasting notes to this rating site. For some reason this didn’t taste as good as it did the first time I tried it, but it’s still pretty good. Boittle: Puts an unfiltered orange amber ale in the glass with a sturdy cap that leaves curtains of sticky lace on the glass. Aroma is intense with exotic fruits-citrus-pine over rich caramel malty sweetness. Pungent fruitiness. Thick body, slick mouth feel, deeply balanced character between hop acids and malt sugars. Front side is a lush chew on caramalts, peaches, pine and citrus. Mid palate some complexity builds then a slow balanced finish with a hop bite at the end and alpha after sting left in your throat. A beautiful big, hoppy ale with fantastic balance and depth...great malt mix and obviously hops added at boil, hopback infusion and dry hopping stages. One of a few big US Micro DIPAs with balance, depth of character and drinkability.

UPDATED: JAN 24, 2011 Had out of the bottle. Aroma hits you with a great sweet, grapefruit smell. Hoppy and Citriusy also. Good looking beer with a goldish hue and medium head. Extremely tasting beer like the name refers to with piney, citrus aftertaste. Warms the mouth after drink and has medium thickness. Very good feeling in the mouth. This was a very enjoyable beer for me to drink.

Thanks to Chalsk for the bottle. Pours a cloudy gold with nice white head. Thin film of head leaves nice lacing. Aroma is florals, citrus, pine and a little alcohol. Taste is sweet with a nice bitter finish. The alcohol leads to a warm finish, but it is still well hidden with the bitterness. Enjoyed this very much.

From draft in snifter. deep orange yellow and opaque. Medium carbonation. Med body. Heavy floral and citrus aromas. Citrus piney flavor balanced with sweet malt and bitter finish much like orange peel. Alcohol is hidden. Nicely done.

Huge aroma from this extremely balanced beer. Mangoes, pineapples, peaches, grapefruits, and other citrus fruit make this my kind of IIPA. Big malt/honey backbone that is pleasing and somehow not over sweet due to the subdued bitterness of a relatively low IBU IIPA. Fantastic IIPA. Highly recommended...