Bells Hopslam

My nose goes straight to the cup on this beer. Wow!!! Hops right in the face! Fresh, somewhat spicy citrus hops! Not complicated. Just right dab in the nose! As I pull it away, I noticed it is a little hazy. This think this is due to a protein haze. Although, personally, appearance means little to me on beers - it is all about taste - this site forces me to rate this beer low in this category. I take a another wiff of this beer. Is is Columbus? Crystal? Amarillo? Or.... did they dry hop with summit?! I pour a little beer into my mouth. My brains jumps to memories of a homebrew club meetings in Blacksburg - "Hop Juice" and then to Old Dominion double IPA with Summit. Saying this beer is "great" would be an insult. The hops are balanced through the entire beer. Not bitter at all. Just good floral/citrus throughout the taste. The beer ends with nothing - just a clean freshing fresh taste in the mouth. Hmmm... if only Bell’s made a hop toothpaste... :-) Great beer. One of my favorite of all times!

Pours a lovely slightly hazy orange with a good head with nice lace but poor retention. Aroma is very, very sweet malt with nice fragrant oily hops and some alcohol, reminds me of orange muscat dessert wine. Tastes very nice - very sweet indeed, with lots of strong oily astringent hops and just a tad too much alcohol with a citrus life-saver note in the finish. Great carbonation, nice and light frothy body. This is a monster of an IPA in terms of alco-burn, but a bit tamer and better balanced than most when the hops come into play. Surprisingly sweet, very dangerously drinkable. Many thanks to TheCheeseMan for the trade!

Bottle. Pours an amber cloudy body with a thin clinging hop filled aroma head. Aroma is shooting out of this glass of floral hoppiness, honey, citrus fruit. Flavor is a pure hop bomb that has nice notes of honey, pine, and citrus. This is great.

Very good hoppy IPA. I expected a bit more intense of a hop experience here like a 120 Dogfish or the equivalent. Nonetheless, Bell’s did well with a nice blend of hops, good strength, and a flavor that isn’t overly citrusy--and may even be sweet.

12 oz bottle courtesy of schroppfy. Pours a translucent copper color with a medium white head that lasted a short while. The aroma is rich with citrus, cotton candy and cookie dough. The flavor is hops forward with more citrus, pine, white pepper and caramel. The mouthfeel is full and malty. The finish is short and clean with a bit of lingering sweet caramel. Overall: A superb IPA, but not as biter as I had anticipated or hoped for.

12 oz bottle, batch 8277 (1/9/08). Pours a hazy dark gold with a huge pillowy white head that retains well and laces the glass. There’s tons of big yeasties in the bottom.

The aroma is piney citrusy spicy peppery hops! Yum! It is a little subdued.

The flavor is sweet, slightly sugary, caramel malts, melon and grapefruits with a nice big fruity, peppery hop bite in the finish. It’s a little on the sweet side but this bottle is not quite so fresh. I’ve had it fresher with a bigger hop presence. The hop bitterness comes out more as it warms. The alcohol is very well hidden. The mouthfeel is medium to full with nice velvety carbonation.

Overall, this is fantastic! It’s very well balanced and is so yummy it’s almost seems sessionable. I wish I could get this regularly! This is right at the top of my list.

[Bottle] Pours somewhat syrupy golden with a medium off white head. Aroma is spicy, citrusy hops and a large caramel/toffee backbone to back it up. Flavor is fairly sweet, but at the same time, extremely hoppy and bitter. Typical, very well balanced Bells beer, and extremely good.

Pours orange with a smell head, some lacing. Smells similar to two-hearted ale, very hoppy. Floral hops, citrus hops, pine hops. Its all about hops. Flavor is amazing. Very hoppy and bitter, but it is well-balanced with caramel malt. Mouthfeel is big and malty. Overall, this sets the standard for the style. An unbelievable brew. Re-rate: fresh, its even better.