Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Unfiltered peach in color. Thin but fully sustained pure-white foam. Hefty hop aromas of cantaloupe, tangerine, mango, and pinesap. Sharp hints of green onion. Delicate honeyed malt sweetness. Vivacious bottle-conditioned carbonation expands on the palate. Body is dense and oily from the get-go, with not a whole lot of brightness to go along with it. Quickly becomes astringently syrupy and borderline cloying, due to the concentration of resinous hops. Sweetness wanes slowly as there’s just enough acidity to lift some of the sappy weight. Crisp, crackery malts generate some cleanliness by imparting a dusty dryness along with fluffy touches of fresh biscuits, as do fresh mangoes and some shimmering citrus qualities, but an unpleasant sweetness and sogginess persists. Finishes remarkably balanced, with plenty of succulent hop flavors gently caressing then deflecting the spicy and grassy hops. Soggy/overripe tangerine notes increase at higher temperatures, but the mango remains relentless and salvages some of the essential brightness. Overall, the aroma could use a bit more cleanliness and more hoppy brightness. The flavor is also on the sweet side, which causes the hops to come across as being slightly muddled. And with the exception of some chewy yeast and slightly tacky textures, the level of attenuation is so close to perfection...just not quite there. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but very close. A few very-minor adjustments would make this a real standout. A solid effort from a great brewery.

From Feb. Pours an orangish gold with a nice white bubbly head. Smells like glorious hops with a little honey..taste with a grapefruity flavor and few other citrus notes with a touch of honey on the finish. An excellent beer, very enjoyable.

Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy amber, with a big creamy head. A fantastic tropical aroma, with good, nice notes of sweet citrus and peach. A full, thick body with average carbonation. Flavour has a nice hoppy bitterness with notes of orange peel, and has a long nice finish.

Bottled from Bierkoning, Amsterdam. Clear golden colored, tiny particles floating around, small white head. Very impressive hoppy nose, pine, grapefruit, absolutely fantastic. Strong hopbitter flavor, lots of fruity notes, more sweet towards the end, and finishing in a lasting bitter and quite alcoholic way. Although massive hops are used the brew still feels quite balanced. The alcohol could have been more suppressed, but it’s still dangerously drinkable for 10%. I’m generally not really in to DIPA’s, but it’s beers like this make me keep trying new examples every once and awhile. Good beer.

(From notes) On draft at Flanny’s, poured into a tulip. A honey golden color with a two-finger frothy head. Slight citrus aroma (almost like spoiled grapefruit). The taste starts off with a piney, alfalfa hop punch to the mouth and then the sweetness kicks in.  It finishes with a pleasant hop characteristic without being overly bitter. Perfectly balanced between the hops and sweetness. 

Well made beer. Golden color and extreme floral, pine and citrus hop aroma and taste that is mellowed by the honey sweetness. Pretty friggin’ awesome and easy to drink for being such high abv. little over hyped though.

A pretty much clear, golden body and white fine bubbly head. Rich hoppy aroma, but fairly delicate still. Pine and blossom. Big bitterness, unwieldy hops, foaming astringency. This beer speaks only one language and message received! Surprisingly drinkable though, if you?re not afraid of the American hop flower. Don?t get the honey, but I suppose there?s some balancing sweetness. Not to drink all day or night though. Alcohol is also clearly there. Nomnom. (33cl bottle)

Nice orange color with a thick white head. Very nice citrus aromas (grapefruit, mango) floral notes hit the nose too. Hint of malty sweetness. Nice body and an excellent bitterness to match the citrus flavors. Hell of a DIPA.

Hopslam is an amazing, one of a kind beer. There’s nothing out there that has such a great little unobtrusive sweetness to take the edge off so much hopiness. That said, I swear the batch from year end 2011 was a stinker. Was not up to par with past years, or with the March ’12 batch. I could be crazy but I’ve tested this 3 times now and come out the same way (yeah, I buy cases of hopslam when it’s out). The biggest shame with this beer is that it’s a winter seasonal. It’s actually most appropriate served incredibly cold (it’s thick , doesn’t freeze too easily) on a hot day. Just don’t plan anything requiring too much responsibility for the ensuing hours. I think you have to say it has a unique and strong buzz to it.

Holy hops, this beer is well balanced. No malty aftertaste, dry finish. Poured amber haze with decent head. Did not know the beer was an imperial @ 10 ABV until after "sampling" 4 fairly quick.

A - pours nice rich orange amber with high white head that dissipates quickly. S - aromas of mellow pine and citrus hops. Tropical fruit notes, honey, and a hint of apple. M - nice drier well balanced beer. More mellow earthy bitter than sweet or hoppy. T - pine and citrus hops up front. Quickly transitions to a smoother earthy bitter malt back bone. Strong tones of an earthy leaf, tobacco perhaps. Lingering dry bitter end with soapy notes. O - quite good ipa. Not to hoppy or malty. 8-