Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

Pours with a crystal clear, amber-orange body topped by a thin to medium thick head with some lacing. It’s slightly sweet and citrusy from the hops with a light underlying malt note and a little pine. medium bodied, slightly dry and well carbonated.

Conspiracy theory: every year I forget to rate this beer, every year I wonder where all of my tax return money went; empty case boxes in my garage, hmmmmmm. Light golden color, short head, great lacing. Enticing fresh hoppy sweet citrus aroma, an amped up two-hearted with bonus grapefruit. Super thick and smooth palate. Starts off with a hit of bitterness and sweet malts (I think they put honey on the label just to confuse us), every sip ends dry with a bit of sugar sprinkled grapefruit. Yum.

UPDATED: NOV 18, 2009
Batch 7690 ~ Packaged on October 25, 2006

11/20/2006: Wow, my mouth is watering just smelling this beer! The aroma reminds me of a freashly opened can of mandarin oranges in light syrup mixed with some fresh peaches. The beer is a hazy bright orange color with a large foamy, cream-colored head. Even after the head falls, it leaves a nice bubbly crown and heavy, detailed lacing. The flavor is rich and packed with a wonderful apricot/peach hoppiness and a sweet malty base . The long finish is slightly sweet with hints of alcohol, grapefruit, and a smooth hop bitterness. It has a slightly thick body and feels great in the mouth. This beer is extremely well balanced and the alcohol is amazingly well hidden for the 9.5% ABV that’s in there! Be careful with this one because it goes down extremely smooth and fast! Bell’s Hopslam isn’t quite a juicy as Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA or sweet and thick as Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA. However, it somewhere in between the two and packs a great apriot/peach/orange/grapefruit flavor!

12 fl. oz. bottle. Score: 8/4/9/4/18 = 4.3
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Batch 7690 ~ Packaged on October 25, 2006

11/18/2009: Bell’s Hopslam Ale... Aroma: Still plenty of hops, although not quite as vibrant or juicy, more like aged; dried candied pineapple, red grapefruit, tangerine and clementine peel; some toffee malt. Appearance: Cloudy tarnished gold color; frothy crown; plenty of floaties. Flavor: Plenty of toffee and caramel; moderate bitterness; nice accompanying alcohol burn; aged/dried citrus and apricot; the floral qualities are coming through more now. Palate: Fairly thick, although still very smooth. Overall: This beer has become a very nice barleywine-style ale!

12 fl. oz. bottle. Score: 8/3/8/3/17 = 3.9

Bottle 355ml from crackedkettle.com. Lovely hoppy nose. Very inviting. Surprisingly sweet taste. Some slight marmite sneaking in. Not overly bitter. The aroma is definately superior to the taste.

UPDATED: JAN 19, 2012 Batch #7690 bottle, Jan. 2007. Pours with a big head in a shaker glass, that dwindles quickly to some rocky lace. Deep copper color with the usual Bell’s floaties. Big catty and piney hop smell, the kind men like. Taste is big and brassy. Piney hops just don’t stop, backed up by a thick and sticky malt. Not as deep a roast as other IPAs, but pretty hearty and with some nice ale fruitiness. Little alcohol burn to find. Excellent hop bomb. Should I lay this down for later or enjoy it while its hops are fresh? Update, same batch, but 5 years later: All this talk about the new Bell’s Hopslam made me crack open one from my 2007 stash! Still some citrus hop to it, but mostly faded. Alcohol much more noticeable, but gone a little phenolic, or rubbery from yeast in the bottle. Lot of sludge in the bottom. But I bet y’all want some.

Delicious all around beer. Bitter is Better is my life motto, so this made me happy. The color was a dark gold with a small tan head. When this nectar first hits your mouth, it tastes almost berry like. Once the hops take over it’s a bitter ride down the rest of the way. Great beer!

Amazing fruity bouquet of tangerines, grapefruits, cherries, and even limes. Clear amber, no head, good lacing. Medium to full body. Fruity hop flavor of grapefruit, with a palpable sweet malt base. Grapefruit peel and grape skins are left on the palate. Very enjoyable, but probably overpriced.

UPDATED: FEB 6, 2009 Pours a bright orange cloudy color, aroma of strong piney hops, tastes of tons of piney/citrusy hops with a nice malt background. Palate is a bit thin, but in this case thats a good thing, because this beers hides the alcohol better than any beer ive ever had without a doubt.