Bells Hopslam

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

From a 12 oz. bottle with a short blurb and batch number on the back label, 7690, packaged on Oct.26.06, sampled after few hours in the refrigerator in a chalice. Poured a cloudy golden orange with a fluffy, foamy white head that slowly settled into a thin creamy lacing, small amount of ringed sticking. The aroma of American DIPA heaven, pine resins, floral leafiness and grapefruity and a subtle caramel in the background along with small whiffs of alcohol. Good, even and steady carbonation, and a crisp, hop slick, creamy smooth light bodied mouthfeel. Delicious hop taste without being a complete taste bud killers, only a slight numbing of the tongue, grapefruit juicy along with the a little rind, piney with a little oiliness, a subtle floral leafiness, the hop bitterness is actually pretty soft. but has a rolling, lingering presence in the palate, the alcohol is well masked, lightly warming and makes a brief flash in the taste towards the end, and a dryish light caramel malty and hoppy finish. A tasty and balanced DIPA from Bell’s, dangerously quaffable, I wish this was available in Illinois, but sadly, not.

bottle batch 8277 courtesy of ucusty. pours a hazy red amber color with a small off white head. streaky lacing trails are left on the glass. candied citrus aroma... lots of sugary grains with orange/citrus, grassy and bubblegum hops, vanilla and a vegetal earthiness. the flavor is more like a fresh barleywine than dipa (old bottle perhaps?). much more grainy sweetness than hops... grassy, light citrus, floral (dominating but not bitter) and light ashy notes. i get honey on the finish after the second bottle (thanks sparky27) along with that same ashiness. nice slick mouth feel that leaves no sticky residue... i need this REALLY fresh from the taps...

Awesome double IPA, copper color with a thick off-white head, great lacing around the glass, huge hoppy nose with notes of pine, citrus & bread, medium-full body, very smooth & drinkable, creamy texture with flavors of bitter hops, citrus, yeast & just a touch of alcohol, warming finish with more bitter & dry hops, a bit more alcohol in the aftertaste as well, fantastic beer

Rating #300. Bottle. Wonderful aroma that is quite different from Bell’s other hoppy monster, Two Hearted. Here the hops is much more citrus-based. I pick up grapefruit and sweet pineapple as the dominant hops scents. Not so much of the resin/pine as in 2-Hearted. Aroma is very reminiscent of Stone’s 10th Anniversary. Pour is a slightly orange golden color with a bit of a haze about it and a pretty substantial frothy head. As it’s dying back I’m seeing lots of lacing. Flavor is very hops dominated, but it doesn’t ever get out of control like a lot of hops heavy brews. The hops from the aroma give way to a more pine presence in the finish here, and this beer is mostly about the finish. Right before that there is a caramely malt presence, but it is fleeting at best, yielding to the heavy hopping. I find that it seems like there is a bit of a gap in the flavoring as it melts from malt to hops and for just a split second it comes off as watered down or something, but then comes the alcoholic warmth and the hops bite and all thoughts of this being a weak beer are long gone. That said, I think I’d prefer Two Hearted Ale to this one, but I’m not sure you could go wrong with either. Darn fine.

(Bottle at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. on 2009-04-12) Amber and lightly hazy. Small white head. Lots of hops, grapefruit and grass in very strong aroma. Full bodied and dry palate with medium carbonation. Hops, grass, malts, grapefruit, fruitiness, light sweetness, bitterness and more hops in taste. Lot of hops, some bitterness and malts in aftertaste.

Bottle pours a clear golden orange with a small fleeting white head. Lots of citrusy hop aroma. Grapfruit, and mandarin oranges. Flavor is failry light malt body, but tons of hops. Bitterness and flavor. Mostly citrusy hop flavors, Simcoe and Cascade tastes like. Strong lingering bitter bite. Moderate to fairly carbonated and a smooth rich finish. Very nice and worthy of high marks. Thanks to BuckeyeBoy for sharing this trade.

Bottle thanks to mreusch. Pours a slightly cloudy orange with a small white head. Aroma of hop oils, citrus, and grapefruit. Flavor is sweet and malty with lots of citrus hops. Full-bodied and not too sticky/sweet as some IIPAs tend to be. Hopslam lives up to its reputation. Quite tasty! 8/4/8/4/16 (4.0/5)

Amazingly delicous. Citrus, pine and creamy hops. Hop juicyness does not linger but what does linger is great. Full body even looks good in the glass. Big fruit flavor of pinapple, grapefruit, lots of malts and nice rich body.