Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

UPDATED: MAR 31, 2007 Orangish amber in color, huge semi rocky, off-white head, great lacing. Poured into a GI IPA glass, has perfect appearance. Aroma has all kinds of carribean fruit up front, mango, pineapple, peach, tangerine some lemon and orange zest. Malt backbone lacks a bit, assuming bigger than aroma indicates, because at 9.5% there is no alcohol detectable whatsoever. Flavor again all kinds of fruit and citrus zest. Lots of resins, first time pine shows up at all, is in the finish. I don’t get much malt, but not all too unbalanced. Great oily/sticky mouthfeel. My daily drinker right now, can’t get enough of the stuff. Re-rate batch 7775, huge pine through and through, would score 9/5/8/4/17-4.3, still very nice, just prefer the huge fruit characters. Most always keep the higher rating though.

(Bottle) Pours a copper color with a nice white head. Hoppy aroma, with citrus notes dominating. Decent IPA, but not as bitter as I expected. There were some off flavors in this beer, a metallic and grassy mix that lasted well into the finish. Not sure if it was an old bottle or what. I will try it again, and re-rate it accordingly when I get the chance.

Foggy orange amber color with a bubbly thin white head . Aroma is very heavy citrus and pine, along with a heavy dose of hops, a bit of a hard candy smell also. Taste is fairly sweet, still getting a lot of the citrus showing up, a unique IIPA.

UPDATED: JAN 28, 2009 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.

Shared with HogTownHarry, Harrys bottle (Thanks Harry!) Light tea colour body, slight off white head. Some alcohol in the nose, pineapple, hops and candyfloss, mmm. Flavour... goodness me! Sticky, maple syrup and slightly acidic quite ’earthy’ too! What a cracking beer. The alcohol isn’t overly evident in the flavour, long bitter finish.

UPDATED: JAN 22, 2007 from a shared 12 oz bottle. Orange/light amber in color. Aroma is grapefruit, orange, some pineapple like hints. Taste is citrus, grapefruit and orange, even some mango thrown in. A light to moderate amount of bitterness throughout the taste and slightly lingers in the finish. Bittering is lower than other commercial DIPA’s that I have had, but the sweet fruit qualities of the malt and hops together really blend nicely together. I am thinking a bit like Oskar Blues Gordon, but better. I would like to get my hands on more of this.

UPDATED: NOV 16, 2006 Orange juice, tangerines, mango, pineapple, apricots...what IS this stuff, a beer or an alcoholic’s tropical fruit slurpee?!? Starts out with an over-the-top nasal hop assault...all citrus and pine...all of which emanates from the beautiful coppery golden pour. In fact, the aroma alone might be enough to satisfy some novice hop-goblin...but not me! I am instantly blown back upon enjoying the first sip...a ridiculously lopsided lupilin rush twists my tongue in circles and leaves me loose-limbed and longing for more. Then and only then, does the wild citrus-fruit flood unleash itself upon the palate, as if trying to make up for the merciless tongue-buckling that just preceded it. 9.5%...I don’t taste any of it...but believe me, it’s lurking in the shadows alright! The caramel and toffee malts try mightily, and yet ultimately fail, to harness this hoodoo hop-bomb...but I say, "Ride the Lightning!"

This is a very hoppy beer that does not sacrifice complexity and balance to bring you some fantasic bitterness and hop flavors. In other words it’s not a cascade bomb. I very much enjoyed this dry and bitter ale, with hints of fruitness and just a touch of sweet flavor. The aroma however was the best part for me, it was just fantasic with bits of grass, flowers, and lovley hops.