Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

12 oz. bottle - thanks to Nolankowal for the trade! Pours a hazy caramel color with a little sediment evident and a small creamy head. Aroma is dominated by grapefruit and pine hoppiness, orange juice, light honey and toffee notes with lemon zest too. Sweet caramel malts are all but overwhelmed by spicy, piney and grapefruit hops, cedar and juniper notes as well. Full body and gentle carbonation. A hop lovers bounty!

Another one from SoLan. This guy is a baller. Pours a cloudy golden orange with a very light white head. Very enticing looking. Monster grapefruit hops smell, with some pine in the background. Light citrus surrounding the hops. Almost smells like pure grapefruit juice. Taste is quite powerful and distinct. You get that big grapefruit in the taste as well, with the alcohol presentng itself up front and in your face. Kind of bitter finish, a little tart, but satisfying. Hops are big, bold, and big again. Now this is a double IPA.

Pours a hazy coppery orange with a dense white head that shows exceptional retention for beer of this ABV. The slightest swirl of the glass brings the head back quickly. Floral and citrus hops dominate the aroma. Despite the hop dominance, there is a hint of sweet maltiness underneath. Starts off with a hoppy bitterness with major grapefruit and orange overtones with a slight pine bite. But that gives way to pleasant sweetness before the crisp fruity hop finish takes over. Very nice and extremely well balanced for having such a hop profile. Crisp mouthfeel but sill coats your mouth in a prickly hoppy goodness. I was extremely impressed with the beer. I would definitely put it in the top few DIPAs I’ve tasted. This would be a staple in fridge if I had easier access to it.

Light medium aroma (not full) of grapefruit, citrus, melon. Orange color, white foam. Not exceedingly bitter. The residual sweetness is apparent in both flavor and mouthfeel. This is a good brew -- much like a more alcoholic version of Lagunitas’ Hop Stoopid, which has about the same amount of sweetness and bitterness, a similar hop spectrum but is appreciably more aromatic.

Bottle at Teresa’s. Pours I hazy amber body. Aroma is fresh hop and lots of fruits - grapefruit, tangerine, and nectarine. Mouthfeel is medium with notes of fruits mentioned in aroma, great Ipa

12 oz bottle thanks to my SS! Hazy orange in color with a tall fluffed head. Grapefruit hop aroma and a little pine, definitely some Cs in there cascade for sure but a nice blend of hops. Slick medium bodied mouthfeel where I can almost feel the hops on my cheeks before I taste them. Grapefruitty flavors with a carmel base. A pretty solid IPA although lacking that extra punch to make this rise up with the true great Double I’s in this world. But hey you gotta love that label.

UPDATED: JUN 5, 2007 Number 600. 12 ounce bottle poured in to a snifter. Texas orange with a short lived creamy color head. Very clear. Orange pith, wet grass, simple syrup, honey, maybe maple are in the nose. Lots of tongue coatig grapefruit and tropical hop flavor the finishes with a pleasant bitterness. Flavor lasted from front to back for several seconds. It keeps going and going. Thin and light on the palate, a sixer of this could go down in no time. My new favorite Bells? It certainly doesn’t beat out Expo, even though its more drinkable. Your night my last longer with Two Hearted. I think Hopslam beats it out though.

12 oz bottle (Batch 7806)

I’ve been saving this for a while and finally decided to open it. After all, it was unlikely to become more of a hopbomb with aging. It had been stored in the fridge as long as I have held the bottle which has been about two months now. My palate might be adjusting because this was not as intense as I thought it would be from the description. Still, it certainly earns the category of double/imperial IPA without a doubt.

Aroma / Appearance - A coppery translucent body is decorated by a three-quarters finger height head. The thick lacing clings to the sides as if to indicate the levels at which the sips were taken. The nose of caramel, resin, grapefrui, orange and chocolate liquer reminds me of a young barleywine. It was very inviting; I could smell this one for fifteen minutes or more before my nose would burn out.

Flavor / Palate - The thick mouthfeel clings to the throat and tongue as the flavors unfold on the eager senses. Creamy caramel, vanilla, malts and the base bitterness create a rich complexity. The resinous grapefruit aftertaste intensifies over the course of the bottle until by the last sip it is pure hops. However, at no point is it so strong as to overwhelm the palate - it has a nice balance to it which makes it all the more enjoyable. It would be nice to put this side by side with a Ruination and see how they compare.