Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

bottle shared at Max and Andy’s fantasy tasting. Hazy orange, nice white head, spicy hoppiness. pepper, citrus and pine. sweet caramel candy, smooth syrupy and sticky. amazing balance. Mouthfeel is a bit too thick, if I had to search for a detractor.

Bottle at Oliver Twist in April 09. Fantastic beer! A lot of tropical fruits and citrus in aroma and flavor. Bitter but also very balanced. Smooth, and easy to drink despite 10%. Without doubt one of the best beers I have ever tasted.

Thanks to eaglefan538 for the opportunity to sample. Pour was orange, good head and lacing. This is full out grapefruit assault, all over the nose and tongue. Huge hop bill left your mouth crying for assistance, but in a wonderfully giddy way. Rich, full, nice malt balance. Good beer from Bells again!

Local Option, Chicago tap ($7): Pours a golden color with a white head. Aroma is of floral hops, floral hops, floral hops, and a little bit of sugar. Taste is complex hoppiness, which culminates a sweet finish (not too sweet). Alcohol covered adeptly. Hops mixed impressively. Aromas pour out decisively. This beer is quite hoppy, and it is, as such, a sipper. I couldn’t really chug this as I could some other beers. In any case, I suppose it lives up to the hype.

This is some really good stuff, didn’t realize it was 10%. Pours a golden orange with a thin white head. Aroma of grapefruit mainly. The flavor is actually quite balanced and I thought easily drinkable. Nice amount of citrus hops and the sweet honey mixes well with it. Very good beer from Bells, one of my favorites.

UPDATED: FEB 3, 2011 Thanks to Beerman6686 for hooking me up with this in a trade. Pours an extremely clear amber with a small bubbly white head. Aroma is excellent; lots of sweet oranges, a bit of grapefruit, caramel malt, and some floral notes at the finish. Flavor is definitely even more impressive than the aroma. Thick, sugary start to the flavor, with lots of caramel. It then moves to an aggressive floral, pine, and citrus hop flavor, with lots of alcohol tinge mixing with well placed carbonation to fully encapsulate the tongue. Very very nice, but I feel that the overall flavor of the Alesmith IPA I just rated was more complex. The alcohol is awesome, but it portrays the difference between single and double IPAs very aptly. Still a top notch brew. Re-rate 1-11-11- On tap at ChurchKey in DC. More depth, complexity, and delightful citrus character than I remember. Up 0.2 from the first rating.

Bottle from trade with Shigadeyo. Thanks Craig! (Batch 7690) Poured a clear copper with a creamy off-white head that leaves light lacing. Huge grapefruit aroma backed with orange peel and pine. Tasty flavor grapefruit and pine with a light hint of malts. Medium body a moderate but comfortable bitterness throughout. Thanks again Craig! Plus I have another in the frig....Bonus!!

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.