Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

Bottle (courtesy of nolankowal). Strong pine and grapefruit hops aroma. Cloudy orange-yellow color with small head. Slightly sweet orange-gropefruit-pine hops flavor - very light malt. Nicely balanced. Very nice and drinkable but I really don’t see that this is dramatically better or worse than most other I2PAs.

Batch 8278. This Imperial IPA pours a medium copper amber color from a 12oz bottle. Medium sized white foamy head, nice lacing with good retention. The aroma is floral hops with some honey and some orange blossom. A medium bodied Imperial IPA. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are floral and grapefruity. Lots of orange blossom flavors. They balance the hop bitterness very nicely. Guess I am too used to west coast double IPAs, but I want a little more hop profile. The mixture works well here, and this is a tasty beer, but if I had to taste it blind I would never guess it’s a Imperial IPA. A lot of that is due to the fact it hides the 10% alcohol very well. Very drinkable, and if the alcohol was a little lower would be a nice session ale. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is crisp and clean. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Bottle (12oz). Shared with biegaman, blankboy and mds - biegaman’s bottle. Hazy orange, average frothy off-white head. HUGE hit of pungent, fruity, resiny hops (grapefruit, mango and pineapple), it even smells acidic - very sweet too; wow. Taste - more bitter,less fresh hops - quite good, but a bit of a step-down from the aroma - long bitter citrus-zest finish, enough malt to still seem quite sweet. Average body, acidic, astringent and bitter mouthfeel, long linger - solid, if ultimately one-dimensional I2PA. Thanks, Jan!

UPDATED: MAR 3, 2008 Bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville. Pours copper color with very thin head. Aroma is like sticking your nose is a handful of fresh hops. Overpowering in a good way with a sweetness lingering just offstage. Taste is complex and amazing. Hops... sweet... hops again... then citrusy sweetness. I tend to write off IPAs, as they all tend to seem pretty much the same to me, but this one is amazing.

Rerate: On my third straight Hopslam tonight and it burns. It burns! And it’s so good. Yes!

From a bottle. I bought this one at John’s Grocery in Iowa City. It is great to see the big Bells beers in Iowa. A slightly yellowish and long lasting head tops a dark gold and orange body. The aroma is fresh hops with pineapple and mango. Lots of tropical fruit. There is also some nice amaretto behind that initial hop pungence. The initial taste is massive pineapple and grapefruit, but not quite that sweet. In the back of the mouth, you get notes of brown sugar and almonds. The mouthfeel is thick and chewy, yet this is easy to drink. A very well made and relatively balanced IIPA.

I got the last bottle from The Cellars LexLarp in St Paul. Though they tell me it is the last one, they seem to find another case somewhere. Pours a golden orange amber with a thin head. Aroma - very very flowery sweet hops. Hops and more hops, I can barely keep my feet on the ground. Taste as an extra charged IPA on steroids with hints of grapefruit, peach and apricots. Wow! Great body with a nice touch of dryness in the finish.

Sampled at the O-Town throwdown. Pours murky brown with lasting off white head. It has a full grapefruit hop aroma. The flavor follows suit with grapefruit juice hoppiness with hints of sweet malts in the background.

Bottle. Trade from bulldogp04. Bottled Jan ’11. Thanks! It pours bit hazy golden with a creamy white head. The aroma is loads of Simcoe hops. Citrus, grapefruit, mango, peach, passion fruit with an underlying but solid caramel base. Loads of sweet fruit, honey, caramel, peach, light pine, passion fruit, citrus, grape fruit in the flavour. Lots of exotic fruit going on here. It has a long fruity and bitter finish. Very drinkable and very good!