Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

Bottle pour, second tasting. Aroma is very pleasant with floral and citrus notes, very ripe apricot and nectarine. Appearance is crystal clear orange and gold. Wonderful citrus and pit fruit flavors, grapefruit, nectarine, tangerine, apricot...fantastic taste. A light palate with just right carbonation. A delicious, refreshing and perfectly balanced brew. Don’t let it full you though! ABV will sneak up on you!

Bought a growler filled with this nectar of the gods at Roof Brother’s Spirits in Paducah, Kentucky. We promptly finished the entire growler in one evening. :P A: Appearance isn’t this brew’s strong suit but that’s not to say that it doesn’t look great. Pours a classic amber with some heavier hints of oranges and reds. Carbonation is pretty spot on and active but this was predictable as we just had it bottled from the tap only hours earlier. Head was small with decent retention and lacing but I believe the head only suffered due to the pour from the growler itself. S: The smell is of grassy, piney and DEFINITELY grapefruit/citrus hops. This is a grapefruit bomb in the nose. The scent is clean and to the point with carbonation showing off and pushing this hop perfume into your nostrils. Very nice! T: One of the crispest beers I’ve ever had... It’s clean and the malt backbone is in place just enough for the hops not to overwhelm. Low on the side of bittering hops, the taste is as if one squeezed the fresh juices of a just ripened hop cone into their mouth: Truly a blessing for a hophead! On tap (like in this growler), the honey is not as present which I attribute to the honey (sugar) not being allowed to ferment as much as it would during the bottle-conditioning of shipping... It’s there, it’s just not overstaying it’s welcome. All in all, this is a fantastic tasting beer that every beer geek should drink whenever possible. MF: Again, this is a clean and crisp beer with spot on carbonation. Smooth is the word of the day but "Nectar of the Gods" is the phrase of the day. :P D: Not sessionable, unfortunately. If this thing was 7% ABV and not 10%, I would drink this non-stop... One of these on tap, though, already had given me a nice buzz... By three in I was floating and rearranging my entire livingroom. The "drinkability" of one of these bad boys minus the limitations of sessionability is phenomenal.

If you don’t like full flavor and aroma caused by huge hop additions, keep moving. This stuff pulls absolutely no punches! It is exactly what the name implies, but still remains very drinkable and smooth. Next to Two Hearted Ale, probably my favorite Bells product.

UPDATED: FEB 18, 2011 2/17/11 (Draft) 5/5/5/4.5/5: Poured on tap into a Guinness pint glass at Ice House Pub in Punta Gorda, Florida on 2/17/11. Appearance: Pours a clear light golden amber with orange highlights and a 2-3 finger frothy white head. Excellent head retention and lacing. Smell: The most amazing bouquet of hops I’ve ever smelled. Grapefruit, orange, pineapple and pine all mixed perfectly with just a touch of honey. Simply amazing. Taste: The perfect balance between bitter and sweet, the malt is just enough to balance out the hops. The hops run the gamut from floral to bitter and sweet citrus. There’s a nice bitterness to the aftertaste that lingers for what seems like forever. This is the nectar of the gods. Mouthfeel: Medium-to-full-bodied with just the right amount of carbonation. Goes down very smooth. Drinkability: Excellent drinkability. The alcohol doesn’t come through in the flavor at all. This is scarily drinkable. Overall: There’s no better beer out there that I’ve tried (yet). I thought nothing would top Hopslam in the bottle, but this did it. If you see Hopslam on draft, buy a pint - at least one. This beer was as close to perfect as I can imagine any beer being. 1/23/11 (Bottle) 4.5/5/5/4.5/5: 2011 Edition Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a Duvel tulip. Batch code 10127 indicates bottling date of January 11, 2011. Appearance: Pours a clear light golden amber with orange highlights and a perfect 2 finger creamy and foamy white head. Excellent head retention and lacing. Smell: Perfect fruity aroma featuring orange, grapefruit and pineapple mixed with floral hops and pine. Hops are abundant. This has the best aroma of any beer I’ve ever smelled. Taste: Excellent balance between bitter and sweet. There is just enough malt background to even out this hoppy concoction. The hop profile ranges from floral to sweet citrus to bitter citrus. Sweet citrus with a little caramel malt up front followed by a hint of pepper and pink grapefruit in the middle followed lemon zest at the finish. Aftertaste is quite bitter in a great way. Mouthfeel: Medium-to-full-bodied with just the right amount of carbonation. Goes down very smooth. Drinkability: Excellent drinkability. The alcohol is masked extremely well for a beer with 10% ABV. The only detractor is the price. I paid $19.99 plus tax for a 6 pack at Total Wine. Overall: About as perfect a DIPA as you’ll ever find. There is nothing to complain about here (aside from the price). I really wish Bell’s would make this a year-round release and drop the price a bit. If they did, this would be my go to beer without a doubt. If you see it, buy it. Don’t let the sticker shock stop you from trying the perfection that is Hopslam.

Amazing beer with the most wonderful bouquet you will ever smell with strong citrus and grape fruit. Color is a deep brass / brownz color with a white head. The flavor has a bit of a IPA bite, but not bitter like Sierra Nevada. Has great citrus flavor. Almost makes you feel like its an IPA mixed with a fruit or wheat beer cause of the citrus.

Awesome beer. Great hoppy character, and the use of honey keeps this from being too bitter. Color, aroma, and flavor are all outstanding. The only thing that kept me from giving this a 5 is that Bells is stingy, and doesn’t brew much.

This is my favorite beer, with The Oracle as my 1A. Luckily I was able to snag two whole cases of the stuff this year, but I must do a better job of sharing next year because I still have a few bottles left. How is that possible? I will say that at about 5 months old the hop flavors and aromas are noticeably diminished, but at 4 months old it was still in very good shape. A beautiful golden-orange-ruby pour with a decent head and lacing and a wallop of grapefruit on the aroma. I actually garnished this with a grapefruit wedge (blasphemy!) to get my non-hophead sister to try it and guess what? Now it’s all she asks about! Despite the considerable bitterness, this is a well balanced brew thanks to all that honey. I always find myself stopping mid-sip to admire this fantastic DIPA. Well done.

It has a clean copper color with a 1-2 finger thick off white head that leaves some decent lacing. This beer smells amazing! A wave of cirtus hops hits the nostrils while some floral and piney hops come in next, there’s a distinct grapefruit, orange and tropical fruit scent with sweet malts and a hint of honey. The taste follows the nose, the citrus and floral hops with the bready malts, the tropical fruit and the hint of honey. The palate is sticky and satisfying yet smooth and refreshing the 10% ABV is hidden very well. Overall: Next to Pliny the Elder this is the best IPA I’ve ever had and considering this is much easier to get for me it’s just plain amazing.