Bells Big Head San Diego Style Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Appearance: Pours a clear, orangey body capped by a thin layer of white bubbles. Smell: Oh so hoppy! Oh so fragrant! Pulped apricots and sweet, juicy nectarines wrapped in a cocoon of damp grass and garnished with pine needles. Taste: Lighting fast flash of candyish, sweet malts with a hint of caramel. More of the apricot and citrusy hop flavors. Medium-high, soul crushing bitterness. Some grassiness, a touch of pine. Bittersweet finish with a lingering weedy, lemongrass aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: A fine Double IPA, but it leaves me longing for a HopSlam.

12 oz. bottle (K8369) via trade with tetrik - Pours a very slightly hazy copper color with a one and a half finger thick off white head. Nice lacing. Aroma is big floral, pine and light citrus hops and a good bit of fruity esters. Nice! Flavor is big hops, ester, resin, and a bit of malt sweetness. Again, nice! The aftertaste is quite bitter but doesn’t linger on the palate. Medium body. This is one VERY BIG/good beer. Bells should produce this on a regular basis. Thanks Ben.

Pours a light copper color with a white head. Aroma is very pungent juicy citrus grapefruit, caramel, and some alcohol. Flavor is malty, caramel, some biscuit, and a juicy citrus grapefruit hop finish.

Bottle thanks to hoppymeal: Pours a transparent bright copper bronze with a nicely-lacing spotty white head. Aroma of big, fresh resiny grapefruity hops and sweet caramel and pale malts. Body starts fairly full with a nice sweetness and lots of grapefruity bittering hops before a drier, warming finish. Nice hop aroma, but the alcohol is too over the top and needs more balance.

Pours light orange--amber with an 1/8 inch head and average lacing. Nicely carbonated. Strong hop smell with average malts. Strong hop flavor with a hoppy backbone. Very nice and it hides its lovely high AV extremely well. Taste like a DIPA.

At Atlanta beer tasting. Golden-orange beer. Great, intense hoppy aroma. Thick and extremely hoppy flavor, great for the citrus hop lover.

*like it ok would not buy* aroma: nice yummy hops. these are the kind i like. peppery and citrus. app: thin gold ick. flavor: lemon pepper.. good to cook chicken in,. pine! not painful though. palate: fine. OA: intresting way hoppie but still drinkable.

Thanks to Todd and the Monsters for this one. Actually no, I have to figure out who to thank and then I will insert here. Pours a clear copper orange with a creamy soapy beige head. The nose is filled with fresh lemons as well as pine, grapefruit, and a touch of earthiness. Creamy but bitter flavors. Sweet lemon citrus, caramel, and toffee. A dominant alcohol presence before the harsh bitter piney/grassy hop finish comes in. I only drank half of the 12 oz bottle and it was hard to finish. Too sweet and boozy. I’m not into the hop combination nor the attitude. Too much of both. And of course too much of that alcohol. Thanks to my main man though for this beer!