Bells Big Head San Diego Style Ale

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

Bottle courtesy of dukefan. Light orange pour. Some aged hops. Wood and spice. Spicy taste. Some hops and dry bitter on the finish. Not bad; a decent balance. Reading my notes later, I am surprised to find this was a Double.

WHoa. Thanks to zathrus13 for this. pours a hazy amber with a beige head. Big juicy, grapefruit citrusy hops. Still has a big aroma even after multiple sniffs. Some booze, some caramel sweet malts. actually really well balanced in my opinion. Potent. Big time aroma, flavor. A keeper.

Bottled. Thanks Greg Koch for this treat. An amber beer with an orangey head. The aroma is sweet with strong notes of grass and hops. The flavor has notes of grapefruit, bread, and grass, leading to a dry and bitter finish.

12oz bottle. Golden color. Aroma of the skunkiest hop/ bag-o’-weed kind of smell. HUGE hop aroma. Flavor is a big hop bitterness, Huge IBUs. Nice malt backbone. Don’t be scared of the hops. Just be afraid of the style-type-name diversion. 03 may 08

12oz bottle thanks to northernbrews. Pours hazy orangish copper with white head. Aroma is heavy with sweet malt with citrus, hops and some booze. Flavor is a lot like a 4 week old hop slam. Lots of sweet malt with citrus and hops with light booze. Huge amount of sweet malts brings great balance for such a huge beer. Not huge fan of DIPA’s with tons of sweet malt but this one is very good. Would have love to try super fresh.

Bottle. Apricot color pour with a nice whtie head. Christmas trees, grapefruit and caramel malt jump out uickly. Flavor is really delicious. Sharp citrus tones, resinous hops and a great malt bill combine to make a beer worth savoring. Great effort by a great brewery!

12oz bottle, batch K8369, courtesy of FlandersNed (thanks, steve). pours a bright, hazy orange/amber with a thin, clingy, off white head and solid lacing. aroma is very nice with big citrus notes of orange, lemon, and grapefruit, floral hops, a touch of spice, alcohol, and light toffee malt sweetness. flavor is certainly big and quite delicious. citrus flavors of orange peel and lemon dominate with a big, toasty, earthy malt presence adding balance and notes of wood and caramel. palate is full bodied but smooth with a strong alcohol presence and a long, bitter, very dry finish. this one has aged nicely and while it still has many DIPA qualities, it’s drinking like a big barley wine and a good one at that.

Pours orange, little head. Citrusy and sweet aroma. Malty sweetness and hoppy sweetness compliment each other well. Very floral and citrusy.