Bells Big Head San Diego Style Ale

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

12 oz bottle. Pours a slightly hazy orange body with a great, almost one inch, off-white head that retained for a good long time. Big piney and citrusy hop aroma with a good bit of toffee and caramel maltiness. The flavor is fairly heavily bitter with lots of grapefruit pith and piney goodness up front. The malt really comes out in the finish with an undercurrent of sweet toffee below all the hops. A pretty well balanced IIPA, it’s big all around. Mouthfeel is pretty substantial, but it doesn’t get overly thick or clingy despite all the malt. Rather creamy in texture with nice soft carbonation that really cuts thru the body well and keeps things lively. I may have been a little late to the party with drinking this, but it’s still a really great beer. Still brimming with hoppy goodness.

Bottle, thanks to cpferris. Copper color with a good sized off-white head. Piny aroma with a solid amount of rich malt in there also. Sweet rich malt flavor backed by a bunch of bittering hops. A little like fruit rind, and that lingers a pretty long time after swallowing. Nice bitterness, and another good IPA from what is, IMO, a stellar season for IPAs.

The label states that this beer is brewed "San Diego style, with more attitude than hops... and boy are there alot of hops". Theres also a illustration of a fellow with wire-rimmed glasses, receding hair, and what is inferred to be as a "big head". An ode to Tomme Arthur perhaps? 12 oz bottle with a short fill. The level is barely above the bottom of the neck label. Pours clear, dark gold with a copper hue. A three inch head of off-white rose up and receded slowly, leaving behind a rocky cap and sheets of clingy lacework. Big head, yes. Aromatics are pungently hoppy and chock full of resinous pine. Grapefruit, spruce bark, orange oils, and forest floor. Light malt and warming alcohol. Medium bodied and plenty sticky. Drying with some slick sappiness. Grapefruit zest, pine sap, orange peel, cedar bark, and pepper-studded apricots lead off the pallet. Alcohol and light malt step forward, along with an earthy dryness. Finishes with a mildly stinging bitterness, slightly numbing hop resins, warming alcohol, and grapefruit zest. A tasty one fer sure, but I like a little more tropical juiciness in the middle, and the nose does not leap out of the glass.

Tasted on 5/2/08. An aggressive pour into my Duvel tulip leaves a 2 inch cream colored head. The color is darker than expected but nice and it leaves an incredible amount of lacing on the glass. Wow the smell is amazing. I get mostly pineapple, then some grapefruit and pine. A hop bomb! The taste is similar to the smell but more complex. This is great, it’s like a sticky, hop syrup. Pine, pineapple, grapefruit, a hint of malty sweetness and an extremely inviting bitterness. This is another winner from Bell’s.

12 oz. bottle from cdumler. Slightly hazy light bronze with a big slightly off white head. Good retention and great lacing. Very fruity aroma with strawberry and tropical notes, along with resiny and citrus notes imparted by the huge hop presence. Big malt backbone. Huge, very bitter hop taste with pineapple, citrus, vegetal and plum notes. Somewhat dry. Medium bodied with a slightly sticky texture. Thanks Chris!

Thanks to sliffy for sharing a bottle with me. This brew pours a mostly clear amber color with a medium white head that dissipates steadily. Rings of lacing on the glass. Floral hops aroma with some woody characteristics, as well as some bready malt. Medium-bodied and somewhat dry with floral hops, pine and sweet malt flavors. Tropical fruit here and there as well. The finish is hoppy and fruity with a lingering citrus hops aftertaste. Having been lucky enough to try beers like Ruination, Pliny the Elder and Hop 15 I can say this is a worthy tribute to the region.

Bottle. Rich amber/bronze beer with a nice dark cream colored head. Sweet caramel aroma with lots of grapefruit/summer fruit. Big grapefruit/pine flavor with caramel backing. Medium-plus bodied. Lingering grapefruit, pine, and some caramel. Nice bitterness.

12 oz bottle. batch 8369. Poured cloudy golden orange with a small beige head. Aroma of intense citrus and grapefruit hops. Tastes of grapefruit, citrus hops, caramel malts, and pine. Nice sticky full bodied mouth feel with a small alcohol warming in the finish.