Bells Big Head San Diego Style Ale

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

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.

From bottle at Stone Bistro, thanks to Greg Koch. Pours hazy orange with a tan head. Mild spiced hoppy aroma. Grapefruity and dense yet also smooth fruity and nicely balanced with caramel malt. Lingering fruity hops finish.

Bottle courtesy of cpferris. Thanks! Poured into an Alesmith pint glass. Tawny pumpkin color with a splendid off-white head. Great retention and insane lacing, sheets of foam everywhere. Aroma is caramel malt with a deep hop citrus juiciness. Honeydew and mandarine orange notes. This beer is really really really hoppy. The flavor starts with a boozy caramel/honey note that lulls you into thinking this beer might be balanced, but then a warhead full of hops detonates. Grapefruit zest provides a little sweetness but a big piney bitterness hits. The finish is long, warm, and bitter. Mouthfeel is sticky and oily. Body and carbonation are fine. Alcohol is apparent but melded into the malt profile so as to not be astringent or hot.

Pours a hazed orange color with exhibits juicy citrus fumes. Dry & bitter citrus flavors needing to be a bit more malty to be sufficient balanced. That said, the hop character is nice, dry, and citrusy and it works for the most part.

Poured an amber color with a small, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of pine, caramel malts, citrus fruits, toasted malts, and grapefruit. Taste of citrus fruits, orange peel, light tobacco, with some resiny pine, and grapefruit, finished up with drier alcohol. Thanks to miver for sharing this one!

Bottle at home ...with the wife, Doppelganger and his wife ... Deem amber ... big american hop nose ... again big powerful flavour ... loads of tart american hops ... nice enough but didnt hit the spot with me.

Bottle, at cgarvieuk’s, with Stella, the kids, and Traci. Really great tasting Craig—thanks! Shiny copper, fine white head. Full melon-honey hop nose, musky mineral/animal grapefruit. Under that, a touch of toasty character. Find textured chewy malt, velvety alcohol mixed with hop juice. Almost more hop liqueur than beer. Alcohol very straight-on and unhidden, but kind of nice like that. Chalky sweet finish.

Poured an effervescent amber with a frothy white head. Nice, fairly intense aroma of grapefruit rind and pine needles with a touch of sugar candy and a bit of alcohol. Flavor follows faithfully with strong notes of bitter grapefruit and pine, some earthiness, lots of bitterness but also backed by a biscuity sweet body that Hopslam lacked. I can taste some alcohol but not nearly enough to make me suspect 11%. For me, this was superior to hopslam, with a slightly metallic alcohol taste in the finish being its only detractor. I would certainly purchase this regularly if if were available to me. I am ignorant as to whether Bells is brewing this special or intends to make this a permanent release, but I think this would be an excellent addition to their lineup... the pale brother of Expedition, maybe.