Bells Hopslam

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

If you went out and picked fresh hops, took them home, and put them in your juice machine like Jack Lalaine, you wouldn’t get a better hop delivery system. It’s like you pour a bottle and you’ve created a citrus-y pine forest microclimate. The Kansas City metro got 35 cases this year, and I only got one (case). Sorry to everyone else who didn’t get one... I’ll be camped outside the store next year waiting for the shipment.

Bottle. I finally was able to rate a fresh bottle, the one I had last year was easily 6 or 7 months old, so I didn’t think it was fair to rate it. Pours a clear amber, beautiful off-white head that stayed around and left some of the most unusual lacing I have ever seen, each sip left a very distinct ring as the glass was drank, it was beautiful. Aroma is great combination of pine, citrus and high quality "bud" in the background. Flavor is tangerine, peach, grapefruit, slightly sweet. Wow !!! This one lives up to the hype big time !!! Thanks to Chris at Rooz Brews for getting me a case, even though he only got two in total.

12 oz bottle. Finally Champaign carries Bells. Pours a brown copper color with a finger high white head. The smell is what gets me though. Tons of hops and a citrusy (maybe lemon) bitte to the nose that just makes me want to keep smelling it. And the taste is just as good as the smell. Full-bodied and a great taste that just makes you want to never stop with it. Might be my new favorite beer.

Smells great and actually pretty complex for a beer falling under the "extreme" label. Floral, citrusy, a hoppy MFer for sure. Appears a nice clear gold with a thin crown of a white head. Actively carbonated. Flavor is..wow, you really just need to have it. So glad to have a couple sixers. Fruity, complex, not beat you over the head bitter, a really pleasant drink. Feels medium with medium carbonation. Overall, this is a winner and one of my favorite DIPAs.

I drank 2 bottles from the Riverside Wine and Imports in Kent(thanks to the owner for the recommendation), before I read (brewed with honey) on the label. I also sampled it on tap. I for one do not like honey period, but this beer is fantastic. Not a trace of honey, but hops out the ***. Big citrussy grapefruit hops. Nice bitterness with just enough sweet to balance it out. At 18 bucks a sixer I won’t make It a regular, but if it is on tap I will definitely have another (or two).

I wasn’t too crazy about this beer. I’m not one to like a very hoppy beer. I could drink this after drinking a few other beers to help mellow out the flavor. To me it tasted a lot like a very bitter grapefruit.

Numerous bottles drank when visiting Michigan. Pours a thick dark orange color with a bright white foamyhead. Nose is sugar, caramel, nice floral hops. Palate is sticky and sugary, coats the mouth. Flavors are fresh hops with a lot of caramel and sugary sweetness. cheeks stick to gums. teeth are resinated. delicious

Pours a clear orange/amber with a thick off-white head. Incredibly sweet aroma of honey and nectar! It just makes my mouth water from a mile away! Lots of sugary strawberry smells. The taste is equally wonderful sweet honey followed by a dry, bitter hop finish. The citrus/piney hop flavor leaves a fantastic sweet finish that lingers forever... so so good.