Bells Hopslam

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

355 mL. Pours a translucent light orange with a fluffy, off-white head that settles down. Not too much lacing. Aromas of wet hops, some tropical fruit, grapefruit, orange peel, white sugar. Taste is beautifully smooth and not too heavy with lots of grapefruit, citrus hops, orange blossom honey, and some butter. Rich and slightly oily on the palate but finishes clean with a quick spicy and acidic bite akin to ginger. Very easy to enjoy. Overall very well balanced for the amount of hops dumped into the vats. 10% abv is masterfully hidden. Awesome.

12 oz bottle. Pours a hazy golden orange with tight, dissipating light head. Monstrous citrusy nose, blood oranges and grapefruit rind with a healthy dose of bubblegum sweetness. Sweet and spritzy on the palate with a nice syrupy quality, starting with more citrus rind before a honeyed sweetness fills the mouth, only to be dominated by a resiny coating of alpha acids. Ends slowly with a puckering, lengthy herbal bitterness. Another stellar beer from Bells.

very good beer, i tasted this and founders double trouble today with hopslam going to 17.99/six same as troubles 11.99/four i preferred the founders.

Bottle..Batch 8907... I love the aroma of this beer..the apricot/grapefruit aroma was so intense yet pleasurable that i sat and smelled this beer for a good 5 min just enjoying the armoma...the sweet intense flavor with the power of the hops were a real treat..buy this beer..enjoy

Tap @ Jupiter Beerfest. Wow, was this good! Aroma had moderate amounts of roasted and caramel for the malt, heavy pine, grapefruit and perfume for the hops, light broth for the yeast, with mixed berries in the background. Head is average size, frothy, white with good lacing and is mostly lasting. Color is sparkling clear dark amber. Flavor started lightly sweet and acidic and the finish was long with light sweetness and moderate amounts of acidity and bitterness. Palate is medium, oily, with a lively carbonation and a lightly astringent finish. An awesome DIPA, one of my favorites. So why the hell can’t we find this in FL? Time to step up production? Follow up: Vine and Barley in PSL has this on tap, and even better than out of a bottle.

Orange-copper colour with athin head. Aroma is citrus hop, buttery maltiness. Flavour was again citrus and lighter herbal/floral hop. Paler malt tones, medium bodied bit not imparting a lot of discernable malt sweetness. Slightly sticky, herbal bitterness and honey like in the finish.

Bottle thanks to MrChopin. Batch 8277. Hazy dark orange pour with a finger of white foam. Butterscotch and caramel malt aromas with hints of citrus and honey, big grapefruit citrus hop aroma. Taste is sweet, honey, crystal malt and a nice bitter finish of citrus and grapefruit hops. This bottle is a year old and a bit maltier than I expect new stuff is but still fantastic.

TAP: at The Bulldog Lowertown (St. Paul, MN) on 1.25.09. A rich gold/orange pour, not murky. Moderate head with some lacing. Citrus and hop on the nose, but not overpowering. Hops are well balanced, but come on strong at the end. Great taste, full mouthfeel.