Bells Hopslam

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

To all the recent ratings that say it better than I could, I’ll add that I side-by-sided one from last year (kept in the fridge) with a new release, and there is no comparison. The fresh stuff is bright & lively; grapefruity & zingy phenomenal mouthfeel too; last year’s bottle turned musky & muted, and the hops were kind of enervated to boot. The moral: get it fresh!

A- Pours a clear orange amber hue, three fingers of thick off-white foamy head that sustains, sticky lacing on the glass S- Major hops, mostly pine resin and floral tones fleshed out by citrus and light grapefruit, caramel malts lurk in the background T- Initial taste is moderate sweet piney hops intermixed with sweet citrus and caramel malts, some fruits and spices creep in, finishes bitter and oily M- Medium-bodied, slick yet thin texture, mild carbonation D- A great DIPA, balanced, flavorful, with extremely well-masked alcohol, there is a good deal of sweetness that keeps the hops in check, I wouldn’t exactly put this is the ’hop bomb’ category, but this DIPA can stand up in terms of flavor to some of my SoCal DIPA favorites

Pick this up from Steve’s liqour in Madison. Pour’s a light golden color. Aroma is of pine, grass , and grapefruit. Lots of earthy flavor combined with sweet grapefruit. A smaller bite than i expected, with a 10%abv. One of the best imerpial IPA out there. In my top 10 of best beers

Tulip glass from bottle. Aroma of grapefruit/tangerine with grassy hops. Light golden/orange appearance. Ruby grapefruit with earthy hops flavor, little bit of toasty. Pale smooth and bitey. Great beer, hard to find around pittsburgh though.

this is one of the better beers that i have had a privlage of drinking. nice and hoppy with a hint of citrus (grapefruit)

Clear orange pour with a small white head. Aroma of boiling wort, fresh earthy hops. Grainy malt taste with a big, bitter hop finish. Pretty good, but not quite as good as I expected.

12 oz bottle courtesy of DrnkMcDermott. Pours a very hazy orangish dark amber, moderate off white beige head that sticks around. Aromas are heavily citrus hop bouquet, grapefruit, and lemon candy with floral notes slip in as well. Taste seems a touch faded with age. Heavily hopped grapefruit rind and bitter with some resinous pine and bitterness on the back end. Touch of carmel malt discernable, but balanced well (so it has to be a significant amount, right?). Finishes well with a lingering citrus feel on the palate. Medium bodied, not filling. Smooth, not harsh. Would have been even more interesting fresh. Still, pretty damn good. Rerate: On tap at The Galway Tribes (Frankfort, Il). This beer fresh is amazing. Rating change.

Bottle at Eulogy, Philadelphia 18-11-08. This was becoming quite a nice little session for me and Loz, we were having a lovely time sat at the bar. The beer poured a glowing orangey/amber colour, though maybe the candles on the bar might have had an affect on it. Nice full on sweet maltiness, big long hoppy nose, big hoppy hit, the alcohol is really deceptive. What a great beer. A7 A4 F9 P4 OV17 4.1