Bells Hopslam

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

Pours a glowing golden orange with light head around the duvel tulip glass. Aromas of Amber Malt, honey, bitter orange peel, loads of grapefruit and some lemon. Flavor of amber malt and honey perfectly balanced with the hops that sting the bitter palate of the tongue. The bitterness doesn’t fade easily. Not much else to say except that this is a wonderful brew.

cheers tom this is a crucial double ipa- pours hazy, rusty, brown orange white foamy head. nose is brilliant, tangerine peach lychee. tastes really bitter, hops, tangerine, citrus, some lemon. big meaty mouthfeel, citrus/ tropical, very excpetional full bodied. length. lemon lime gloriousness.

absolutely love this beer, the aroma is a sweet, honey smell to it, pours with a nice white head that slow dissolves. great hops, flavor is sweet and has a good after taste,, get a nice kick of hops but nothing lasting on the palate, one of my favorite beers.

Update - 2008 keg tapped 08/28/2008 Capital Ale House Downtown. Hops not as big in the nose – more floral – with a bit more bitterness coming through. Still really tasty…no score change. Clear golden orangish with moderate white head. Citrusy piney american hops dominate aroma backed with some light malt notes. Flavor is moderatly sweet of light malts and spicey citrusy american hop varieties. Medium mouthfeel with just enough bitterness to ballance out malt sweetness. With such high hopping this beer is remarkably drinkable and the alchohol is really stealthy. Everything works together perfectly, absolutely a fantastic beer. Hope they can do it again next year.

Original rate: Big hazy amber. Aroma is minty, highly orangey with some ganja. Bitter body, with lots of great herbal hop notes. Well-balanced. 8-4-8-4-17 = 4.1

Subsequent rate: Hazy golden-amber and what looks like low carbonation. Aroma is minty, slightly herbal, with hints of wood and caramel. Soft body with a slight bit of stickiness. Bitterness is moderate but tempered by a honeyish sweetness. Chewy crystal malts, a hint of herbalness and mandarin. Decent, but there’s a lot of these in the PNW. 7-4-8-4-14 = 3.7

Shared with HogTownHarry, Harrys bottle (Thanks Harry!) Light tea colour body, slight off white head. Some alcohol in the nose, pineapple, hops and candyfloss, mmm. Flavour... goodness me! Sticky, maple syrup and slightly acidic quite ’earthy’ too! What a cracking beer. The alcohol isn’t overly evident in the flavour, long bitter finish.

Draft @ the brewpub. Clear amber with a frothy tan head, nice lacing. Big floral and grapefruit hop aromas with a light sweetness. Medium body. Great hop juice bittersweet flavors are citrus floral and spruce sap with some pale malt and honey thrown in for good measure. Big hop flavors plus a sweetness without being sticky makes for a great Ipa here.

In my opinion this is the best imperial IPA on the market. Pours a nice orange-gold color and the smell of citrus fruits hits you in the face. Very bitter, but not in a bad way. It is almost scary how good this beer is!