Bells Hopslam

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

Another go at this one, pretty fresh to boot, and I’m not as impressed as I once was. Clear red-amber with a nice fizzy white head. Nose has fruit but its sweet, almost no citrus, almost synthetic, and lots of pine. Flavor is very sweet, malty, honey, some mango and banana, a little tea. Palate keeps the un-spritely flavor from sinking, but is too short to earn the 5/5. A little boozy in the finish. Overall decent IIPA, but this is too sweet for hop extremists, lacks the fruit refreshment and palate explosion... RR has fortunately set the bar way high.

Hops and Honey lace this exquisitely drinkable beer. Extra points for such a smooth drinking 10% balance out the somewhat hefty pricetag. A seasonal brew that I will look forward to every year.

12 oz. bottle. Thanks durhambeer! Pours a rich orange color with a rather fizzy white head. Aroma is amarillo hops, with the distinctive grapefruit aroma. The flavor is great! Starts with the delicious citrusy hops bitterness up front, and moving back it tingles. As it warms you get juuuuuuust a hint of the sweet maltiness that is characteristic of a barley wine. I never coulda told you this was 10% abv. Bells really knows how to make an IPA!

12 oz bottle: This is a beautiful pour of light orange with white head. Overwhelming floral and citrus bouquet that gives way to the alcoholic bite you’re about to experience. To say this beer is bitter is an understatement, however, the flavor is there to back it up. Bright grapefruit overtones, piney undertones, a bitterness punch in the mouth that makes you want more. All rounds out to a beer that any hophead will love.

Pours a hazy coppery orange with a dense white head that shows exceptional retention for beer of this ABV. The slightest swirl of the glass brings the head back quickly. Floral and citrus hops dominate the aroma. Despite the hop dominance, there is a hint of sweet maltiness underneath. Starts off with a hoppy bitterness with major grapefruit and orange overtones with a slight pine bite. But that gives way to pleasant sweetness before the crisp fruity hop finish takes over. Very nice and extremely well balanced for having such a hop profile. Crisp mouthfeel but sill coats your mouth in a prickly hoppy goodness. I was extremely impressed with the beer. I would definitely put it in the top few DIPAs I’ve tasted. This would be a staple in fridge if I had easier access to it.

Fantastic hops all around... from aroma to flavor to palate - this has definitely got it!

Mmmmm I love this stuff. Full of hops and malted just enough to balance, but not overkill. I tasted this at first at DLD, and thought it was just the event that made it so good. Now I’m sipping it I can honestly say it’s a top-notch IIPA. Fruity flavors and ending on a dry note. What a perfectly balanced IIPA should be.

bottle, this beer smells like heaven. It is amazing smelling it smells like hoppy honey. Very good. The taste is honey with some hops, not as overpoweringly hoppy as I had expected. It works incredibly well. I would buy this again in a heartbeat