Bells Hopslam

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

(Bottle, Oliver Twist, Stockholm) Amber colour with frothy off-white head. Fruity nose with dark notes of hops, grapefruit, orange, pine needles and resin, slight hints of coriander. Very complex. Fruity, hoppy taste with apricots, grapefruit, orange and heavy notes of hops. Very complex, rather vinous and surprisingly balanced. A huge IPA and a serious hop monster. Brilliant! My kind of beer.

Thanks to moejuck for this - hazy straw color, with fizzy, quickly fading head - juicy fresh hop aroma, with loads of orange, mango - quite assertive bitterness, but it doesn’t overpower the beer like in many other examples of the style - pineapple, apricot, oranges and other citrus/tropical fruits - just mildly sweet, just enough to balance the high bitterness - I suspect that this will get much lower marks as more people try it, if only for the fact that it isn’t as "in your face" as many will expect, but it is nicely balanced and well done - I like.

The aroma is very and I mean very hoppy with pine, citrus, pineapple, as well as sweet malt and honey. The appearance is orange amber with an average head. The flavor is like the aroma and very good. The palate is smooth. Overall this is killer.

Bottle from Footbalm. Strong citrus and pine aroma, lemon, pomegranite, acid. Very well balanced, good complexity, no off aromas, but just kinda boring. Pour is a cloudy gold with a decent head. Similar taste of rich hops, though a bit soapy, a little "unripe" tasting, if it were fruit. Definitely showcases hops for everything they are, though. A bit boozy and hard to drink.

On tap at Capital Ale House - Downtown on 08/28/2008. Keg was about 6 months old. Clear golden amber body with a small creamy off-white head. Caramel and cirusy hop aroma, but somewhat diminished. Very mellow citrus and light resiny flavors on a gentle caramel background. Full body with moderate carbonation and a resiny hop finish. Still good, but not nearly as good as it is fresh. 7/3/7/4/16 - 3.7 (left out of overall score, since it’s much better fresh) Bottle. Batch 7806. Clear brilliant copper body with a small creamy white head that rapidly diminishes. Aroma of sweet caramel, sugar, fruit and citrus hops. Sweet caramel flavor with a delicious citrus hops compenent. 8/3/9/4/17 - 4.1

Finally, finally I get to try this! I think Jer shared this with Greg and I - thank you!!! Incredibly hoppy aroma - very green and sweet. Dark yellow, small white head. Amazing taste - supper hoppy, balanced, sweet, alcohol there but never too much - met all my incredibly high expectations. I want more. Now.

The aroma is great! Amazingly fresh lemon citrus/ grapefruity hops. From the aroma you would expect it to be a bit thicker in body, but the flavor is still great. There’s enough malt backbone to balance the tart, grapefruity hops. Resiny long finish. Smooth and balanced. Nice IIPA

Bottle. Amber coloured with a decent white head. Aroma of orange blossoms, tropical fruits and some honeyed sweetness. Sweet citrus flavours, with some caramel and a big, dry, hoppy finish. Good.