Bells Hopslam

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

by far, one of the best IPA’s that I’ve ever had. picked this up on a road trip down from Michigan to Florida. had no idea what to expect. the beer has the perfect balance of hoppiness to create a smooth, but not overpowering, DIPA. excellent! 4.1.08 - re-rate. lots more honey than I remember from last year’s batch. even better than before. lots of hops, but not as strong as I remember it. the honey really tones it down. but in a good way. love love love this beer.

hands down the best imperial pale i’ve ever tasted. Crisp, hoppy. The first sip sets the tone.

Mmmmm...what a beer. Golden amber pour, thick, foamy head. Aroma is pulsating with hops: grapefruit with floral unertones and subtle hints of pine. Flavor explodes with hop goodness....citrus, floral and a piney resiouness background. Good malt undertones that complement the hops well. Overall, an incredible DIPA from Bells that is worth every penny.-------&# from Feb 2009: On tap at the Raven Coffee House in Port Huron, MI. I have to say...this is phenomenal on tap. Bottled is great, but wow. Aroma is even more prevalent...big notes grapefruit...with some floral and pine. Flavor is incredibly fresh and clean.....grapefruit, tangerine followed by some floral with a smooth malt undertone. Alcohol is NON-existent. Almost no bitterness, even in the finish. Its crazy how fresh the hops taste (although it helps that the keg was less than a week old). Pushing the rating to 4.7 from 4.5...just a fantastic beer.

Bottle. Code indicates that it was bottled on January 9th so this should be ridiculously fresh. Pours out like glowing honey. Nice and thick and orange with a slow forming 1 inch head. The aroma hits you immediately with a pungent grapefruit, peach, pine, orange combo that assaults your sense of smell. My mouth is watering just smelling this beer. The full frontal hop attack that this brew puts on you is countered nicely by a smooth malty backbone. It isn’t balanced but that’s ok. Sharp biting grapefruit, peach, and orange tastes that overpower you and I immediately know that this is the IIPA that I have been looking for. Now, I’ve had Dreadnaught and it is special, but this easily holds its own all the way. I have a bomber of Dread that I may have to side by side with this. One other thing. Don’t go thinking you can session this because that 10% will put that ass in a sling. You don’t notice it until its too late. Awesome beer, awesome brewer. Got a case of this so I should be in hop heaven for a while....

I’ve been looking for this stuff. Pours reddish gold, with a perfect white head that diminishes to a little white cap that lasts the whole beer through. Phenomenal bouquet of hops. Earthy hops, citrus hops, bright floral hops. All of that in this one. Mouthfeel is dead on, not too thin, not cloying. Lacing is great. There is a note of the honey sweetness to this, in the aroma and the taste, but it balances out nicely with the hops. Big alcohol content, but easy to drink. Could be trouble because it is sooo good, and you want to drink more after you finish a glass. But due to the rarity of this (especially in an area that can’t get it) you have to make sure not to blow through your stash. I will make this an annual task to get as much as possible when it is available. Could be my favorite beer I’ve had.

Pours a very slightly hazed perfect gold with a tall creamy and foamy almond head that has great retention (lasts until the glass is gone). Aroma is Pure beautiful hops, mostly citrus but there are some pine notes, lots of caramel, toffee and a hint of toast, melon, pineapple, green apple, sour grape, just a tiny hint of praline. Flavor is citrus and pine hops in a sea of caremel coated, toffee filled, melon balls under a sweet toasted grain sky. O.k. enough of my crappy metaphore this stuff is fantastic if you can get it and haven’t, I highly recomend that you do. The finish is toffee, grapefruit and a moderate bittereness. Palate is medium to thick, creamy, slightly sticky and fairly sweet. Overall I could honestly expect alot more hop strength to an IIPA but it more than makes up for it in sheer drinkability, Fantastic.

Wow! Really feelin this one.Poured a hazy amber with 1/4 white head. Aroma of hops and citrus. Piney/tangy finish. Another amazing product from Bells! Thanks to john-adam for the hook-up(for free).

By far the best beer Bells has brewed. Strong hoppy aroma and flavor with citrus blend. I have not had it on tap, but you can’t go wrong in the bottle.