Bells Hopslam

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

Truly outstanding from nose to aftertaste impy IPA since it is not overly sweet or have the harsh alcohol burn like many impys. Citrus note is not over the top either. Divine bitterness.

The smell is the wonderful sharp citrus aroma of hops, and the pour is a cloudy amber, with almost no head. The flavor... well, it’s hoppy, a strong citrus flavor that has the slightly oil mouthfeel of a good IIPA. Alcohol content is very well hidden, and this is amongst my favorite IIPAs to drink.

[1546-20080723] Bottle. Fresh juicy sweet navel orange peel aroma with a great hint of pine hops, reminds me of a bed of evergreen needles. Hazy, orange amber body with a long-lasting creamy off-white head. Full orange grainy hops flavour has notes of pine resin and bitter seeds, a boozy sweat finish and a long hoppy aftertaste. Medium-full body is boozy. In perfect shape, extremely enjoyable.

12 oz bottle, courtesy of StompBrockmore - pours a cloudy, glowing orange with frothy white head and lots of floating sediment that settles slowly and literally coats the glass bottom. Aroma is pure grapefruit - not the typical grapefruity west coast hops, but ACTUAL grapefruit. Like sticking your nose in a freshly cut grapefruit. Some other tropical fruits in there as well - mango and passionfruit, some lychee perhaps? I’ve NEVER smelled any beer this fresh and fruity and lively before. AMAZING. The first sip is simply stunning. All those fruit hops combine with a big malt backbone to create a superbly balanced beer. Bitter off the bat, then smooth in mid-palate, then with a fading bitter finish. Alcohol VERY well-integrated, which could prove to be dangerous if you have a few on hand (which, regrettably, I don’t). Certainly one of the best dIPAs I’ve had - this is a benchmark by which all other IPA/dIPAs should be measured. Damn - I wish this glass was a whole day long. Thank you, thank you SB.

Pours medium dark amber/copper, forms little to no foam head. Aroma strong of pine resins, hops, a bit of grapefruit and flowers. Flavour is full bodied, somewhat sweet with a hop bite that says "I want more!". Honey comes through in sweetness, simply a delightful beer, kick ass DIPA! Bought at Priscella’s in MHC.

Not the average hop dominated beer. This one has a powerful body and well balanced caramel malt flavors as well. Not as bitter as expected, but more flavorful and complex. The hops have primarily a bitter grapefruit flavor with some pine notes. Long dry finish. Barely detectable alcohol. Almost perfect, maybe a little acidic. Huge aroma

I had this on tap at Bell’s on Eccentric Day 2006 and immediately fell in love with it. Pours sort of golden brown with a frothy head. Tastes like biting into a fresh grapefruit and chewing on the rind. Goes down smooth enough to hide the alcohol. My favorite Bell’s beer...

poured from a 12oz. bottle into an oversized pilsener glass (review from Batch 7690 - bottled late Oct. 2006) A: An absolutely stunning-looking beer, all golden orange and cloudy. Forms an ample cream-colored head with massive amounts of lacing. A beaut! S: Smells delicious too, you can tell there are centennial hops in this brew (and at 100+ IBUs, a lot of them). Strong sweet floral & grapefruit aromas, HopSlam makes my mouth water. T/M: Not for the faint of heart, this is a massive DIPA, both in body, ABV & taste. Loads of sweet malts massage the tongue up front, only to quickly give way to a bruising level of juicy, bitter hoppiness. HopSlam is at once both thirst-quenching and hangover-inducing. D: If I were say, inhuman, I would drink these all day and all night. Since I’m not, I’ll say the reasonable limit is about 3-4 per night. Beyond that and you’re risking severe intoxication, as this beer is far too easy to drink given it’s 9.3-10% ABV. Highly recommended, one of the few beers that absolutely lives up to its massive hype.