northernbrews (18), Allen Park, Michigan, USA
| 4.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 5/5 | 18/20 |
Jan 29, 2009 Updated: Mar 31, 2009
Can Larry Bell live up to the hype again?
12oz. bottle purchased from Top Shelf Liquor in Allen Park.
As soon as I pop the cap, the excellent aroma lets me know I’m in for something special.
Appearance: Pours a nice golden orange hue. This is slightly hazy due to the yeast that I poured into my Bell’s snifter. Nice off-white head with nice lacing. Very inviting...
Smell: What an excellent aroma. Starts with a slight hop burn follow by grapefruit, pine, and citrus. You can almost taste the hops...My fricking mouth is watering.
Taste: Tastes just like the aroma. Nice hops up front with grapefruit, pine and citrus notes. Malts come to the party later on to add a beautiful balance to this masterpiece.
Mouthfeel: Nice smooth mouthfeel. The hops hang around for a bit and coat the tongue and roof of my mouth.
Drinkability: I could definitely put back a sixer of these, but I’d rather savor this bad ass Double IPA with one or two. Hoppy, malty, and exceptionally balanced.
The first time I tried this, I had it next to Rouge I2PA and DFH 90 min. IPA. This was exceptional compared to the other two. The Rouge wasn’t too bad, but the 90 tasted like a malty barleywine. I used to think the 90 was a hop-bomb....not anymore. I would love to try this next to Dreadnaught...from memory, they are similar except for the fact the a 22oz of Dreadnaught was $9 and a sixer of Hopslam came out to be about $12.
Once again, Larry and the Bell’s crew put out an excellent beer. If it’s not the best double IPA, then it’s definitely in the top five. This should be the new benchmark for the style. Hopefully Bell’s decide to make this a more regular offering. Pick this up if you see it...you will not be disappointed.
slayer02348 (77), , Michigan, USA
| 4.4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Jan 2, 2010 Piney, citrusy, hoppy aroma. Pours out a hazy golden with a half inch white head. Goes down very smooth, thin mouthfeel. Hides its 10% abv very well, has a hoppy taste, as expected, with some flowery citrus as well.
 Ethereal (1707), London, Greater London, England
| 3.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 14/20 |
Dec 30, 2009 Bottle shared with tashi at my "All my US bottles from GBBF need drinking" tasting, 16th Aug 09. This bottle came from the Cracked Kettle in Amsterdam however. Golden amber with a peristent small white head. Alcohol is noticeable, no matter what some previous raters say. Very clean tasting - no hefty aftertaste, a bit short, but there is some lasting hop bitterness & alcohol warmth. Swirling it releases some nice grassy & floral North American hop aromas, but this certainly didn’t live up to its billing. I preferred the Double Daddy and Union Jack that I’d drunk earlier in the evening to this, let alone the likes of Ruination.
NoiZe (1382), Mooi Zeist, Netherlands
| 4.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 18/20 |
Dec 8, 2009 Orange coloured brew. Lovely hoppy aroma, pine. Flavor is hoppy, grapefruit, pine. Smooth. Perfect DIPA.
Kace (6), Plymouth, Michigan, USA
does not count  | 5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 10/10 | 5/5 | 10/10 | 5/5 | 20/20 |
Nov 28, 2009 Wow! One of my personal favorites, extremely flavorful with a nice bite and great aroma.
coldmeat23 (233), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 9/10 | 3/5 | 17/20 |
Nov 23, 2009 BATCH #8277(01-09-08) This one is a year old. I’ll review a fresh one, once I can track down a bottle. Someday....
Nice, hazy, dark golden honey colored liquid. Two-finger head of thick off-white colored foam. Great retention and thick, sticky lacing.
Nice citrus hops are still big with this one. Orange and grapefruit, mostly. Hint of pine. Nice caramel malt presence, now. Nice floral quality.
Hops have definitely mellowed out. Quite abit, I’d guess. Still has a nice piney/grapefruity quality. Also has quite the caramel malt backbone, now. It’s really a very balanced beer, right at this point. The honey is easily detectable, also, and I find it to be a very nice component in this brew.
Good solid medium body. Almost sticky, the way it coats your mouth. Traces of it stay there, even after you swallow, then slowly make their way down your throat.
At this age, I find this to be a super drinkable beer. Very well balanced and all around tasty.
DJMonarch (6941), Northwich, Cheshire, England
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Nov 22, 2009 From the Bottle at the Marriott Hotel, Denver 25/09/2009
Big hop aroma. Golden coloured hoppy and smooth on the palate with a crisp and slightly dry malt finish.
Sean9689 (52), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Nov 15, 2009 I really like this DIPA although it tastes almost like a IPA because I’m reviewing this in March. Burnt orange in color after pouring the bottle into a tulip. Medium carbonation and a nice hoppy/citrus smell...also some sweetness. Sweet aftertaste, which I like along with hops...yum! No real aftertaste to me, very clean finish on the palate. I don’t think I’d guess this beer was 10%...tastes more like 6% or so...very deceiving! I could probably drink 2-3 in one session but that’s about it.
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