Hopslam Ale
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

 

 

Well got a real bad batch with emphasis on drink by dates which really shouldn’t be allowed to use. That’s not an honest way to distribute beer cause of environmental affects that make the beer lose its taste. The average rookie consumer will not be able to judge to buy the beer or not. My two six packs were poured out and 40 bucks went down the drain too. Bought in November with the carton saying best by January 24 th. Guess what the bottom of the can revealed? January 2036. Now I haven’t a clue when it was canned. No recourse from Bells as I expected. Just another who cares.

 

It seems as though Hopslam’s popularity has fallen off since its heyday about 15 years ago. This is not justified by the quality of this brew. This beer is as good as ever. Just purchased a few six packs of a 10/24 canned on date. Terrific balance of malt, hops, sweetness, and a bit of a booziness. I look forward to its release every year, now in October. This is a true classic and belongs in the beer Hall of Fame.

 

12oz can (best by 1/3/2024, so packaged 10/3/2023) into a tulip. Pours a honey golden amber with a monstrous fluffy off-white head, nice clumpy lacing clings to the inside of the glass.

Aroma is resinous and piney; sweet bready malt and I’d guess mostly Simcoe, Centennial, and Amarillo hops in abundance. Some grapefruit rind.

Taste is a blast of sweet fruity malt and resinous, citrusy hops. Honey evident. Lots of pine, grapefruit, hop oils. Then more resin and pine. Some alcohol. Intense. This beer just grabs your palate by the throat and takes no prisoners.

Mouthfeel is full-bodied, chewy, slick. Tongue-coating. Sticks with you.

Overall I’d consider this a “statement” beer. It’s strong, bold, unapologetic. Still it manages to hold a tight balance between the solid malt bill and copious hops, so it’s clearly well crafted. Nicely done.

 

I always grab a few six packs of this legend when it comes out every January -ish. Seems much easier to find the past few years but absolutely a must try beer. I've always loved the faint taste and mouthfeel of honey hidden behind the massive hops and malt. One of the best beers i've ever had.

 

Excellent DIPA. One of the best. Only drawback is that it has a pretty strong alcoholic aroma and taste which people may not prefer. Really good but just not quite in the same level as a Heady Topper or Pliny the Elder.

This is the best Imperial IPA that I've had so far. 4.45/5 is too low. Firstly, the smell and taste is exactly what a West Coast Imperial IPA should taste like. The hops are complex and massive, but balanced with the malt and the sweetness. The overall taste is not like a 10% ABV beer, but tastes more like something that is 8%. I would really like to compare it to both Heady Topper and Pliny the Elder, but this is the best beer that Bells Brewery makes.

 

 

 

 

 

Was expecting a little better with such a high rating. Overall it is definitely better than most, would probably buy again.

 

Here's a hot take: I don't think this is a good beer. Perhaps I got a bad batch last time, but it just didn't have the flavor profile I'd expect from a beer that almost cracks the top 250. The honey seemed to reduce the supposed "Hopslam" down to more of a "hop nudge". This meant any flavor complexity seemed to disappear as well. In this case, I think the high ABV is also detrimental as it tastes very alcoholic, and therefore heavy. Too bad, 'cause it's a heck of a value at Costco.