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

RB transfer

 

 

 

 

 

honey

Exceptional. Delicious, beautiful, more than sum of parts. Honey brings that muddy sweet presence for me. Not my fav part. The hops and grain bones are stupendous. Only bells can really nail this. Pretty cool.

 

Poured from can to pint glass...not an aggressive pour but holy smokes the amount of foam/carbonation. Was like the can was shaken! After 3 finger head dissipation, a very nice darker golden hue (honey hue?) perhaps a bit darker than most doubles. Brewed with honey but I didn't get much honey on the nose. But there is certainly honey in the profile. Strong hops and definite honey notes, and the 10% ABV is hidden well. This will fool you...goes down very smooth for a 10%er. Smooth and almost velvety mouth feel for such a hoppy brew, lingers a bit on the back of the tongue but finishes nicely. A very fine brew.

 

Love this. One of the best beers overall. Wonderfully balanced. Hoppy but malty, and the homey fermentation makes this amazing.

 

 

Perfectly balanced DIPA . Pine, honey,t ropical and stone fruits in aroma. Strong, hoppy bitterness with a distinct malty backbone. Wonderful combination of hops.

12oz can purchased at the Total Wine in north Spokane. Best by March 9, 2025, per the stamp on the bottom of the can. This is a very long time want for me, one of those legendary beers I learned about when I first became a beer geek that did not then get distribution anywhere near Washington state.

Poured into a shaker pint glass, this was a quickly chill-hazed orange-amber color, with a thick, rocky, beige colored head. Lots and lots of lace.

Fruity and citrusy hop aroma up front, but there's a sizeable, sweet malt scent there as well.

The flavor is hoppy up front, and is more complex than in the nose. Citrusy, grapefruity flavors vie with a strawberry-like stone fruit sweetness. Midway through, a sweet, caramel & bread like maltiness pushes through, along with some piney hop notes in the fadeout.

Medium bodied, with a fairly oily mouth feel.

I'd call this a typical Midwest attempt at a West Coast style double IPA. It's good, but it won't make me prefer it over the genuine article when I can find it. I've been wanting to try this one for a long, long time, and I'm glad to have done so, but I'm not exactly sure I will find myself wanting to try it again.

12 oz. can marked BBO 09MAR25 1242. Poured a rusty gold translucent color into a Singha stemmed tulip glass with an off white uneven 2 finger frothy head, and good retention that levels out to a button cap leaving plenty of fine lacing behind. Aromas of orange peel, roasted malt, earthy pine and grass are prevalent with some notes of honey in the background. Taste follows nose with a bitterness throughout and sweetness form the honey & malts to balance it out in the finish. Medium to full bodied with slight carbonation on the tongue which hides the 10% ABV very well. This is such a well-balanced ale that should be on everyone's list to try.

It’s been years since I’ve had this. Finally found it again, and it still does not disappoint! One of my favorite indulgent IPAs. Rich, creamy mouthfeel, solid white head that retains well, piney smell with a malty texture, and well masked ABV…but the honey is the kicker! It transforms this beer into something special. If you’ve never had it, you’re missing out.

Looks like a typical IPA, maybe slightly darker and more amber.
Smells very citrus forward.
Tastes strongly of orange. Really overpowering with the citrus flavor. I don't really get any of the honey, unless the honey they used tasted strongly of citrus.
Feel is typical of a lager, runny.
Overall it's alright, very bright and sunny feeling for a pretty high AVB IPA. Wasn't what I was expecting with a name like hopslam, thought it'd be more hoppy. I guess if it's like all citra hops and maybe orange peel flavoring that would explain it. Would not buy again.