Beer Review: Bell's Hopslam

Well hello once again. As you know I went beer hunting last week and I got my hands of a few fun brews. I've got a real limited, special Michigan brew for you tonight. Bell's Hopslam is around five years old in existance, and is only brewed in a small batch in the middle of winter every year. As the name suggests, this one is a hop IED! Buckle up and get the weaklings out of the room.

A- Deep golden color with some hints of amber. The beer is quite clear, it almost looks like a pale ale. Oohh how wrong you would be! A white head rises to 3/4 inch and sloowly falls.

S- Here is where the truth comes out. When I get a whiff of the beer it's as if I have thrust my nose into a grapefruit! The citrus powers here are unreal, but below that grapefruity scent there's a bed of grassiness that's almost real enough to go rolling around in. All hops, all the time with this one.

T- Deep breath...it hits you like a rouge wave broadsides a ship the nano-second it hits your tounge. Daaayyyuumm!!! This beer is so full of hop resin that you would swear you were chewing on one. The harsh (or amazing) plant's taste is there start to finish. She's a shape shifter; one second citrus...grapefruit, then grass and earth and back! The citrus elements steal the show here, they show up on regions of the pallet, quite a floral flavor.

M- Mouthcoating is putting it nicely, shnikeys! You really have to have an appreciation for the hop if you want to enjoy this beer, otherwise you'll be overwhelmed. The sheer magnitude of the hop resin is what I take away from this one.

D- Ummm, yeah. I know that's not the proper way to start a sentence but this isn't your everyday beer. This one smashed right through AP and APA writing requirements and into the land so far beyond that only a select few have a priviledge of tagging along. To answer the question, one is all you need. Sip, savor and thank God for the hop flower.

** I haven't had this beer in over two years, if you can't tell. I'm enjoying it thoroughly, but it really is a wake-up call to my senses. Proceed with caution, and if you respect it, it will be wonderful.