A couple of days ago I was sending a fax in the brewery offices when my coworker Jeremy approached me and handed me a bottle of Hopslam Ale from Bell’s Brewing of Comstock, MI. Bell’s doesn’t distribute this far east so I was pretty pumped to try it, especially after hearing so much about it over the past year.
“A biting, bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale. Â With a name like Hopslam, what did you expect?” – printed on the back of the label.
Appearance: Â Hazy, light amber color with deep orange hues. Â Poured with a thin, white foam lace on top. Â Strong, visible carbonation in the glass.
Aroma: Sharp scent of dark fruits (cherries). Â Also some pineapple, tropical fruits towards the finish. Â Pungent, resinous hop overload. Subtle but complex biscuit malt aromas compliment the hops nicely. Â Candy. Â Gives off a slight warning to the 10% ABV in the nose. Â Very fresh in respect to the marked packaging date of 12/29/11. Â Not the youngest Hopslam out there I’m sure but still holds up nicely.
Taste: Â Very smooth. Delicious hop flavor…absolutely delicious. Â Hops coat your entire mouth. Â Perfect level of carbonation helps promote the balance between malt and hops. Â Definitely get that dark cherry flavor up front but then it gives way to the more tropical hop flavors at work. Â This ale is brewed with honey and you can definitely taste the subtleness of it.
Overall Thoughts?: Â Wow. Â This beer was rated in RateBeer’s Top 10 Craft Beers for 2011 and definitely deserves to be there. Â Just the perfect combination of malt complexity and hop-forwardness which hides the strong alcohol so well. Â It’s definitely bitter, but not as bitter as I thought it would be. Â The hop flavor really lingers in the aftertaste, just like after eating a bunch of Starbursts. Â Really good. Â Really creamy. An excellent version of an Imperial IPA. Â Hats off to the brew staff at Bell’s…Anyone who’s a fan of big and smooth Imperial IPAs must seek this one out. Â I love the label too.
Unofficial Rating: A+