Bell's Hopslam RELEASE: January // THE ABV. 10.0% | IBU’s. ? // THE NOSE: Beeswax, Pine, Peach Sorbet, Cream Cheese, Candy Apple, Golden Syrup, Strawberry Ice Cream, Pineapple // THE TASTE: Pink Grapefruit Juice, Cucumber, Starfruit, Hot Buttered Toast, Maraschino Cherry, Fresh Jalapeño, Black Licorice // THE BOTTOMLINE: Hoptea would also be an apt name for this ridiculously refined bottle conditioned IPA. Pouring a fresh bottle of Hopslam into a glass unleashes a literal mushroom cloud of distilled pine needle and citrus peel aromas the likes of which most noses have never experienced. Upon first sip the mouth is overtaken to the point of numbness by possibly the most domineering pure hop character this side of actually chewing a handful of freshly plucked hop flowers. It’s easy to see why this ale of utter excellence and limited availability, is considered a rite of passage for hopheads proclaiming their love of the hop juice. Rightly mythologized, revered and exulted, this to my palate comes but within a hair's-breadth of the truly blissful and equally heralded, Pliny The Elder by Russian River. // THE BACKBONE: Honey, Loads of Hops // PRICE POINT: $17 | 6x 12oz bottles // 71 6 2010-01-14T23:34:31-05:00 Brew Review #101 104 image/jpeg Bell_s_Hopslam.jpg 147058 2010-01-20T00:26:59-05:00 96 2010-01-24T00:45:03-05:00