BEER REVIEW: Hopslam Ale
Each year, through the folks at Bell’s Brewery, God himself blesses the nation with some of the best beer known to man: Hopslam Ale.
While I don’t consider myself a religious person, I can only assume that some type of higher power is behind this hops-packed ambrosia.
Although it’s brewed in Kalamazoo, I swear this double India pale ale comes straight from heaven.
But there’s a catch.
Bell’s only brews the beer on a short seasonal basis, and the demand is beginning to greatly outweigh the supply. Sending out the first batches in January, the brewery typically sells out, at least in Michigan, by early March – leaving a limited timeframe and dwindling selection to get your Hopslam on.
In fact, I’m beginning to worry that Mount Pleasant has run completely dry.
My favorite Wednesday hangout, The Bird, just finished their last keg a couple of weeks ago. Most liquor stores – and believe me, I’ve called – exhausted their supplies within the first couple weeks of release.
However, if you’re lucky enough to still get your hands on a six-pack or a tall draft, you’re in for one hell of a smooth, hop-filled treat.
At $19.99 per six-pack or around $6 a draft, Hopslam isn’t the most affordable beer for college students drinking on a budget. But if you can bring yourself to pay the price, at 10 percent ABV, it’s worth the drink.
Hopslam, like the name implies, is slammed with hops. Brewed with six varietals and finished with a massive dry-hopping of Simcoe hops – this beer offers quite a kick.
Paired with an aromatic blend of grapefruit, stone fruit and floral notes, and finished with a dollop of honey, this ale is surprisingly smooth for being so strong.
It’s definitely bitter, like I’ve grown to expect and enjoy with IPAs, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. With a generous malt bill and what Bell’s calls its “most complex hopping schedule” in their repertoire, Hopslam offers a strong, perfectly blended and tropical citrus taste.
Look: 10
Smell: 9.6
Taste: 10
Feel: 9.5
Overall: 9.78/10
