Saturday night at home with Bell's Hopslam Ale - © Michael Warth
Bell’s Hopslam Ale and pizza! Alright, it may be a bit more “hop heavy” than necessary for pizza night, but this is still a pretty awesome double IPA style beer. I purchased a six-pack last weekend at Ozzy’s in Waverly, in the hopes to review the beer for an upcoming issue of Alternative Revolt Magazine. Not sure if I will do an article of this beer or not, but I wanted to share my first impressions with you all here at The Thirsty Muse first.
When the pizza arrived I had a choice between two flavors of beer and I opted for Bell’s Hopslam Ale. The double IPA style is a winter seasonal (10% ABV) beer produced by Bell’s Brewery, Inc., of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
My first impressions are;
- The overall appearance of this beer is quite inviting.
- The hops, though quite pronounced, are very well balanced. “Hopslam” is an accurate name for the beer, but it may scare some away.
- Not a perfect choice for a loaded pizza; however, the beer has a clean citrusy finish that I enjoy.
I’m not sure if I will end up using this beer as a feature beer in my “Hopping Mad” column. Next month is the 2 year anniversary of the magazine, and I was hoping to get my hands on a Norwegian craft beer (there’s still time). Furthermore, every beer I have featured in the magazine since October 2011, have received fair reviews. I know there are people who like beer that is yellow, served ice-cold, and lacks flavor. I may need to hit the local carry-out so I can grab a $10 case and rip it up. I’m just not keen on bashing a beer I know I won’t like, and I don’t want to alienate the readers who actually like a regular beer.
Chances are if you are reading my beer rants, you like full flavored beer too. And you can understand why one should avoid the mass produced beer if they drink craft beer or even a lot of great imports (shameless Guinness plug goes here). At any rate, my hop-head friends would like Bell’s Hopslam Ale…as for the other readers, you better try something with a little less flavor. But please, work your taste preferences up to this beer as it is a great beer.
- Cheers
Along the same lines as Hopslam, Smuttynose IPA is worth a taste (or 6). It’s quite citrusy, but it’s far more orange than grapefruit like you get with Hopslam. Just finished a 6 pack over the past couple of days, and I’m headed back to the store this evening for more. You might find it at the place in Waverly. Smuttynose is a New Hampshire brewery.
It sounds very refreshing, thanks Jim. I’ll definitely look this beer up.