Bell's Hopslam - A Late Winter Elixir

Ryan’s asked me to contribute a review to The Perfect Batch, and I’m happy to oblige, but first, a short introduction is in order. Unlike Ryan and Phil, I’m a few years post college and live in the DC area. When it comes to beer, my tastes are varied depending on my mood, the time of year, and, often, what it’s paired with. I can be happy drinking anything from a Miller Lite to a Hopback to a Chimay Grande Réserve. My favorite beers, however, tend to be the ones that carry a nice hoppy punch with a pleasant fruity balance. Unfortunately, since I’m working on my MA in philosophy right now, my time for beer drinking has been rather limited. Writing a thesis is not conducive to regular libation, but I’ll do my best to keep up, and hopefully I’ll have a bit more to contribute here when the time is right.

Ok, enough of that, let’s get the beer. About a month ago D.C. Foodies, a local blog that reviews area restaurant, posted a piece about Bell’s Hopslam. They really talked this brew up as a panacea for the dead-of-winter blues. These blues can be brutal in the dreary, gray, and mostly rainy DC winters, so I was more than eager to go in search of a tonic to at least lift the clouds in my beer drinking soul. That Saturday I trekked out to the local beer and wine mega-store and searched the aisles…first the six packs, then the cooler, then the cases, and finally the singles; my heart dropped a little more as each time I came up empty. Feeling more than a little dejected by the experience, I decided to make the last ditch effort that every guy hates…I asked if they had any in stock. Eureka! After the first clerk asked around, he discovered that they had received a shipment…only 4 cases and no more on the way - this is an extremely limited release beer that comes out January 7th and only runs into February…and still had a case in the back. I was later told that they don’t even bother putting this elixir on the shelves because of the cult following it’s gathered: if you don’t know to ask, you don’t get the brew.

Needless to say, this experience heightened my anticipation even more, so I rushed home and got one of the two six packs (at about 14 bucks a pop) into the fridge. And let me tell you…the search was well worth it. Hopslam is a towering exemplar of the double IPA style. It pours a dark amber with a dense-but-not-too-creamy white head. The aroma is strong of florally, slightly sour hops, but not so pungent as to make you feel you just stuck your nose in a fist full of hops (as some IPAs can be). The first sip comes across a little sweet, but then the hops catch up. A pleasant bitterness bites the tongue and the back of the palate at the end of each sip and lingers for quite a while. The sweetness that begins each sip and lingers through to the end is reminiscent of raisins and sweet melons and is a slight bit caramelly (maybe even a bit of molasses hidden away later in the bottle), and each swallow ends with a gentle waft of alcohol to remind you that this is one potent brew. All in all, this beer, though tremendously hoppy, is about balance. It’s a well done double IPA, perfectly hoppy with enough sweetness to mellow the palate and no surprises besides the buzz that comes on before you finish your first bottle. At an even 10% ABV it packs a wallop, and it’s just what the doctor ordered in the dead of the DC winter.