Bell's Brewery - Hopslam Ale

DIPA, 10% ABV
Hopslam is available in the winter in Bell's usual distribution circuit, which doesn't include California. I received this one as a trade.

Appearance: Copper colored, without much head or lacing to speak of. It's very clear though, and not with much visible carbonation.

Smell: I really smell the honey in this! The hops grant citrus and tropical fruit aromas, but overall the hop aroma isn't as strong as might be expected. The sweetness is more forward.

Taste: The hops lend grassy flavors, as well as sweet fruit and floral characters. There is a touch of alcohol, but not overwhelming. The honey comes after the sharper taste from the hops and mellows the bitterness, but it doesn't lessen the overall impact of flavor and taste. It finishes a bit sweet from the malt.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation is really nice here. From the pour it seemed really under-carbonated, but it actually has a light effervescence that makes for a pleasant mouthfeel. It's very light in the mouth, in contrast to the bold taste.

Overall: This doesn't really drink like a DIPA. It's pretty well balanced between the hop bitterness and malt sweetness, and though I can taste the alcohol a bit, I wouldn't have guessed that it's 10%. This is a very nice beer that I enjoyed a lot, but I think in the end my bias is still that I want stronger hop character from DIPAs. This one finished a bit sweet for me; I wanted the hop character to linger a bit more.

3.5/5

Bell's Brewery - Two Hearted Ale

IPA, 7%ABV
Bell's brews Two Hearted year-round, but it's not available here in California so I had to trade for it.

Appearance: Rich orange-gold. A thick head that leaves moderate lacing on the sides of the glass and is retained as a thin film of bubbles on top of the beer.

Smell: Powerful tropical fruit -- mango, pineapple. Some orange as well, and a backbone of sweetness. If you breathe deeply enough, you also get a dank earthy quality which is nice and breaks through the sweet fruit.

Taste: Lemon, orange zest, dirty pine and grass, biscuit. The balance here is pretty nice. The hops showcase their flavors upfront, but the malt backbone is solid and you are left with a pretty drinkable sweet bread quality.

Mouthfeel: Kind of thick, but it actually finishes pretty dry. All in all, nicely done here.

Overall: The true hophead may be underwhelmed, as balance is the name of the game with this IPA. As someone who likes very hop forward beers myself, this wouldn't be my top pick. If I were trying to introduce someone to IPAs, however? This would be a great choice. This type of balance requires skill in brewing and I can definitely respect that.

4/5