Bell’s Hop Slam

by John on March 5, 2009 · 4 comments

I went over to Sidetracks Bar & Grill last night for a tasty burger with goat cheese, sweet potato fries, and spinach, artichoke, and crab dip. If you’re not from the Ypsilanti area, you are really missing out. Visit their website and if you’re ever in the area, you need to make a visit. During the Winter, my go to beer is Bell’s Winter White, which is a delicious wheat beer that has some citrus and spice flavors. If you don’t live in an area that distributes Bell’s, I feel sorry for you. It’s based in Kalamazoo, but I have heard people from as far away as North Carolina say they have seen Bell’s beer for sale there. Anyways, Sidetracks was advertising Bell’s Hop Slam, which is on very limited release during the Winter season only (January and February, keg only).

Bell’s Hop Slam is an I.P.A. that is advertised to contain more hops in a pint than 8 pints of Budweiser. If you’re not familiar with “hops”, they are to beer what lemon is to lemon aid. It is a bittering ingredient without which, beer would be coyling sweet. Hops also add the aroma to your beer. Pretty much all you need to know, is hops create the balance between bitter and sweet. If you like sweeter beer, less hops. If you are a fan of bitters, more hops.

The beer was almost what I expected, but so much more. The amount of hops created a perfect balance between sweet and bitter. The strong taste of BEER existed, but it also contained a delicious citrusy sweet flavor. Add in the fact that it’s 11% alcohol, and you have a pretty impressive beer there.

Share:
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • Twitter
  • del.icio.us

Related Posts :

  • Last night the girlfriend and I headed over to Sidetrack Bar & Grill , which I like to call God' s gift to Ypsilanti, for a beer and mini-burger tasting.  They had five pairings of beer and a ...

  • We started out with 64, and now there are only eight beers left.  The empties of the first 56 are strewn about like leftovers from a house party, except at this house party the guests brought Natt ...

  • It's officially HopSlam season, which means that we are privileged to one of the best beers on earth from January 7th until mid February.  This double IPA is a must for any hop fiend and beer ...

  • I know I promised a series of Oktoberfest beer reviews, and many of those are still coming.  For now I will expand the series to include any other seasonal fall release that I see fit.  Why?  Beca ...

  • We are advancing closer to the final four, and unlike some pampered princess’ super sweet sixteen celebration, ours will include no alcho-pops.  Just beer, and we are mostly down to some really gr ...

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Sarah March 6, 2009 at 9:47 pm

Three weeks until I get to sample this brewery’s finest beers straight from the tap. Be jealous..

Sara March 7, 2009 at 12:28 pm

I tried the Bell’s “Hopslam Ale” last night at Sidetracks and really liked it. It’s interesting that it only comes in a pint because it has 11% alcohol…you know I ordered a Tall and was refused.

Craig April 15, 2009 at 3:09 pm

It’s not just draft only(thank god), six packs are $13.99-$16.99 and usually start to disappear around early-mid March.

John April 15, 2009 at 3:46 pm

Damn, missed my chance there. Next year, I guess.

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: