Bell's HopSlam!

Long time, no write. Life has been hectic, but filled with good beer. I wish I had eeked in some other reviews, but why not kick back in with a beer from one of my favorite American breweries. This one came to me by way of on Mr. Jon Whitaker. Thank you!

This pours about as I would expect, a rich caramel orange, with a small, but active white head. The head isn't that big, and fades quickly to a ring around the glass. This, however, remains through the consumption of the beer. There is some lacing that leaves a sticky, but patchy trail. This is a pretty double IPA. Haha, who'd have thought I'd be digging on DIPA's of all things. I feel like I can get into just about any style anymore, as long as it is well done. The world may yet make a hophead out of me.

This smells like someone applying a heat source to a hop field. Perhaps someone baking some hopped sugar cookies. There is plenty of sweetness in the nose, biscuit, if not cookie bring up the backbone of the malt. The hops are succulent, you can almost see the oil dripping off the cones if you close your eyes. Grapefruit, orange, and more citrus than I can succinctly describe.

DELICIOUS!!! I picture this as the juice of some divine citrus fruit. It is neither pure hop, nor citric, nor floral, but a lovely combination of all of these and more. The malt is sufficient to keep pace, but doesn't dominate. There is a savory quality here, despite the sweetness. This is balance. So many hop oriented beers lose track of what it is to be a beer. This does not.

The mouthfeel is soft, but oily. The hop oils here are readily apparent. A bit of effervescense is present, but not too much. This one just works.

Overal: Superb. 95/100. I wouldn't change a thing about this beer.

Bell's Winter White Ale

Managerial duties are starting to make sense to me. Up until this week, I simply attempted to lead by example. I would do work, help, pick up slack, etc. However, this did not seem to work. I actually have to be a boss, which seems a touch counter-intuitive for me. However, the quality of work has gone up dramatically since the change. I haven't been at work 60 hours a week, only 40-45. I have time for life again!

I'm cleaning out my beer back stock in preparation for another Missouri trip. I figure the leftover winter beers need to go first. I am looking forward to this one (Bell's Winter White) as it isn't another spiced brown ale. I am not a huge fan of winter spices in beer. Whites aren't exactly my favorite style, though I've had quite a few for reasons outside of personal preference.

This one pours a murky straw-yellow. Pristine white head foams up quickly, but settles into a thin, patchy layer. After a couple swirls, there is some lacing, but this quickly falls back into the beer. Other than that, this is pretty standard white ale.

Smells a bit tangy. I'm getting hints of coriander, orange, bready yeast. Lots of pale and wheat malts. I'm not really picking up any hops in this. Seems spot on for style. I'm going to make a leap of faith (...) and guess that the taste is going to follow in suit. We shall see.

Surprise! The taste is lots of wheat and yeast tang. Coriander seems to fill the role of hops, and provides balance. Finish is tangy and dry, with just a touch of orange to it. This is one of the better white ales I've had in awhile, and would provide a nice switch from a more mass produced item such as Hoegaarden or Blue Moon. The style just seems to be stagnating right now. I wish I had gotten a hold of Bell's 8000th batch to see if that pushed the style a bit more.

The body on this is medium thin, and fits the style. Strong carbonation makes this an easy drinker. Drinks almost like soda in some ways.

Overall an excellent white ale, but in my opinion the style still leaves something to be desired. Final score: 86