The Best of 2009: #1

AleSmith IPA

Brewery: AleSmith, San Diego, California

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 7.25%

Rating: 5 stars


Since I've let these rankings drag well into 2010, the motivation to write extensive reviews is lacking. I've also been spending mucho tiempo preparing for imminent child birth, caring for my bed-resting wife and getting another blog up and running.

I'll give you a little background on where this one came from, though. We were in Phoenix in early December for a wedding, and I wanted to pick up a sampling of high-class West Coast brews we can't get here in the Great White North. I bought about a dozen bombers, including Deschutes The Abyss, Port Brewing Wipeout IPA, Lost Coast Indica IPA and Left Coast Hop Juice. Our free drinking time in Arizona was limited, so I had to smuggle five of them back in my airplane luggage. All five made it successfully.

So there I was, in my kitchen a few days later, with a tulip glass and a giant bottle of AleSmith IPA. This was very exciting. Simply put, it was the perfect IPA. Floral and lively, bitter and sticky, potent but drinkable. And fairly cheap!

If I was a Californian, though my IPA options would be massive, I'd find it difficult to make a pass through a beer store without grabbing one. Or more. I guess I don't have anything more to say.

The Best of 2009: #2

Surly Wet

Brewery: Surly, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 7%

Rating: 5 stars

Wet hop/fresh hop beers were all over the place this year, especially this fall, and though I may be a bit biased, Surly's was the best. For reference, here are the others I had and how I rated them:

Minneapolis Town Hall Fresh Hop 2009: 3.5 stars. Needed more balance, though I realize that's a difficult task for a fresh hopped beer. Tasted sweaty.

Two Brothers Heavy Handed: 4 stars for both Cascade and Willamette versions. Cascade had delicious burps. Willamette was a bit creamier.

Founders Dry Hopped Pale Ale: 4 stars. Lighter hops, metallic backbone.

Avery Dry Hopped IPA: 3.5 stars. Incredibly bitter. Smelled like clover.

Boulder Hazed and Infused: 3.5 stars. A good beer. As you can see, most of these are solid. But not that memorable.

Left Hand Warrior IPA: 4.5 stars. Easily my favorite beer from this brewery. Round flavor, lasting bitterness.

Great Divide Fresh Hop: 4.5 stars. "Better than Surly Wet? Close, but not quite. Delicious Delicious."

Deschutes Hop Trip: 3.5 stars. Sweetest of the bunch.

Like I said, fresh hopped beers were everywhere. So what separates Surly's effort from the rest? I don't know. Maybe it was because I was on hand for the beer's release. Everything tastes better when it's being unveiled for the first time. And accompanied by spring rolls. Maybe it's because I love that Surly touch; the grapefruit, the huge roof-of-your-mouth pull you get after every sip.

Perhaps, though, it was because this wet hopper, as opposed to most on the list above, improved as I emptied it. These beers have a tendency to wear me out after a full 12 or 16 ounces. This one had just the right amount of balance to accompany the big hop pulse. Don't get me wrong, I love my hops as much as the next guy. But this one didn't have the 'eating a hop plant' bluntness that many do. At the time of my first tasting, I called it a triumph. And I stand by that statement.

The Best of 2009: #3

New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red

Brewery: New Glaurs, New Glarus, Wisconsin

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 5.1%

Rating: 5 stars


Prior to having this, I'd had two kinds of cherry beers: the incredibly sour kriek, and the cough-syrup sweet nastiness. I expected this one to fall into the sour category, but I was quite wrong. Not to say, obviously, that that was a bad thing.

This beer is brewed with handfuls of Wisconsin cherries, and the flavor is not that of a cherry-flavored beer, but a mouth-coating cherry spritzer that happened to have fermented. It tasted like cherry pie in a glass. By far the best fruit beer I've had, and one that I'd present to guests. Now, if only we could get New Glarus in Minnesota.

(These reviews are getting shorter the longer I let them drift. Top two coming this week, promise.)

The Best of 2009: #4

Town Hall Mango Mama

Brewery: Minneapolis Town Hall, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6%

Rating: 5 stars

It took me far too long to give the mangoed version of Town Hall's Masala Mama a look. There was some initial hesitance: Kristie is allergic to mangoes and mango flavor (yeah, we don't get dessert that much), and therefore we never have them around the house. Also, mangoes aren't near the top of my favorite fruits list (pineapple is). And why mess with an already outstanding IPA? Masala Mama, sadly available only on location, is one of the can't-miss IPAs of the upper midwest.

The positive reviews kept pouring in from friends, though the online responses are strikingly polar. It seems to be a love it or hate it beer, with the haters citing the overpowering mango. More fruit than hops. You can see why this would be a concern of mine due to my distaste for mangoes. In fact, earlier in the year I got my hands on a Virgin Islands Tropical Mango, and compared the taste to paint chips.

Well, the first sip of Mango Mama eased my worries. The detractors' point is not lost: the mango is very strong in both the smell and the initial lip smack. It's big, but not bigger than the Masala hops, which carry the beer out the back of your mouth. An extremely pleasant finish.

How good was this beer? Near the end of our June patio stay, a moth found its way into the last swig of my beer. As it struggled, I weighed my options: give up on the final sip due to contamination fears, or fish the moth out and finish the beer, consequences be damned.

I finished the beer.

The Best of 2009: #5

Russian River Publication

Brewery: Russian River, Santa Rosa, California (collaborative: see below)

Style: Saison

ABV: 8%

Rating: 5 stars

That's me, enjoying my Russian River Publication at Denver's Falling Rock Tap House, the stop for any beer lover visiting the Rocky Mountain State. A great selection of draughts, and the most beer paraphernalia I've ever seen assembled in one place.

So here's the back story on Publication. Russian River owner and brewer Vinnie Cilurzo, along with members of beer bars Toronado (San Francisco), Horse Brass Pub (Portland), Brouwers (Seattle), Monk's Cafe (Philadelphia) and Falling Rock Tap House (Denver), formed a brewing group called the Publican National Committee. Publication, a strong saison modeled after Orval, is the PNC's inaugural beer.

I'm not sure I have all the details correct, so that's as much as I feel comfortable saying.

Now, it doesn't hurt that Orval is one of my favorite beers, so I went in assuming I would like it. And a draught only, limited release beer from Russian River--a brewery whose beers don't make it close to Minnesota? This I could not pass up.

The look certainly reminded of Orval: light, sparkling and highly carbonated. Some white grape and other delicate fruits, but the brett smell is the star. Live yeast, that is, for non beer jargoners. I promised to leave out the jargon, but you say brett and beer lovers can smell it instantly. Funky and champagne-like.

Easy drinking, especially for the bumped-up ABV. Again, the live yeast hits hard at the finish and is the lasting impression of the brew. A bit tart, sour, and with that lovely sparkle that makes it feel like a classy beverage. I can't say it was better than Orval (though I've had some bad Orval), but I'd love to be able to taste them back to back. Sadly, I don't see that ever happening.

This was the last beer I had on our five-day Colorado trip, and I'm glad I dragged the family to Falling Rock before we boarded the return flight.

The Best of 2009: #6

Struiselensis

Brewery: De Struise, Oostvleteren, Belgium

Style: Sour Ale

ABV: 6%

Rating: 5 stars

A gem find from a Christmas '08 trip to Sioux Falls. I had a handful of Struise beers to choose from, and randomly selected this sparkling sour ale.

Sour doesn't do this one justice. This is as tart as the tartest candy; enough to make your eyes water. Lots of funky yeast, too. The carbonation is great; I preferred it super cold, like a sparkling cold duck the kids drink on New Years. Floral, lemony and bright.

Yet with all these potent flavors and funks, it finished gently and was shockingly easy to drink. I like challenging my taste buds in all aspects of cuisine; whether it be a vinegar tart beer, a super spicy dish or pungent olive, and I don't mind a challenging sour. This one was not challenging, and I'd venture to guess that your average beer drinker might even enjoy a glass of this. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this bottle in Minnesota, though I haven't scoured the shelves completely. Hopefully I'll find it again soon. I've never driven as far as Sioux Falls just for a beer, but I'm not putting it completely out of the question.

The Best of 2009: #7

Three Floyds Alpha King

Brewery: Three Floyds, Munster, Indiana

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 6%

Rating: 5 stars

I was lucky enough in 2009 to get my hands on a few Three Floyds offerings, and Alpha King barely nudged out the Dreadnaught Imperial IPA as my favorite.

It's simply a perfect pale ale. It starts with a potent hoppy aroma--obvious Centennials and Cascades. The musky, unfiltered texture makes it creamy but smooth. At 6%, it's incredibly drinkable, and as far as drink-in-bulk beers go, this is by far the best I've had. There's enough depth and flavor to enjoy a single bottle, but if I had time and an empty stomach, a six pack wouldn't stretch my stamina.

The hops carry over to the taste, with a nice biscuit malt giving the beer balance and substance. Pale ales have a tendency to go one of two ways: hops overpowering the malt, or malt overpowering the hops. This one does neither and it's that balance that sets it apart from the standard, bland offerings you so often get from craft breweries.

I snagged my six pack on a summer visit to the Chicago area, but now that it's available just across the border, I see many more of these in my near future.

April's Fools and Finds

My latest batch of samplings has been incredibly polar. In the past week, I've added two five-stars to my tally (giving me ten out of my 360 rated beers), but have also been let down and borderline disgusted by a couple others. No more intro time wasted here. First the misses.

Tyranena Paradise by the Dashboard Lights

Brewery: Tyranena, Lake Mills, Wisconsin

Style: Imperial Porter

ABV: 7.5%

Rating: 3 stars




Don't confuse: I'm all about imperial porters, and I think we'll be seeing more of them soon. Here are the issues. I've noticed with Tyranena beers more than any other that the bottled versions fall far short of their draught counterparts. This was the case with Hop Whore, Scurvy, and now Paradise. Though I haven't had it on tap, I imagine it is much livelier, as the others were. In a bottle, it bogs you down.

Perhaps my taste buds weren't firing this particular night, or perhaps I had unfair expectations of the cherry aspect of this beer, but I didn't find it. And this from a Brewers Gone Wild! beer? I thought subtlety was an afterthought in this series.

More troubling was the beer's deterioration throughout the drinking process. I would given it a far more favorable rating if I'd only had a 4 oz sample, but by the last few gulps, this one had lost most of its bite. Got flat and dull on me.

This is one I'd try again, because I want to like it. Rather, I want to not dislike it.


Left Hand Juju Ginger

Brewery: Left Hand, Longmont, Colorado

Style: Herb/Spice Beer

ABV: 4%

Rating: 1.5 stars




On tap at the Happy Gnome. I am a huge ginger guy, love to use it when I cook, love me some ginger ale, ginger beer. I like ginger. Naturally, I was intrigued by a beer that substitutes freshly ground ginger root in place of half the hops.

Results were not favorable on this day. It smelled good, with major ginger punch bursting through. Big ginger is fine in the aroma, but it was too much for me when it came to the actual taste. It felt halfway between a natural ginger beer or real ginger ale and a beer with ginger notes. Not quite as refreshing as the former, not as punchy as the latter. I guess I'd rather have a full commitment. I want either a non-alcoholic, beautifully blended ginger ale or a satisfying, quenching beer with some ginger notes added. That's just me, I guess.

Now, the successes.

Surly 16 Grit

Brewery: Surly, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Style: Imperial IPA

ABV: 9%

Rating: 5 stars

Putting this tasting off for a while, for reasons unknown. Maybe because I'm a bit tired of hop juggernauts these days. Everyone's doing a double IPA, and it's not hard to please me. I'd like to be a little more discerning. With that said, I imagined it would be hard for me to not like this beer. Surly, at this point, gets the benefit of the doubt on just about everything they do, and they deserve it.

The amarillo hops were beautiful in this one, and while I'm not too familiar with glaciers or warriors, I can't help but think they helped as well. I liked this one initially, but had fallen heavy for it by the end of the glass. If you can work me from a 4- to a 5-star in one tasting, you've earned that rating.

I particularly enjoyed the finish. Dry enough to make me want another sip, but not dry enough to suck the life from my mouth. I enjoy both, but I felt it balanced better without the big back end grab. There's still room in my beer log for double IPAs, it seems, and this one got me in just the right frame of mind to crack open

Russian River Pliny the Elder

Brewery: Russian River, Santa Rosa, California

Style: Double IPA

ABV: 8 %

Rating: 5 stars

Had this for a month or so, and I had been saving it for the perfect occasion. First, I thought the Gophers NCAA tournament game would suffice, but I found myself not in the mood. And I didn't see any worthy moments on the horizon, so last night became the night. Perhaps the 16 Grit restored my confidence in the style.

Now, Pliny, based on reputation, is both blessed and damned. I guess I'd generally call it one of the 25 or 30 highest-rated beers on earth. Thus, you know it's good. A beer with that many ratings isn't in that position by accident. However, it's a bit unfair to expect a brew to be the best you've ever had and build it up as such for the year before you get to try it. In a way, I wish the ratings were only available after you've rated it. If that were the case, though, I'd probably never try this one because the legend wouldn't exist in my mind.

So I tried to go into the bottle with as open a mind as possible.

The aroma emanates as soon as the cap pops, and I'm instantly swept away to a land of hyperbole and bow-down-edness. Impossible for me to smell those grapefruit hops and not crumble. Pliny has the look of a beer unparalleled in its freshness. Extremely lively carbonation, and the color was much brighter than most DIPAs I've seen. Plus, the bottle gives it that extra boost of class. Nothing flashy; plain colors, text and design. We don't need a fancy label. We're Pliny the Elder.

Balance is the key separation between the DIPA men and the boys. Pliny dove in as syrup, a sweet creamy smooth thing, only to bite the roof of your mouth as soon as you feel comfortable. I love that bitter drag--takes that sweet syrup right away. The round flavor left me wanting nothing.

Or does Pliny get a boost because it is so highly-rated? If I blind taste-tested this next to, say, a Goose Island Imperial IPA or a Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA, would I be able to sense the difference? I think, because of the modest alcohol content, I would. The trend is to beef these babies up as much as possible. The Double Crooked Tree is a prime example, with the ABV at an astonishing 13.6%. At that point, haven't you become something other than an IPA?

That's the beauty of Pliny the Elder. Its 8% content is perfect. Not arrogant in either direction. Enough alcohol to feel, but not to the point that it dominates the taste.

After tasting, I had to reflect. What constitutes a five-star beer, and does this qualify? I decided it was definitely one of the ten best beers I've had, and that makes it deserving. What's the point in having five-star beers if you never give them out? Ten out of 360 (less than 3%) is a good rate for five-stars. Besides, who is the rating for? This blog? My records? Who cares? I loved this beer, so five stars it is.

The Best of Late

Been watching too much basketball lately to dedicate time to post. This doesn't mean I've slacked on the consumption. My stash is dwindling, though, and I want to make it last as long as I can, so I've been leaning toward the wines and the liquors more as of late. With that said, I've had some great beers recently, including a well-respected beer that didn't disappoint. Here's a
mini rundown of the best stuff I've had recently.


New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red

Brewery: New Glarus, New Glarus, Wisconsin

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 5.1%

Rating: 5 Stars


One of the best beers in the Midwest, and certainly the best fruit beer available. I imagined it would be akin to a Belgian kriek-like cherry bomb. Quite wrong I was. New Glarus uses one pound of Wisconsin cherries for each bottle (not your 12 oz. sixer bottle, mind you) and it's evident in the pungent aroma.

I was slightly worried when I realized this wasn't going to be as tart as the sour beers, because I typically loathe cherry-flavored things. In fact, the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat was one of my least favorite beers I tried in 2008. But this cherry was different. It had immense sweetness, but not like a Popsicle or sucker. It was sweet like the gooey inside-the-pie cherries, a real richness that couldn't be faked by synthetic flavoring. There was enough tartness to keep the sweetness at bay, though, and the late sparkle scraped my mouth so that I was ready for another sip.

Kristie and I enjoyed this one together, and it's exciting to me that I now have a better grip on the types of beers she might enjoy. I wish they didn't cost $10 a bottle, but it's exponentially better to enjoy a beer with company.

This beer (and the myriad of other New Glarus crafts) are well worth the 45-minute drive to Wisconsin, and I plan on making semi-regular trips from here on out.


New Glarus Crack'd Wheat

Brewery: New Glarus, New Glarus, Wisconsin

Style: American Pale Wheat Ale

ABV: 5.95%

Rating: 4 Stars


Prior to my whimsical February jaunt to Hudson, I'd had only one New Glarus beer--the infamous Spotted Cow. Thought it was below average and not worthy of the hype I'd heard from my Madison brethren. I had no idea they had as expansive a line of reign-free beers as they do. This one sounded interesting, and both employees said they'd had it and were pleasantly surprised.

It's an interesting idea. It is, basically, a wheat beer. But it's also dry-hopped with amarillo hops. To dry-hop a beer means to introduce hops after the fermentation has begun. It's a way to give the beer an extra hop kick and bring out the characteristics of the specific hops used. It's a pretty common tactic, but this is the first I'd heard about a wheat beer being dry-hopped. Though gimmicky, the idea sounded quite interesting to me, especially because wheat beers generally all get lumped into the same clovey/spicy/orange-peely heap for me.

It tastes exactly how you would imagine. The smell is all spicy wheat, and wheat is obviously the base of the beer. But the amarillo hops kick in toward the middle of each gulp and leave the beer's lasting impression. The beer is bottle-conditioned, another common brewing practice meaning the beer finishes the fermentation process in the bottle. Always a plus, and it usually guarantees a large frothy head, which I happen to enjoy.

Potentially the perfect summer beer, though later tonight I plan to enjoy their Berliner Weiss, which I've heard is phenomenal. Light as a wheat with the bold hops of a pale ale. I foresee many more of these come July.

Stone IPA

Brewery: Stone, Escondido, California

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.9%

Rating: 4.5 Stars




It's all basically been said about IPAs. We love the citrus, love the dryness, love the hops, love the mouthfeel. This is no different, and it's an excellent representation of the style. I know I've had it in the past, before my tastes were honed, so I wasn't surprised to like it again. Had to go to Wisconsin to get it, which makes no sense to me.

Beers of the Year: 1. Orval

Brewery: Brasserie dOrval

Style: Belgian Ale

ABV: 6.2%

Rating: 5 stars


A complete sensory experience. The color of this beer suggests something completely different from the actual taste. It's very golden, not unlike your average mega-beer, but with a much stronger head. But the smells that emanate from that golden liquid are simply heavenly.

I got a huge crisp apple cider whiff on my first smell, and there's definitely a large fruit presence to go with some subtle hops. It smells delicious and interesting, and if it's possible for a beer to smell refreshing, this one does.

The first shocker in the taste is how dry this beer is. It's almost like drinking a dry champagne. Heavy fruit flavor, but with the sparkling cling of champagne. Really easy to swish around your mouth and swallow, and seeing that I prefer dryness to sweetness, it fit my needs perfectly.

This beer has it all, down even to its presentation. Its uniquely-shaped bottle is appealing, and if served correctly in an Orval tulip glass, it's a can't miss. Orval will quench and refresh you, give you enough alcohol presence at the back to satisfy those needs, and won't bog you down or take you two hours to finish. You probably will want to make it last that long, though.

Beers of the Year: 2. Bell's Hopslam

Brewery: Bell's, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Style: Double India Pale Ale

ABV: 10%

Rating: 5 Stars


My original review:


This is a beer I had been coveting since summer, having started my beer journey after its availability ended. I thought I would have to wait until next January to try it, as it's only available for a month and a half at the beginning of the year. However, I was delighted to see it on the bottle list at the Blue Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant in Minneapolis. Why was this beer so sought after? For one, Bell's is one of the best breweries in the country, and its wide availability in Minnesota has allowed me to sample many of their outstanding options. Secondly, Imperial IPAs are without question my favorite style of beer to date. You get the intense hop taste on the front, with the monster alcohol kick at the back. You can usually sip them, enjoy the taste, and feel it at the end. True, a Hopslam is gonna set you back $7 or so, as most DIPAs will, but you get the equivalent of two beers in one tasty snifter.

So, did Hopslam deliver?

The color of the beer is the first key. This one was that beautiful deep amber--darker than the bug in the rock amber--sort of like a harvest moon color. That's a good sign. It's a color that just looks enticing.

The aroma was phenomenal. Yes, there were the immediate hops that one would expect from a beer of this variety, and yes, there were citrusy notes that again, are expected. But there was a sweetness there as well. The beer is brewed with honey, and being able to find that scent in a powerful beer says a lot about the brewing. It smelled balanced.

The taste. I'll refrain from going into any flowershop or produce aisle metaphors here, but my first contact with Hopslam was as good as any I've had. Again, the honey is crucial, as it balances out the roof-of-the-mouth dryness that comes with these bitter hops. It sticks to the inside of your mouth, but is wiped away by the sweet honey. Magical.

Without question, Bell's Hopslam was one of the three or four best beers I've had. I look forward to buying it in bulk come January 2009.

Beers of the Year: 3. Surly Furious

Brewery: Surly, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6%

Rating: 5 stars



Hard to knock anything about this beer. This one really put Surly on the map a couple years back, when it was hard to find. Now that it's available at most decent liquor stores and on tap in many bars, I feel like sometimes I take for granted just how good it is.

The color, for one, is unsurpassed. A delicious deep amber; close to red but with that rusty orange shine that almost certainly means good things are to come. Really nice head, and one that clings and stays as the glass empties. And of course, it has that Surly dry-hopped smell.

The brewers say that the key to this beer is the Golden Promise malt, a delicately cared-for barley from Scotland that gives this beer such intense hops. I guess I can't disagree there. The hops come from somewhere anyway.

Furious has the perfect blend of bright citrus burst, dry sticky mouthfeel and bitter pine swallow. There isn't any residual spoon left behind here. It's smooth. This in fact may be my favorite beer, but its availability taints its brilliance just slightly. For the price, though, it can't be beat. If I was dropped in a store with all the beer in the world and told I could spend my last $10 on any one six-pack (or four-pack in this case), I would immediately go for Surly Furious.

Beers of the Year: 4. Goose Island Imperial IPA

Brewery: Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois

Style: Imperial IPA

ABV: 9.2%

Rating: 5 stars

Whoa. You want an explosion of flavorful hops, this is your beer. Three kinds of hops: Tettnang, Simcoe and Cascade give this beer power and potency in every swallow. I wouldn't recommend this beer for a Bud-lover, but if you think you like hoppiness, this beer will either confirm or overturn your feelings.

The hops are there up front, but where this beer stands out is after it slides down your throat. There is no residual metallic taste that can sometime rear its ugly head at a beer's finish. It goes down smoothly, piney and sharp, and maintains a balance throughout each and every sip. This beer is an accomplishment.

Beers of the Year: 5. Delirium Tremens

Brewery: Browerij Huyghe, Melle, Belgium

Style: Belgian Strong Ale

ABV: 8.5%

Rating: 5 stars

One of the few beers on this list I'd had prior to 2008. This was the first really good, highly respected beer I ever had, and perhaps its sentimental worth makes me overvalue it a bit. Even so, it's a delicious beer.

It is outstanding on tap, better than it is in a bottle for sure. This beer is very complex, and I dare anyone to try to identify all of the fruity, sweet components. I'd have a hard time denying any detected flavor by another taster. I lean most toward an apricot flavor, with some subtle banana toward the end of the slurp. It's creamy but not sticky. Strong but not overbearing. Well-balanced but pungent. Overrated or not, this one's a keeper.

Beers of the Year: 6. Southern Tier Choklat

Brewery: Southern Tier, Lakewood, New York

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 11%

Rating: 5 stars

One of the first beers I rated this year, and it set a standard that wasn't easy to match. We must remember, when I started this project, I'd had some great beers, but I wasn't paying attention to the innovation going on. This beer clued me in.

My original synopsis from February 23: "Amazing. Smells, looks and tastes like a thick chocolate milk. With a kick, of course. Unrivaled chocolate flavor. I don't even love chocolate, but I love this beer."

It's true; I don't like chocolate all that much. I don't have a sweet tooth. But an 11% chocolate beer is hard not to appreciate. Southern Tier is the most creative brewery I sampled this year and most of the time their risks pay off. I would recommend this beer even to non-beer drinkers. It may take you an hour and a half to drink, but you'll be feeling great afterward.

Bell's Hopslam

Brewery: Bell's, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Style: Double India Pale Ale

ABV: 10%

Rating: 5 Stars

This is a beer I had been coveting since summer, having started my beer journey after its availability ended. I thought I would have to wait until next January to try it, as it's only available for a month and a half at the beginning of the year. However, I was delighted to see it on the bottle list at the Blue Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant in Minneapolis. More beer from there later. Why was this beer so sought after? For one, Bell's is one of the best breweries in the country, and its wide availability in Minnesota has allowed me to sample many of their outstanding options. Secondly, Imperial IPAs are without question my favorite style of beer to date. You get the intense hop taste on the front, with the monster alcohol kick at the back. You can usually sip them, enjoy the taste, and feel it at the end. True, a Hopslam is gonna set you back $7 or so, as most DIPAs will, but you get the equivalent of two beers in one tasty snifter.

So, did Hopslam deliver?

The color of the beer is the first key. This one was that beautiful deep amber--darker than the bug in the rock amber--sort of like a harvest moon color. That's a good sign. It's a color that just looks enticing.

The aroma was phenomenal. Yes, there were the immediate hops that one would expect from a beer of this variety, and yes, there were citrusy notes that again, are expected. But there was a sweetness there as well. The beer is brewed with honey, and being able to find that scent in a powerful beer says a lot about the brewing. It smelled balanced.

The taste. I'll refrain from going into any flowershop or produce aisle metaphors here, but my first contact with Hopslam was as good as any I've had. Again, the honey is crucial, as it balances out the roof-of-the-mouth dryness that comes with these bitter hops. It sticks to the inside of your mouth, but is wiped away by the sweet honey. Magical.

Without question, Bell's Hopslam was one of the three or four best beers I've had. I look forward to buying it in bulk come January 2009.