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12oz Bottle

Another beer I've been looking forward to from hoppymeal, thanks Derek! Big Head pours fairly clear polished copper. Tiny, barely noticeable, particles are suspended throughout the body. Creating the slight haze that is there. A standard pour created a ruddy, pillowy off white head of two fingers that fell to a thick one finger cap and left big chunky lacing on its way down the glass. Big Head is a really great looking IPA.

This is a big hoppy brew with the alcohol to match. Apricot and bitter grapefruit are all surrounded by a steady pine needle hoppiness. There's not much malt in the nose and that's just fine with me. The alcohol isn't very noticeable in the smell but I do get the fumes tickling my nose and can feel them in the back of the throat. The label doesn't lie, be prepared for a lot of hops.

Flavor follows in the tracks of the nose. A quick flash of apricot upfront is taken over by both sugary sweet grapefruit and down and dirty bitter unsweetened grapefruit. The alcohol is present but only with a little heat in the back of the throat. This beer is hoppy from start to finish and had a great sweet quality on the finish that shows up just enough to let you know it's there and keep the hops from running rampant.

This beer is incredibly silky with just a bit of stick on the backend. There is a surprising silkiness for such a big beer. The bitterness wasn't huge at first but now that I'm half way through the glass I realize how much of a tongue wrecker this one really is. This is just the way I like it.

Good drinkability for such a huge beer. Nothing is too the point of being overbearing and it's a joy to drink. The bitterness will take its toll over time though.

Another good beer from Bell's and one I'm glad to have had the opportunity to try. I wouldn't mind seeing this in their regular rotation. Thanks for the taste Derek!

Reviewed: 5/19/08

Served In: Pint Glass

TT sent me this one. Thanks!

The color seemed somewhere between the amber of an IPA and the redder color of a DIPA. Head was huge, fluffy, and thick. It stuck around nicely for the entire glass, and left behind chunky lacing.

Holy grapefruit, Batman! This one is all about the fruity citrus aroma. Even my father-in-law said it smelled like fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. Outstanding.

The taste...that's where this one loses me. It started out nice and fresh, with really good hop bitterness and then it turned into, well, nothing. It stayed crazy-hoppy throughout the entire tasting, as if there just wasn't enough else behind the hops to balance them out. As I worked my way through it, the hops became a even more overpowering, and I began to have trouble getting through it. Great job with the hops, but there needed to be something else there to take away the harsh bitterness.

Mouthfeel was pretty good throughout, but I think the lingering harshness is going to stick with me for a couple of days.

All in all, a solid effort, but it is not worthy of entering into the Bell's rotation. Great idea for a one-off, but can be improved upon.

Served In: Pint Glass

A - Pours a clean amber colored body with a bit of sediment floating around. As Gator would say, "Floaties!" Good half inch head of butter colored foam that is made up of mostly tight bubbles. Great retention. This head looks to be staying throughout the whole ride.

S - Whoa! I don't know that I have ever smelled a brew that was this much like pineapple and grapefruit. You would swear that it was brewed with pineapple juice. Lots of grapefruit rind. Doesn't smell bitter really, just hoppy. Sweetness attempts to balance out the hops.

T - Starts off with with lots of sweetness. Light caramel along with lots of grainy, boozy sweetness. Hops come in, bringing a big herbal iced tea flavor. Bitterness washes over the mouth. Grapefruit, pine and slight pineapple. More bitterness, this time piney, attempts to take the enamel off of your teeth. Booziness comes back. Towards the end, there is a cereal, bready graininess that sort of takes over for a second.

M - Big and thick. Hops add big time stickiness.

Overall - I like this beer in that I am a hophead at heart, but this lacks the drinkability and balance of the great ones. You can tell there was one purpose here, show SD that the Midwest can bring the hops. Just too boozy to drink at will like I can with Dreadnaught or Maharaja.

Served In: Tulip