Bell's Big Head San Diego Style Ale

Beer: Bell's Big Head San Diego Style Ale
Brewery Location: Comstock, MI
Beer Style: DIPA
ABV: 11%


"What is a San Diego Ale? It is an ale that's made with more attitude than hops and, boy, are there a lot of hops." That is according to the bottle on this beer.

This beer was made in a "tounge-in-cheek" manner for the Craft Beer Wholesalers Conference in San Diego. The stories I've read are that some west coast brewers said that no one could make a super hopped San Diego style ale except for the brewers of San Diego, and this is what Bell's came up with.

Sadly, only 72 cases of this beer were made and a chunk of it went to San Diego and the rest was sold in the Bell's general store and eccentric cafe.

I've said before that beer people are good people, and Mike from STLHops sent me this beer for my birthday. Thanks again Mike!

Big Head pours a slightly hazed ruddy amber color with a thin and creamy tan head on it and left decent lacing on the walls of my pint glass. The first scents are classic of a west coast DIPA with loads of hops showcasing citrus rind and sticky pine. A touch of bread soaked caramel is lingering behind a bit. The flavor profile is more malt based than the hops, but make no mistake the hops are still full throttle on this offering. The malt carries the sweet caramel first with an almost unsalted cracker crispness/flavor to it as well. The hops bring in loads of ripe citrus fruit leaning towards grapefruit rind and orange peel with a good dose of pine needles as well (C-hops anyone?) This beer is very assertive, but a bit more balanced with the hops and malt when compared to its San Diego brethren. The mouthfeel is a little "hot" with plenty of alcohol on the palate, but this bigger beer still is quite smooth with a decent amount of carbonation. Besides the beer being a bit "hot" the drinkability is quite nice on this beer, and I certainly would have had another one of these.

Larry Bell has already stated that Bell's will not be making this offering again, and I think that is a bit of a shame. This beer isn't as good as Hopslam, but I think this beer provides quite a different drinking experience than Hopslam, and they both have their own place. I am pretty happy I was able to try this offering though, and a big thank you again to Mike from STLHops for sending me this tasty offering.

Cheers!
Matt