2014 Hopslam Shelf Life

A lot might depend on whether the bottle has been kept refrigerated.
However, I did have one last month and it lost quite a bit from when it was fresh. Not that it wasn't good, just a disappointing experience brew from what it was months before.

 

ETOH?

 

I agree with most of the posts here. I really enjoyed hopslam during its first few weeks of release here but once the month time stamp hit I felt it fell off quite a bit. So, like everyone else is saying, I'm sure you can drink the beer but it will not be as amazing as that fresh batch.

 

That happened to me two releases ago. I saved one from this year as well. We're going to do a 5-year Hopslam vertical. I know it's dumb, but it's our running joke.

 

It's HOTE backwards, duh.

 

This post is Hop-less

 

I'm of the mind that Hopslam becomes mediocre within 45 seconds of bottling because I've never had one worth a damn. Just my $.02

 

All I know is that this past release I got 3 bottles with the initial allocation to Long Island. Absolutely love Hopslam fresh.

Around March, the store I frequent got another 2 cases in and was selling by 6-packs (instead of 3 bottles per person). IMO, it was a truly awful malt-bomb just two months after it was bottled. I found myself trying to give away the remaining 4 bottles because it was just utterly disappointing.

 

I floated down the river a month back and drank a couple. It was still drinkable and if you like ambers you'll likely enjoy it. I kept mine refrigerated I just had a couple that got to the bottom of the crisper. The hops fall of for sure but its something you might as well drink if you have it. Inspiration to try it fresh next year and compare.

 

The fact that yours were in the fridge makes a huge difference.
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/06/beer-is-the-new-milk-drink-it-fast.html

Note this bit "The most surprising aspect of the demonstration was the way the bottle stored for four months at 40F compared to the bottle stored warm for a month. They were really close in aroma and flavor profile, and many of the tasters said they’d be hard-pressed to identify which was which."

How can it, a pale, at any age be a "malt slam" with such a mild malt profile? Also, what barleywines taste like aged Hopslam? A high IBU hop forward beer that has lost it's pungent dry hop aroma is still a hop forward beer; Dry hops fade, boiled hops don't. Now, if you brew a clone at the same gravity and lowered the IBU to <40, I might agree with you Cheers

 

All fair points, maybe the honey sweetness in it added to the "barleywine-ish flavors", but yeah it's not really comparable to anything really. Oh and the malt-slam was more a joke than anything.... Just proves there is always someone out there ready to correct ya on BA.

 

A buddy of mine had a single bottle that had been in a minifridge since he grabbed the sixer in January. It did lose a bit of the hop punch, but still tasty.

 

Also proves how hard it is to detect sarcasm I get a little frustrated by people saying hoppy beers turn malty or into barleywines. Mainly because I love strongs/barleywines, and not just the ones that have seen a barrel. So when someone uses it to describe a beer that is past its prime.. Well, if said old IIPA had the malt base of a barleywine, it wouldn't be past its prime! Cheers

 

Had a six pack about 5 months after it was bottled (April/May time frame). Honey flavor was still there, not very hoppy though. Anxious to try it fresh.

Pop one open and let us know how it went.

 

It will still be tasty, but it will be a total shell of it's former self. I know, I aged a few bottles two years ago.....wish I hadn't.

 

Send them to me for QA/QC. For science!

 

I had Hopslam a month past its "Best by" date. It's the only time I had it and I paid $8 for a bottle of it at a bar in NYC. I don't even know why they were still selling it or why I didn't try and give it back. It was "good" at best. Really really malty. Certainly not a 100. This beer deserves to be drunk fresh with those ratings. I'm guessing the difference between fresh and not fresh is especially vast with this one.

 

ETOH = alcohol

 

this year i did an experiment with some of my Hopslam. i separated a 6 pack placing half in the fridge and half in the dark at room temp. drinking them side by side about 6 months after the bottle date the difference was incredible. the refrigerated stuff still has some honey and hops while the room temp(i chilled it overnight before opening) was terrible and i poured it out. tasted like stale fake sugar malt water. i drank another one that has been kept cold last week and it was good, not as good as fresh but still decent. my guess is the beer you have will not be very good at all.

by the way, start shopping somewhere else. the people at your local craft stores are trying to deceive you so they can sell their old crappy stock.