Did Hop Drop n Roll Change?

I have 2 4pks from 02/02/15. Not as much diacetyl that I recall from the last cans i had back in November, but it's still not the same beer I enjoyed back in june/july. Disappointing.

 

I have some from 1/28 not exactly the same beer I remember. Much darker and tons of malt. The first time I had it it was full of hops with some strawberry. Almost perfect, much different now

 

5-6 week old Hop Drop doesn't taste like 1 week old hop drop. I just finished my last Nugget Nectar yesterday dated 1/27 and it doesn't taste anything like it did a month ago when I bought it.

 

I feel as if this beer has changed, I was early on the discovery of HDnR and it was amazing. I had it placed just below heady as my favorite ipa, but recently it just doesn't impress me and it tastes Luma average now.

 

It`s got to be a canning issue. We stopped by NoDa on the way back from Brewvival and it was fabulous. I didn`t take any chances on cans after being dissappointed with last three purchases.

I asked several people at Brewvival and at the brewery about issues with cans, and none of them seemed to want to acknowledge an issue. We did a blind tasting of a relatively fresh can at a bar a few weeks back, and everyone was in agreement the beer was either very old or skunked. Smelled like butterscotch and tasted like straight caramel, no hop presence at all. Everyone was shocked to find out it was Hop Drop.

 

Good on tap at the brewery, highly disappointed with the cans I received.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but I decided to try two different cans - one from 11/4 and one from 1/19. There was a noticeable difference. While older, the November beer was much more hoppy and lighter than its January counterpart. I think someone mentioned it in an early post, but the January run was darker and maltier - not the HDR I'm accustomed to. Hopefully, the brewers squared things away with their February runs. I haven't tried any yet, but my fingers are crossed.

 

1/13/2015; sorry for the late reply!

 

I have not noticed any major changes in HDR in a few years. It is a very good beer...not great...but well made with an emphasis on the hops. Yes, the malt side is minimal, but if the hops are put together well, it does not matter, unless you need to have malt. This is mostly straight hops with no fruity flavor.

I drink often, especially at the USNWC (look it up). Cans, no issue, but they haven't gotten beyond the plastic wrapper yet. One of my fav beers is 2/3 HDR and 1/3 Coco Loco. Awesome when I get both on tap here in or near Charlotte.

I live in the Charlotte area so have been following NoDa's developement. I think they are in stage 2 of 3, past the initial growing pains and putting out quality beers in all styles, with a couple very good ones (Coco Loco, HDR) but with room for improvement and to put out something extremely exceptionally soon. They do well in the community.

 

Didn't HDnR maximize their floorspace with a couple new fermentors at the end of last year? I wonder if that's changing the profile in some way. I picked up a fresh 4pk today so we'll see.

 

I believe they installed some more 60bbl fermentors shortly before they started canning, but that was the last expansion at the current location. They are maxed out until they move to the new brewery later this year.

 

Had a week old one at the local Pub, was kinda underwhelmed to be honest, haven't had one since thanksgiving. No date on the bottom of the can., was told they got it in last week fwiw. Didn't have the explosive fruity nose, the massive fruity hits I'm used to. Either this wasn't a fresh beer or it's changed a bit, I'd lean more towards the not fresh given the date was missing.

 

^^ they mentioned a while ago on FB/twitter about a malfunction on the date printer....But it wasn't a few weeks ago (unless it was a separate or ongoing issue).

 

plenty of us are proud to drink hop drop and also really proud that it is the world beer cup champion for the next couple years, and how much it has helped to further put north carolina on the craft beer map.

 

everybody's palates are different and constantly evolve. Your comment on Freak being canned and how when that happens we will have something that is produced in the state we can certainly be proud to drink is ridiculous though. i am proud to drink so many awesome beers from across the state. north carolina knows how to make beer and they do it well. from the outer banks brewing station to the mountains and everywhere in between, wonderful beer is produced and i couldnt be happier to live in a state that is so enthusiastic about craft beer.

 

Drank a can last night canned 2/16. It saddens me to say it but, yeah, Hop Drop is no longer what it used to be. Particularly the nose is what has changed. Just doesn't pop like it used to. I also agree with other posters that there's a malty sweetness that didn't used to be as prevalent. Also the bitterness only really comes at the tail end which didn't used to be the case. This should not be the case with an IPA that is less than 28 days old. Really a shame.

I agree with both of your statements but it doesn't excuse NoDa's consistency issues which are obviously a reality since so many of us have experienced a similar drop-off in flavor and aroma. Just because a brewery brews an excellent beer and then one day, for some reason, is unable to reproduce that same excellent beer, should we still drink it for the sake of loyalty? Should we just ignore the fact that it doesn't satisfy us in the same way it used to? I'm proud to drink NC beer when it is consistently just as good as the last time I drank it. And you can use the "people's palates evolve" argument when talking about yearly releases, but this is a beer that's regularly produced every 6 weeks or so which people are drinking regularly. It's not all in our heads.

 

I completely agree Immortale. Had a can from the same run as you last night and the bottom line is its just not very good. The nose had less of the buttery diacetyl from the can I had brewed in January but still not the citrus pop it used to have. It's clearly darker, maltier, & less citrus hops. I keep buying 4 packs once a month hoping for a change but it's not happening. I'm done with HDR until I hear it's gotten better. On a side note I had my first SN Hop Hunter and thought it was very good, will likely become my go to IPA. I hope NoDa can fix this issue because it truly was a great beer. Coco Loco is still as delicious as ever.

 

This makes me so sad. I love hop drop, but it has been so inconsistent. I had it for the first time around the end of October and have purchased it by the case since. Everytime it has been different. I had some from 1-7-15 that was pretty heavy diacetyl. I previously said it was as good as I remembered from November, but after drinking a few cans I noticed the diacetyl. Although, the 1-7 canning date was hoppier than the December batch I bought. I bought a case and a half canned 1-28-15 a few days after it was canned. I bought a bunch because I was moving and wouldn't have easy access to it other than having it shipped. The 1-28-15 date isn't bad by any means. It is very good and lacking diacetyl, but it isn't quite as hoppy as it had been in the past. On the upside, the cans were very clean. Previous batches I had purchased were pretty messy from the canning process.