2015 Hopslam Release

I appreciate the heads up but I'm not one to trade for sonething like Hopslam.

 

Guess you're right. Oh well, maybe Nugget Nectar which is local to me. Not as widely distributed.

 

Must have changed recipes: was better last year, and even better the year before that.

 

Fantastic beer. I don't mind the price since I buy my 6 for the year and that's it. I love the label and history behind the beer too. Sometimes the hunt is fun.

 

Exactly. It's certainly here in the Allentown area but hoarding is an issue.

Frankly, I don't understand why since (as many have already stated) it's a darn good DIPA but not so special that it is worth chasing.

I can buy Dirt Wolf, DFH90 and Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe by the case without breaking a sweat. All are better than Hopslam IMHO.

 

Last year I got a couple 6 packs and could have gotten much more. But Illinois does have some pretty good distribution. So we don't think of it as a whale, definitely not in terms of rarity.

 

For $17 a six pack I will pass on it. Many others out there just as good if not better. Bells is over rated and over priced.

 

I had a case last year, nobody wanted to trade anything for it. Won't be doing that again, although I will get a few for personal use. It is indeed not a whale.

 

It's been a few years since I made the trip. Well, even more reason to avoid.

 

I first heard about Hopslam from some hammered guy in a bar.
He just stumbles up to me and goes "HOPPSLAAAM IS THE BESST IPA EVERRRR"
I was just like "yeah? I'll have to keep an eye out for it"
He then immediately goes "are you trying to start shit? We'll fight"

I had it a few months later, and while very good, not worth fighting a stranger in a bar over.
Oh, angry drunk guy, where are you now?

 

Thanks OP.

Just a great DIPA--an original. More face melting stuff out there--sure but doesn't take away from this one.

 

The price is very reasonable for 10% ABV and the absurd amount of hops (not to mention the honey). It's a way better deal than almost any bomber of comparable quality and cost to make. I swear people on this site don't understand that it's the price/oz. that matters. Hopslam at ~$3/beer and $0.25/oz is not bad at all (actually only $0.02/oz. more than the "bargain" that everyone fawns over, Hop Stoopid and $0.04/oz. more than Dirtwolf).

Also, what's wrong with a six-pack of high ABV beers? One of the main reasons I love Bells is that they refuse to move to four-packs for Expedition, Third Coast, Hopslam, etc. If they went to four-packs I'm sure the price wouldn't change enough to be worth it (see Storm King's transition). I just don't understand why anyone would find two more bottles too much of a commitment.

 

I agree, Hopslam is great...but nothing else like it? Right here in the Midwest alone are two DIPAs (and probably more) that are very similar in my opinion.

Pipeworks Square Grouper and Great Lakes Chillwave are very Hopslam-esque.
Square Grouper beats Hopslam if we are counting.

 

I'll probably grab a case.... can't wait.

 

If price per ounce was all that mattered to me, I'd just switch to vodka.

What matters to me is how much I need to plunk down on a 6-pack for a specific beer. For some beers, it's worth it to me. I had no problem buying two sixers of Expedition Stout at $17 each. I can age them for years and not need to worry about drinking them up before they were past their prime.

As I mentioned, I don't drink a lot of high ABV beers. Hopslam is a little pricier where I live (it was $21 two years ago, I think). So to me, I'd rather spend the money on Nugget Nectar or Sucks (should it come out in 6-packs). Nugget Nectar is 7.5% and sucks is only about $10.

Not everyone drinks multiple beers every day. I don't even drink one beer every day. By the time I'm on my 4th beer of a 6 pack, there's usually another brew available that I want to buy. That's why to me, 4-packs are preferable.

But overall, I agree...Hopslam is definitely a delicious, high-quality beer.

 

If I see some at a bar I'll probably have a glass. Otherwise I'll pass

 

It may be better, but for most people Square Grouper was incredibly difficult to get.

 

Or your tastes have changed.

 

No I'm positive it was better last year, and better the year before, and even better the year before that. Every year someone starts a thread stating the same, so I must be right.