2015 Hopslam

So Hopslam finally hit the shelves in Ohio today. Bottle date of 1/10, exactly a month old. Being a beer that needs to be drank as fresh as possible, I can't understand why it has taken a month to hit the shelves? I have heard from many shop owners that Ohio distributors have had Hopslam for almost two weeks now and waited till today to release. What the hell? I feel like bells would be very disappointed to hear this. Any thoughts?

 

For me, Hopslam tasted better with a few months of age on it last year. I can see why people want it fresh though. It's very hard to find fresh Two Hearted bottles in Columbus too.. so I'll stick to kegs.

 

I don't know what's going on with Hopslam this year. This was my favorite beer and my gateway beer into craft beers, but something is definitely off. I have tried 2 of my bottles (1/10/15 date) and once and draft and it really is downhill from what I remember. It tastes, old, older than it should after just a month after bottling. The honey just makes the beer taste overly sweet and boozy, there is little carbonation, and its a malt bomb.

Anyone else who usually likes Hopslam experiencing the same thing? I am hoping that its just a quality issue with some of the beer and this is not actually what this beer has become.

 

No

 

Haha fair enough.

 

Got a six pack at Giant Eagle in Clintonville yesterday. Tried a bottle last night.

Eh. I mean, it was good. But for for $18 a six pack, it needs to be transformational. I really don't see what the fuss is all about. In one of these threads, someone posted about not seeing any reason why one should shift away from drinking local IPAs/DIPA's etc. I tend to agree. We're not exactly suffering here in central Ohio when it comes to well-crafted, big IPAs. That don't cost anything as ridiculous as $18 a sixer. Maybe I'll change my tune as I work my way through those other five bottles, but I doubt it.

 

The price of this beer is very reasonable if you compared it to bombers of beers of the same caliber. Stone's Enjoy By is 8.99 for 22oz which seems harsh compared to six pack prices. And do we get any packaged Double IPAs in Columbus from locals breweries or is it just growlers and draft?

 

No bottles that I know of until CBC ramps up the new brewery later this year. Of course, so many places are now bottling or starting to can, I could be wrong. Guess I'll just have to 'suffer' along with Bodhi (a beer which really does blow me away) on draft until it becomes available in bottles.

 

No thread about Hopslam is complete until someone complains about the latest batch being off/subpar. We can lock this one now.

 

Hahah thank you. As someone who loves Hopslam and sees these threads each year and wondering how crazy people are, I'm glad I have finally turned into the crazy one.

 

My favorite is people who complain about the price of Hopslam but don't bat an eye at a $12/4-pack IIPA.

 

Yep, IMO same thing with Expedition Stout.. For some reason, people don't like to spend $18 on 6 packs, but have no problem spending $8 or $9 for a bomber of something similar (Stone IRS).

And think about Dreadnaught. Granted, it's better than Hopslam (at least to me), but it's like $12 a bomber here and it never lasts long.

 

It flew off the shelves in Toledo. I didn't even get a chance at it.

 

Seems to be a love / hate beer. Put me in the latter camp. Drinking one now ... meh.

 

Picked up my 6-pack in Cleveland yesterday... The store I go to (small store) got three-cases in. I cracked one open last night and I was really impressed. First time having it and it was really delicious. Complex and balanced. It was a fun one to drink!

 

I know there are some stores here in Ohio breaking up six packs and selling singles at say, a 2 bottle limit. This is pretty common practice, but sad it has to be this way with Hopslam. It is a win/lose situation though, considering a wider variety of people will be accessing the beer at these establishments. At the same time, you can't get a whole six and the price usually goes up once the six pack is disassembled.

 

I was going to Warehouse Beverage in Mayfield for any hard-to-find stuff as they actively post what they get in on twitter/facebook and such... However, it is 25-30mins away from me (Cleveland) and anything in-demand they limit to single bottles and is not worth it for me... They do have a really nice selection, though.

Then I found a place 5-mins from me you would never expect to have anything loaded up with the hard to find stuff... It is my go-to store now and they don't seem to limit anything and single bottle anything if you ask them which is really nice. What was behind the counter at Warehouse Beverage and limited to single bottle (some Jackie-O special) the new place I go to had 10 on the shelf and I could have bought them all if I wanted... They still have plenty of Abyss and others that are pretty hard to find. He ordered in grapefruit sculpin in for me when I asked just days after which was awesome... Also got some three floyds and recently nugget nectar and hopslam with no 'limits' on single bottles.

The only downfall is they are not "known" or that busy, so some stuff can be old on the shelf. So I am careful to look carefully before I buy anything. But anything ordered in is fresh, so I stop in weekly to see what is new.

It's nice because I don't have to try hard anymore to find hard-to-get stuff if it ends up in Cleveland. I am curious how much Hop JuJu they will get if for some reason I don't get any at the brewery this weekend... But as far as Hop Slam, they got three cases in which isn't a lot at the new store I go to, but no real limit. The other place I was going to likely limited to single bottles or one six pack... They posted they were nearly out a day after getting their shipment in they are so busy/popular.

 

Is this still around in Detroit area? Specifically, western suburbs?

 

Still lots of this beer in Milwaukee. I was at Whole Foods yesterday and they two big endcaps.

 

Secondary release in LaCrosse yesterday....still some floating around if you're looking...