Bell's Hopslam (2018)

That made me laugh, because not only am I confused by what you've said, but nobody has ever accused me of chastely holding my tongue.

To be more direct: craft beer is rife with new money that think if a place isn't pumping out pastry stouts & hazy IPAs, they're irrelevant (this is not directed at you specifically, but really, the BA community).

Does that have an impact on criticism of Hopslam? I suspect it does, but either way, it has zero effect on my enjoyment of a classic. Drink what you like!

 

I'll assume you were buzzed when you replied to my comment as:

A. I never implied they WOULD drop the price.
B. I agree with you in that they probably don't. Which is too bad they feel that way. I feel like almost everything from Bell's is overpriced.

To each their own. I was expressing my own opinion that I will not buy it due to cost and other good options. Cheers.

 

FWIW I had one can of Hopslam last year and it was too sweet for my palate.

I had one bottle from the previous year (2016) and I thoroughly enjoyed drinking that beer.

Prior year Hopslams were all on draft and they were too sweet for my palate.

I suppose the moral of the story is that bottles in 2016 were the good batch!?!

Cheers!

 

Jeff, does Hopslam taste dry to you?

See my reply to John above.

Cheers!

 

No, but honey will be like adding sugar to end up with lower FG than if all malt were used. Pliny the Elder uses sugar, but doesn’t taste dry to me.

Hopslam doesn’t have high bitterness, it is about the same as Two Hearted. Hopslam is 10% from 1.090 OG, Two Hearted is 7% from 1.070. 20 more points, 3% higher ABV when you compare.

 

How is $17-$20 for a 6pk of 10%abv too expensive? Many beer at 10%abv is $15 a 4pk. You can say you're not a fan of Hopslam or Bells which is fair as everyone has different taste buds and entitled to own opinion. But overpriced? It's on par with all other craft beer that wasn't bought out by inbev or constellation. Way I see it if you want to taste the best of the best you'll have to pay $20 plus for 1 bottle on occasion. At least with Hopslam you get 6 and don't have to finish it in one sitting.

 

6 beers for $20 isnt the cheapest thing in the world. But, 6 fairly limited release, long track record of high quality beers, for $20 is perfectly acceptable. Its $3.33 a beer!? A typical craft pint will run $4-$6 for the lower end stuff, why is there so much hate on bells price for this beer? Seems to be underlying issues that spew out as price point complaints. I've only had hopslam once. Last year. And ill seek out a 6 pack or 2 or 3 this year to enjoy a good local release! Cheers!

 

Yeah... that nonsense is part of the reason haven't bothered to try to get Hopslam in several years and more generally whether a beer is distributed by Shangy's is a minor factor for my purchases (if I know...it's hard to keep track, but unfortunately for Bell's that's an easy one to remember).

 

Wow. You paid $18 for a sixer of Hoptimum and your a state away from their brewery while here in Chicago I paid $13. Our SN comes from CA, assuming yours does too. I guess Arizona really does suck

 

I think 2 hearted is awesome. I buy it when I see it fresh. Hopslam not so impressive.... But with 2hearted I'm pretty sure it's more of a freshness thing, it definitely doesn't suck. I don't think the whole problem is just sitting on shelf either. I've started noticing that new shipments of Bells in So Cal are already 2-3 months old before they even hit the shelves. The freshness problem has gotten better in 2017 but I'm pretty sure just like the last 2 years we will start seeing huge stacks of Hopslam in stores on the west coast about 60 -90 days after it was canned. I won't be buying any this year. It costs like $22 + and its not even very hoppy. Kinda taste like medicine or something.

 

Selfishly hoping this continues to develop more hate so I can buy more of it.

It was the first DIPA I ever enjoyed, and I eagerly await its release every year. Every year, it's become slightly easier and easier to come by as well, which is great for someone who doesn't like driving more than 15 minutes out of their way to buy beer.

 

Waiting right here along with ya'

 

It's funny the arc Hopslam has gone through, at least in MN. Years get jumbled in my increasingly cluttered memory, but several years ago Hopslam would be around until June or July. Then the hype got going & for a couple of years it was gone in a matter of a week or two. The past two years it's been readily available for at least a month, & much longer at smaller places, as the luster has worn off.

I'm working on clearing my hoppy stuff in anticipation.

 

Ah, I'm relatively new, so I've been through the major hype of Hopslam. The first year I only got two sixers, and it was a lot of searching for just those two. I think I ended up with three last year with the ability to buy more.It was a wonderful delight to have them in my fridge for a couple months, and then finding one buried in the back of the fridge a couple months after that (yeah, a bit old, but it held up well). By the Hopslam release, I should have cleared out my Mocha Merlin stash for more every day beer.

It's a tasty beer to celebrate your birthday with too!

Hopefully not in line

It is great stuff though. It helps that not many local DIPAs capture my attention.

 

Funny story (to me, at least). A couple years back, my wife came in one day in mid-November with a bottle of Hopslam in her hand. My natural response was "where the hell did that come from?" Evidently she found it under the front seat of her car. How it lived there for 8 or 9 months, through a Minnesota winter & summer (ranging from -10 to 95+) without exploding, I will never understand. Though I'll also never understand how she bought a sixer of Hopslam at some point, brought it into the house, & never noticed one was missing...

Out of morbid curiosity popped it in the fridge & opened it not long after. Wasn't as glorious as fresh, but surprisingly good. Mazda-aged, freeze-and-boil Hopslam!

 

Got my 6 pack from the general store just moments ago! Only bought 1 this trip, want to see how the batch tastes this year before I grab a 3 month supply. Probably crack one when I get home!

 

Great story. I have a (beer) fridge in the garage but recently found a Founders Breakfast Stout from last year in the back of the refrigerator in the house. Inadvertent aging of beer sounds like a snowy day BA topic...