Hop Slam in NJ?

The NJ distributor's Facebook page said:

So- now?
(But Troegs - another Hunterdon brand - said the same thing for Nugget Nectar for the week of 1/16 and I ain't seen that yet, either...).

 

Yea I cant find any in the Hoboken area

 

Well, just got back from Cranbury BuyRite - 'bout as central as you can get - and they got Hopslam in cooler*. So, depending on Hunterdon's delivery day for your retailer, it's out there.

* and Nugget Nectar in 12 x 12, 4 X 16 cans and sixpacks of bottles, since I mentioned that above.

 

What did the Carton selection look like at cranbury?

 

I can't see how this will be a hard find or a "get it while you can" beer in today's climate.

Bells has (and continues to) coast on Hopslam's legacy during a time when competition was far less stiff. At this point it's a nostalgia purchase when you consider how many superior options there are out there, whether they be local, semi-local, or nationwide.

I made a point to seek out Hopslam back around early 2014 when Bells first started distributing to NY and quickly learned that, despite the hype, Two Hearted was clearly the superior of the two. I played myself. I was a fool. A fool in a man's shoes.

Even with today's wealth of riches I still deem Two Hearted a worthy beer, but I won't say the same for Maltslam. Do your thing if you want it that badly, just know there's no rush to grab it.

 

Saw both Hopslam and Nugget Nectar at Bottle King in Ramsey yesterday...not central Jersey, but it's in the state.

 

Ah, didn't pay real close attention - I already had nearly $40 of beer in my hands plus I really only buy Boat, 077XX and This Town (not a fan of flavored beers). I'd say there were 5 or 6 Cartons beers in the cooler, Boat and The Hook (maybe two different "Hooks"?) are the only ones I can recall.

 

Amen!

Two Hearted is a high quality beer. It is consistently brewed (which I can't say is true for Nugget Nectar) and is reasonably priced. A truly 'winning' beer.

Cheers!

 

I saw hopslam on monday in woodbridge

 

Hopslam hit BK Livingston and Gary's in Madison today. Cans dated 1/15. Not sure we will ever see it this fresh here.

 

What's the going rate for Hype Slam I mean Hop Scam I mean Hopslam? And I'm kidding about the names, believe it or not I have never had the beer but I thought those names were funny.

I would like to try it this year, though.

 

Where's "here"? Hunterdon distributes state-wide. I've seen the same 01/15 Hopslam in Middlesex and Mercer counties (and expect to see it later today in Monmouth county).

 

"Here" is NJ (in general as the thread title says). To clarify, I meant I was surprised we are seeing week old Hopslam. I know Bell's has only been distributing to NJ a couple of years now but the last 2 years I did not see this beer in stores until it was at least a month old. Canned in Michigan on 1/15, out on trucks to NJ and on store shelves statewide in a week is amazing to me. Look how long it took SN 40 to get "here".

 

Hopslam is on the shelf and in the cooler at Jersey Fine Wines in New Providence, 6 packs and singles.

 

Ah, got it. Thought it might be something like that - so:
"Not sure we will ever see it this fresh here AGAIN".

With the purchase of Dogfish Head by Boston Beer , Koch & Co. moved the brand to their distribution network, mostly MC houses in NJ - Shore Point in my main beer shopping counties - it's even announced on SP's current Home Page :


Don't know what sort of financial deal, if any, was made between BBC/DFH and Hunterdon but that means Hunterdon just lost their biggest brand, which made up something like over 1/3 of the total business (dollars or volume? Don't know.) IIRC, Hunterdon was, in turn, DFH's biggest out-of-state distributor - at least it was at one time. Gotta figure that's got to have a big effect on Hunterdon - not saying it's the reason Hopslam is so fresh, but...

Yeah, but again - Molson Coors (+Yuengling, Constellation, BBC/DFH, NB, etc.) houses in most of NJ. Now is that the sole reason it took so long? Who knows? In general, we don't see a lot of really fresh (<1 month) Sierra Nevada - but some of that is the 2 weeks of bottle conditioning for some of their beers.

 

6 packs of 12oz are $18.99 (!!) at Shop Rite Liquors - no thanks

 

That's a pretty typical price.

 

Considering it’s more liquid than 16 oz four packs and it’s a 10% ABV IPA, that’s a lower price than you’ll see on pretty much any local IPAs.

I picked up a six pack at Bottle Republic.