Beers Like Hopslam

+1 for Alpha Hive. Crushes Hopslam. It clocks in at 10% and they use California Orange Blossom honey.

I have poured them both up for roughly 15 people over the course of a week or so in a true blind side by side at the beer bar I work at. This was earlier this year when both were within 2 weeks of their respective canning dates, being released at almost the exact same time. Alpha Hive was chosen 100% of the time. Literally didn't have a single person pick Hopslam.

Anecdotal I know, but I had heard for years about how awesome Hopslam is, and while it is a very good beer, I understood the Hypeslam label. The Alpha Hive had a much shorter travel distance and I'm sure it's possible Hopslam has changed due to much wider distribution (Stone Ruination comes to mind, damn shame that beer isn't what it used to be), but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in here.

 

I'm going to echo the mention of Odell Myrcenary. By coincidence I bought a very fresh 6 pack of it right on the heels of finishing my Hopslam. Myrcenary is even maltier than Hopslam and a little more tropical in the hop character but there was a lot of similarity.

 

To answer the original questions, yes Hopslam is fairly unique. The closest I've had was Balling the Queen by Tyranena but it's only 8.5% ABV. I think what makes them unique (and "expensive") is a huge late honey addition. I made a 3.5 gallon batch of home brewed IPA a few months ago with one pound of honey at flameout and the honey completely overwhelmed the two ounces of 7c's hops that went in after. My brewing and craftsmanship will never approach the professional level but the late honey presence is pretty distinct. Part of the "not as good as it used to be" could be by changing honey sources or origins as well. It's easier to get 50 lbs of wildflower honey vs. 5000 lbs for Hopslam distribution into thirty some states. For what it's worth, I also enjoyed Citracado last year for stone. For those who don't appreciate what the honey brings to the table, buy DIPAs where the brewery has invested in exotic or boatloads of hops at the same price or less per 6pk. Even in my little redneck corner of the Midwest, there are plenty of choices. Enjoy beer, drink what you like. Cheers

 

Not completely a match but I kinda feel like Great Lakes Chillwave is similar....

 

On a tour of Bell's, the guide said how much honey was used, and the units were the 55 gallon drums of honey. Using some farmer math and what my old brain remembers, it was more like 175,000 lbs of honey.

 

Double Crooked Tree by Dark Horse

 

Bell's Mars? I mean it tastes more like a 6 month old Hopslam left in a hot closet.

 

Lol

 

I'm a big fan of Hopslam, and just recently discovered Maharaja. There are indeed some similarities, and I would encourage any fan of one to try the other.