Cellaring Hopslam Thread #4 - Two Years Old

I can't link the previous threads since they're off in the old BA abyss and I didn't want to wait any longer to post the two year review.

Anyway, I believe I was unsure and unhopeful as to what might happen to this during my 1 1/2 year review. Time to see if my fears were warranted.

3.0 A: Opaque brownish-tinted medium orange color. I poured it while it was still a bit too cold and I only ended up with about a finger of white, creamy/frothy head. Retention was a good bit worse than fresh Hopslam. Very sparse, irregular lacing.

3.0 S: This has lost most of what hops had remained since the last review. (Aside: I'm a bit surprised at the rate at which the hop aroma has dimished. I've had other DIPAs that held their hoppiness much longer than two years.) In it's place there is a strong earthy peach type fruitiness. Behind that there is a moderately powerful sugariness. It's possible that the sugariness is the honey. An earthy woodiness is starting to emerge. Overall, the malts are fairly clean, but if I had to put a label on them, I'd go with bready.

3.0 T: The peachiness is also found in the taste, but it isn't as strong as the nose. Same goes with the sugary honey notes. Slightly earthier than the nose as well as fruitier with apple essence coming through. Mild to mild-moderate bitterness. This no longer tastes like a DIPA, but it doesn't taste like a barleywine either. The closest style, I would say, is a tripel with some time on it.

3.0 M: Medium body. Carbonation is still doing fine and is a bit spritzier than I've ever experienced. The creaminess is pretty much gone though.

3.0 D: This is still quite drinkable. It's no longer the treat that it is fresh, but that we all expected. The hops are gone and the malts are changing.

Despite the lackluster review, I feel better about how this will further age. It's no longer becoming a worse and worse DIPA. Rather, it's beginning to change at its core. The hops are pretty much completely gone and even without them, it doesn't taste like crap. This is a good sign to me. As to whether this might turn into a good barleywine, it's probably not going to happen. Any signs of the typical B-wine caramel and toffee are absent. There isn't enough fruitiness to call this a "blonde barleywine" either. But, it's tough to know what the molecules in this have planned next. It could realign itself with a pale barleywine or it could stray even further away from any established style. In any case, I'll let you guys know in six months.

 

The idea was to do a review every six months for 12 years, or at least until I am still able to drink it. I've yet to drain pour a beer, so my tolerance for horrid tasting beverages is pretty high and I imagine I'll make it to the end.