Changing Tastes: Hopslam & Nugget Nectar

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Schultz, Jan 22, 2017.

Tags:
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,884) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Oskar Blues just released Deviant Dale's as a seasonal, so it's bound to be fresh. I don't know what they're calling it these days, but it sure as hell drinks like an Imperial Red. Good stuff, too!
     
    LuskusDelph, jmdrpi and SeanBond like this.
  2. Kadonny

    Kadonny Pooh-Bah (2,616) Sep 5, 2007 Florida
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I still love Nugget Nectar a lot and I look forward to my keg of it each year. No doubt our tastes have changed, but there can still be favorites that last beyond our latest taste trends.....like NN and G'Knight. Love them both.

    PS: I would buy Hopslam too, but at almost $20 a six I've passed on it the past few years.
     
  3. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    If you see Great Lakes in your part of IL, watch for Nosferatu in the fall. (Sep release IIRC.)
     
    SeanBond likes this.
  4. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,701) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    Thank you for that real perspective. What you are describing is what will continue to happen. These great ground-breaking beers set the stage for many good/great beers to follow, and in greater quantities, and in more and more regions. Narrowing the search for great beers is not nearly as difficult as it once was. It is a great time for beer!
     
    Jacobier10, Squire and surfcaster like this.
  5. Jacobier10

    Jacobier10 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,102) Feb 23, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    I will buy my 6-pack of Nugget Nectar just like I do every year and I will enjoy the hell out of it just like I do every year. It's a great beer, a classic in my mind that still stands out among other great options. I think keeping it as a seasonal release over the years has helped that.
     
    ESHBG, JackHorzempa, cavedave and 5 others like this.
  6. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    Probably not a generally accepted way I'm sure, but I think it would be impossible to duplicate a once a year beer. Components change, and I'm sure recipes are tweaked, but Hopslam today is remarkably different than it was say 5 years ago. IMO not for the better, but that's a personal thing, for others I hope it's the bomb.
     
    PapaGoose03 likes this.
  7. cyberfranklin

    cyberfranklin Initiate (0) Jul 4, 2014 New York

    Have you seen it in NY this year?
     
  8. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm actually a big fan of Nosferatu. Great art, and one of the first craft beers I ever had!
     
    drtth likes this.
  9. ohiobeer29

    ohiobeer29 Pooh-Bah (1,675) Feb 2, 2013 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    had hopslam on draft this year didn't chase it, it was solid palate has changed so not as impressed as the first time I had it a few years ago but but would pick up a 6er if i found some.I still have a case from last year that is drinking really well
     
  10. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I bought my third 6-pack this past weekend.

    I hope you enjoy your 6-pack.

    Cheers!
     
    Jacobier10 and Tmwright7 like this.
  11. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    I liked last year NN, I'd buy it fresh seriously avoid if not.
     
  12. HorseheadsHophead

    HorseheadsHophead Grand Pooh-Bah (3,732) Sep 15, 2014 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Not yet. One of my contacts who works for a local beer store said they're supposed to receive it sometime around the end of the month.
     
  13. Jacobier10

    Jacobier10 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,102) Feb 23, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    Thanks, Jack! I am eagerly waiting its arrival here in NJ. I would say enjoy yours as well, but I guess the purchase of a third 6-pack speaks for itself. :grinning:
     
  14. JTW10

    JTW10 Zealot (527) Nov 25, 2013 Pennsylvania

    i was just telling someone i think these are the two most overrated beers i have ever had, but in different ways.

    nugget nectar: i can't hate on this, it is a good beer, very good even, but i never understood the hype it gets on here. so i would call it overrated from "good to very good" to "world class" if you ask me.

    hopslam: this beer is not good. i'm sorry, you could put your favorite local's label on this and watch it go from 98 to 88. when i drink this i wonder how many people would raise an eyebrow if this was in a sam adams rebel variant can. this is of course my opinion, but if anyone is out there on the fence here is another post in favor of not even bothering to find this joke of a beer for some obnoxious price.
     
  15. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,132) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Since you quoted me, I'll worthlessly ramble on the topic.

    I guess that depends on how you define "pale in color." Personally, I do not have a problem with pale ales that approach red, but I'm not a sub-style thinker.

    Literally speaking, Celebration wasn't labeled an IPA for most of its life... but not much was in the '80s. I guess "ale" felt adequate enough. Sierra isn't shy about calling it one now. It's likely that the people back then who classified it as an American IPA would have seen it as an important beer in defining the category.

    If someone today had to decide the current BJCP category that Nugget Nectar fit into the best, it would probably be the "Red IPA" category rather than amber ale or anything else. (I'm not saying that I subscribe to BJCP categories). Would Celebration be placed there too? Maybe. One thing we can say - without even going back to documents from the mid '80s, the current and extensive BJCP treatment of the IPA categories don't resemble the approach from 2008 (which BTW clearly include Celebration in the standard American IPA category).

    Basically, don't put TONS of faith in anything "truly being an IPA." :slight_smile:
     
    Squire, zstef99 and rgordon like this.
  16. Kadonny

    Kadonny Pooh-Bah (2,616) Sep 5, 2007 Florida
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Nugget Nectar USED to get hype, but no longer...in fact it's not even talked about anymore....except this thread. I remember trading it years ago for Pliny etc., but again no more. NN is yesterdays news as is Hopslam.
     
    JackHorzempa and cavedave like this.
  17. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    For what it's worth, there's an 8 page thread going in Great Lakes entirely devoted to Hopslam 2017. I don't particularly care for the beer, and it may not trade for KBBS, but clearly someone out there still talks about it. :stuck_out_tongue:
     
    HorseheadsHophead likes this.
  18. cyberfranklin

    cyberfranklin Initiate (0) Jul 4, 2014 New York

    Thanks...that is helpful!!
     
    HorseheadsHophead likes this.
  19. Beav42

    Beav42 Initiate (0) Sep 13, 2007 Pennsylvania

    Many people seem to embrace the notion that "a new dance means it's a better dance" however that can translate into the discussion of beer, food, movies, sports, whatever. So maybe that mindset has a bit to do with some of the old favorites not causing as much of a stir as in years past. I firmly believe that many current iterations of craft brews are indeed different than in years past, for many of the reasons that are running through this topic. Also, while not on topic insofar as taste is concerned, price points increasing to obscene amounts has definitely turned off a portion of the craft beer audience. I see in my home area numerous examples of this as beers selling for $1+ per ounce routinely take weeks if not a month or more to kick. Agreed with the comment earlier encouraging folks to drink what they like--seems to sum it all up for me.
     
  20. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,989) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I'm not sure I would say it still has any "hype". There is a discussion thread for the release, but that's more like "heads up for those that like it, this once-a-year beer is being released".

    Rarely does anyone in the Mid-Atlantic sub-forum talk about any of Troegs beers - most people only care about what brewery is selling a $18 4-pack of hazy fruit-flavored IPA this week.
     
    Kadonny and Tmwright7 like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.