Did Hop Drop n Roll Change?

So this is from YOUR review:

Overall: this is one of the best beers I have had in a long time. Happy its made in my state and that I have now had the opportunity to get some finally. The hype is well deserved.

Other glowing praise including some malt balance. Not sure where you're coming from or going with this.

 

I disagree when you say it "has very little in the way of malt to balance it out." I would argue it's very well-balanced, but that's my opinion.

 

I love it. The only IPA I've had that I prefer over it is Sculpin.

 

Maybe your palate has changed?

As for the increased availability, I heard they stopped kegging HDR to put more in cans.

 

I definitely think that HDR is a great IPA but from the last couple batches I've had I have noticed some inconsistencies from before they won the Gold and went to a production increase. I don't know if there were any alterations with the recipe but I think that they started using a centrifuge of some sort to try to extract as much as they could out of the hops used to stretch it as far as they could due to some supply issues. I've got a couple 4-packs in my fridge currently and are really good, the ones I picked up from the batch before that were a little off.

 

Ship me the remaining HDR for proper disposal, I'll paypal you money and my fedex account #...

Someone I know in elkin was asking if anyone on another beer page had gotten infected HDR, he picked his up in winston Salem, no one had any beers that tasted infected...

I get a case at a time shipped to my by a few folks in NC, it's my go to ipa currently...

 

There are probably a lot of "I heard" stories, but...

I heard they were able to source some extra citra from other breweries who had contracts but weren't utilizing all their inventory. Coupled with that, NoDa bought a centrifuge to extract more beer from the fermenters instead of losing so much to the massive hop loads.

Who knows.

 

It's a great beer, but I agree with you that it's one of the least balanced IPA's out there. It's nothing but extreme hop flavor and that's it. So if that's what you like, then you'll love it. Personally, I think Freak of Nature is significantly better, mainly due to it being a bit more balanced.

As far as supply, it comes and goes. It used to be relatively easy to get around the state when shops would periodically go pick up loads of it from Charlotte. Then Noda tightened limits and shops stopped doing that and it became impossible to find anywhere but CLT. And now more recently places have begun to have it again.

It was at all the Total Wines around Raleigh still as of this past weekend.

 

I've had HDR a few times now. My first encounter was on draft in Raleigh and I thought it was pretty good. Not amazing but certainly better than average. More recently I've had HDR from cans and was less than impressed.

To be full disclosure, I prefer a lighter bodied and less malty West Coast or VT style hop bomb IPA. HDR is actually too malty for me, as I prefer that beers assertively hop forward and without that malty caramel finish I'm getting with with canned HDR.

 

I typically get a 4 pack weekly (typically canned that monday, the monday before at the latest) and have been for a while. I can't say I have noticed any difference in batches. I haven't gotten any in the past two weeks (too many new stouts coming out) so I can't comment on the past 2-3 batches.

 

Not sure about "change" but for a lousy IPA, and I think all IPA's are lousy, it isn't that bad. I have choked down a few, when I couldn't some other IPA's. As a more hoppy, I don't find malt balance at all in any IPA's or Pale Ales, brew I can sip it over time, which is saying a lot.

Edit: I probably shouldn't reply on threads about IPA's... >makes a note about this<

 

I didn't like HDR at all the first time I tried it...maybe 2 yrs ago on draft. Every month or so I'd try it again to see what all the fuss was about but still didn't like it.
One night about 3 months ago I got a pint on tap and BOOM!!
Ever since that night it's been one of my go to IPA's. It's just so different from the norm.
However, I have had a couple lately that seemed off. One four pack was a little buttery and another just didn't have that citrusy finish I was used to. Who knows why but maybe the consistency is down while they are ramping up production.
I'm off to get another 4pac....

 

It is an aggressive IPA. If that is not your thing, it is not the beer for you. I know a few people who drink other IPAs fairly often that think it's "too bitter." My palate was ruined long ago, sadly. I no longer have any perception of bitterness in beer. I remember what it tastes like, but I no longer get that sensation on my tongue.

 

Both of those "I heard" stories are true. NoDa did stop kegging Hop, Drop 'n Roll, and they also acquired more Citra hops. The result is now a lot more cans out there, and not just in Charlotte.

For me, I don't think the beer's changed at all and still love it -- but then many of us have enjoyed the beer well before it was a medal winner and might not be subject to "delusions of grandeur."

 

I've been drinking the shit out of HDR for a long while and I haven't noticed any decline in quality whatsoever.