The brewery has pretty much stopped kegging this beer so as to get more cans in the market (with a few exceptions for special events here and there).
They want to produce more HDR to meet demand? Stop brewing the other crap no one buys. Coco Loco gets a pass.
I see people buy Jam Session but I agree that I have never seen anyone ever buy Cavu cans. It's been sitting on shelves for months now.
I'm thinking someone only buys Jam Session if HDR is gone, the last can dates I checked on HJ it was over 3 months old.
There are plenty of people that buy Jam Session and prefer it to Hop Drop 'n Roll. While they're not on BeerAdvocate, there is a portion of the beer-drinking public that does not care for big, hoppy IPAs. I don't buy a lot of CAVU, but I have already bought a couple four-packs of Coco Loco and plan to continue purchasing it in the future. As for increasing the supply of Hop Drop by not brewing other beers, that's not going to happen. One of the biggest reasons they can't produce an unlimited supply of that beer is due to hop availability, and they're not going to get more of them by not brewing a porter, pale or blonde that don't even use said hops.
They're not a big brewing operation, and it's lost on how they cannot secure hops to brew the small batches that they do, other breweries crank them out. I check canning dates in Greensboro and the date on Jam Session tell me its a really slow mover, and Cavu I don't think moves at all. may be a better buy in their distro area and fresher product, but in this location onlt HDR can be depended on to be fresh.
I picked up HDR, Coco Loco and Jam Seesion on my trip down to Greensboro on Monday and I thoroughly enjoyed them all. Coco is a fantastic Porter I just didn't get a whole lot of coconut. It was relatively fresh too. Jam Session was also really good and I wish I'd have picked up more than 2 fours. It was canned in early December as well and still had plenty of hop aroma and taste. That being said I still did buy 1.5 cases of Hop Drop and I would've bought more if it was available at Bestway that day.
I buy all the NoDa cans pretty frequently. Jam Session and CAVU are both great if you want something more sessionable/affordable. They're always pretty fresh around Charlotte. Have you ever tried a fresh can of either? Those beers would probably sell better if people would chill out with the HDR hype and actually give them a shot. They're both very hop forward examples of their respective styles. If you like hops, you should like those beers as well.
I can't find anything local that is fresh. I bought a 4 pk of Jam Session and it was 3 months old, I keep an eye on dates, but in Greensboro this seems to be the norm. Guys want HDR. To find a fresh can I'd have to drive 1 1/2 hrs one way, doesn't seem reasonable unless your buying volume. I have driven to Brawleys to buy a case of HDR when supply here was restricted for a bit. Only two places within 30 minutes of me that carry NODA is Bestway and Potent Potibles.
@andyctree thanks for the advice! I plan on hitting app vintner tomorrow since Bruisin ales will be closed. Then hitting wicked weed and green man before we eat an early dinner at the pizza house in Asheville (unless someone recommends a different place to eat at)!
I was in App Vinter a couple of weeks ago and they had stacks of fresh canned all of them. Except maybe the Cavu, but who the hell cares about that one anyway. They need to just stop wasting resources on that one and focus on the other three. As for the Jam Session haters, I think it is better than Hop Drop. I like my IPA's more balanced. Thank God Jade has been bottled again! I hope Foothills stops messing around with this one and begins bottling it in sixers year round. They have the best game in the state as far as IPA's go!
Yep. We've got CAVU, HDR and Loco cans in our fridge right now, too. CAVU cans were the go-to "pool beer" this summer. That and Bikini Beer, at any rate. I enjoy CAVU a lot - maybe not quite so much in the winter time, but I don't buy a ton of Loco in the summer, either.
