Hopslam Sightings 2017

Ditto on that. It would be $12 if it were in a 4-pack -- I've bought lots of 4-packs from other breweries, some of them year-round releases or at least several month windows, that were at least that much.

 

You should just say Hopslam on this one. Bell's does this pricing on a lot of their "once a year" releases. The Oracle, Expedition, Java Stout, and probably others that I'm not considering are all in that price range.

 

Price per ounce, it'd be a $5.50 bomber. Would anyone think a $5.50 bomber of Hopslam is exorbitant?

 

Oh no, not another bomber vs. bottle price argument. Can we have one GL thread that doesn't get into this?

Back on topic, I look forward to this every year. It's no longer the mind-blowing, greatest-beer-in-the-world that I once thought it was, but it's still very good and there's just something comforting about it. Opening that first bottle brings me back to times when this hobby was simpler. This will be my first year trying to get it in IL, so I'm not quite sure what to expect but I'm guessing that I'll miss just strolling into D&W and seeing stacks of it sitting on the floor.

 

It was all over the city last year, but not sure if you're in city or suburbs. Lincoln Park Binny's had it so long after release that I wasn't comfortable buying it anymore.

 

The first week in IL, people will go nuts and it will sell out. Then the next week, a new shipment get delivered to all accounts, and it will then sit on shelves for 4 months.

You'll be able to get it no problem.

 

The last few years I have had my first hopslam at Crunchy's in East Lansing on MLK Day with a burger and fries. The experience transcends the beer alone.

There is just something about hopslam being released in Michigan in January during peak "stout season". Just kind of a refreshing tradition. Like you said, simpler times...

 

I don't think the price itself is what people have a problem with. The problem is that the IPA game has boomed and there are plenty of cheaper and arguably better options out there. People now have the taste for fresh piney and tropical IPAs. Hopslam is boozy and malty and it doesn't age well since it's already malty. I'd be more inclined to buy it if it was in a bomber or a 4-pack because I just don't want 6 cans of a malty beer.

I'll continue to buy a single can or have one on tap in hopes that they changed the recipe, but that's as far as I'm willing to go. Just my $0.02, of course.

 

Bell's posted on Instagram that HopSlam is on the canning line today. Yaaay!

 

Oh, so the flavors have already fallen off.

 

Did you crunch the numbers? Flavor= (Hype^2)- (3xFreshness)

 

I remember when The Oracle was impossible to find in northwest Indiana and the Chicago area. Now I can find five month old 4 pack all over the place.

 

Bells just posted that it's available at the General Store 3 case limit.

 

I hope no one needs 3 cases of hopslam for themselves

 

I bought 2 cases a couple years ago, and that was difficult to actually get through. I really enjoy Hopslam, but that was too much for me. I think I went down to a case last year, and will probably go further down to 6 or 12 this year due to my storage/inventory/purchasing issues.

 

I know the feeling, glad that they aren't doing mini-kegs this year. I will still buy my case and maybe mule some back for my friends. A group of us had a kill the mini-keg party where we killed 3 of them. It took a few days to recover from that one.

 

I guess we have different opinion of "amazing." To each their own.

 

After years and years of this being my staple IPA, NE style IPAs have just ruined me.

This year I hope I can get a single can at a reasonable price and call it a day.

 

Is this typically available at the Store for a couple weeks?
Just debating on driving over from SE MI today to get a case vs waiting to see if I can get a case locally first. So if I get shut out next week, will it be available at the Store in a week or so?

 

I toured the Comstock brewery before Christmas. The guide said they used 292 drums of honey last year. One of those 55 gallon drums weighs about 600 lbs.

That is a lot of honey.