How does 6 month old Hopslam taste?

Tastes Great! Less filling!

 

Cracked my last bottle this past weekend... absolutely beautiful! Still not as good fresh but a damn fine brew.

 

How experienced with IPAs were your friends? I've had a bunch of older IPAs over the years, including Hopslam, and each and every one of them has the massive malt first flavor that is overwhelming and easy to pick out. I traded last year for some Union Jack from a guy in CA and the minute I opened the beer and poured it into my glass, I knew it was at least a 6-9 month old beer, maybe older. The old IPA malt smell and flavors are easy to pick out IMO.

 

anybody tap a 2011 hopslam mini keg in awhile? I have one that i have been saving for some odd reason.. I am really excited to eventually tap it..

 

At a tasting a couple months ago, while we were waiting for the rest of the group to arrive we drank a 2009 Hopslam for grins. It was not bad. Not something I'd choose to drink all the time, but surprisingly OK for a 3+ year old DIPA.

 

Well, I have to admit, I'm not friends with Michael Jackson (the beer hunter); but these guys aren't drinking Ballantine either.

 

I bought a mini keg in mid Jan of 2011 and drank it last July, while the fresh hoppy zing was gone it was still very tasty.

 

I had what I think was a 2/2/12 bottling about two weeks ago. My dad had it in his fridge since purchase when it was released.

Pineapple was dominating, honey was there, bitterness in the finish had fallen away. I think the honey helps keep the citrus flavors from the hops hanging around, while the bitterness in the finish falls off.

I also find Hopslam to be just a par DIPA when it is extremely fresh. I was purposefully drinking mine at about ~1 month old because the heat had finally gone away. That's when I think Hopslam is actually an awesome DIPA.

 

Pretty yummy. Drink it.

 

I'm sure it would still be better than the average IPA.

 

Crazy man Crazy!

 

The Eccentric Cafe is located at Bell's old (smaller) brewery. That's where they brew the Eccentric Cafe only stuff in smaller batches.

If I remember correctly this came up in the past when there was Hopslam on tap in August. The consensus was this Hopslam was probably brewed at that brewery for kegs only. I wouldn't doubt if that is the same case this time.

 

I agree that in some instances this might be true. They do brew small batches downtown, but they didn't make much of anything there this spring. They were in the process of getting the expanded main brewhouse up and running, and, according to several sources at the brewery, didn't brew anything downtown for several months. Without having asked them directly, it's all speculation on whether it was fresh or not. I will say that when I had a couple while it was on draft it did taste like it had mellowed. I still stand by my statement that I prefer it best fresh, but it is still pretty good with a few months on it.

 

I have two hopslams, one with the date 2/12 and the other is 12/12.

 

Thanks, OP, there's a small contingent of us who dare to let our DIPAs sit around for a while (the beer equivalent, I've been told, of 'crossing the streams' - Why? It would be bad.).

I continue to dutifully research the drainpoint of these beasts. Yesterday, i tasted Zombie Dust 3mo vs 3days, and i can tell you that this beer doesnt hold up that well. Neither does Pliny IMHO.

But kudos to you, Mr Habitual Line-Stepper for drinking your old beer (or saving it until it's older)!

3 yr Hopslam Vert? Now that's crazy.

 

I tried hopslam for the first time recently, so obviously it was about 5 months old or so. Although it wasn't a hop bomb anymore, it was still freaking tasty. There was virtually no booze to it from what I could taste.

I shared it with a couple buddies that like "good beer", but are not craft beer enthusiasts and they about shit themselves about how awesome it was.

 

FWIW, I thought this year's batch was far better after about a month, it was still pretty "green" tasting right when it hit shelves. But I'd have to imagine it's got that cardboard taste coming out at this point.

 

is hopslam with one month on it still considered fresh?

 

"Hops fall away a bit" is an understatement. It becomes sickeningly sweet. Hopslam has only about 60 IBUs when fresh - those IBUs are needed to balance this beer. I have had it in May, and at that age, it is thoroughly disgusting. I left 5 in my hotel room, almost undrinkable.

 

I'm currently drinking 2 month old Hop Slam, it's definitely lost a lot of hop aroma and become more malt forward, but it's fruit and honey taste has come forthright. It's much different, but I enjoy it as much if not more than the hop bomb it was when I first bought it 7 weeks ago. The balance of hops and malt is much more balanced now, reminding me of an English IPA.

Of course, I'd have no idea what it'd be like at 6 months, I'll probably save a couple bottles to find out (still have 13 of these lol).