That’s right folks, as if the Michigan Blowout on Friday night at the Big Hunt wasn’t going to be big enough, there will be a keg of everyone’s favorite hop bomb, Bell’s Hopslam on draft. This to go along with Beehive and Canadian Breakfast Stout! The special batch was brewed just three weeks ago, so you wont find anything fresher in town for HopSlam (usually brewed in February).
The Hopslam will go on at 7:30pm; don’t wait too long or it will definitely be gone! You do not want to miss this keg!
Tags: hopslam, The Big Hunt
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7 month old keg of Hopslam???
“7 month old keg of hopslam!!!” is more like it. Chances are Bell’s racked a batch for a few “rainy day” kegs. I’m sure this keg will taste as fresh as it did in January…if anything it’s mellowed out to have less hop taste…its keeping w/in some breweries traditions to do so, take for example the Made Elf coming to the Red and the Black…regardless I’m just grateful we’re getting some in DC again! See you all then
i guess the only way to settle this argument is to go there and drink it. if it tastes good, its a win! props to the Big Hunt for putting it out there.
what a joke. had that on tap at paradiso months ago, and it wasn’t anything spectacular at that time. DC beer week is a joke.
A 7 month old keg of Hopslam is the surprise? Sounds like a way to pawn off old stock
Wow, take it easy JS, we don’t need to get your troll all over us. DCBW is “a joke” because you didn’t like Hopslam when you had it? Please. Get over yourself. There’s a ton of great events this week, and it’s wonderful that the DC craft beer community is coming together to put this on. Be sure to stay home if it’s such a joke to you.
RE: yourbeerbabe
Fresh as it did in January? Not even close. Hopslam is one of my favorites but I’m not too fond of the taste after a few months of storage. After many months the bottle is cloudy. The taste is no where near what it is fresh. Tis the nature of the style. It is meant to be fresh.
If it is a fresh keg that is awesome.
looks like a couple beer advocate reviewers had kegs of hopslam aged six month and didn’t seem to think it aged the same way as it does in the bottle. i know from experience old bottles of hopslam do not hold up. but it seems like kegs might be different. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/17112
Slope Surfer,
Would you let me know your definition of “fresh”? Also curious after how many months is a hopslam bottle cloudy (genuinely curious have never kept a bottle for longer than a few days)?
The “style” you speak of, is it IPA? Or “Imperial IPA”? Or maybe even “Double IPA”? There seems to be an overlap of styles so I would argue that depending on what style you qualify Hopslam as, you have different natures of styles. Certainly “doubles” or “Imperials” should be laid down for at least several months before serving.
I definitely agree that “IPAs” or “American IPAs” are best served fresh, but doesn’t the “history” behind IPAs say that the IPA was well-hopped so the beer would hold up on the voyage from England to India? Some have said this “history” is really a myth. So who then has the final word? Perhaps you were consulting a BJCP style guidelines book?
Nice try, haters, but it’s a fresh keg. Bell’s makes Hopslam more than once a year and sends it out to various festivals.
Big Hunt says the Bell’s Hopslam was brewed 3 weeks ago. So it’s fresh. No need to argue this any longer.
As I was at the Bell’s “Taste of the MidWest” preparty in Madison, WI two weeks ago, I can assure you that:
1. The Regional Rep. said they make it multiple times a year but don’t always advertise their release.
2. The Hopslam I had was fresh. It was not the first or second time I’ve had this beer and no loss of beta acid profiles(which are the first to degrade).
3. Why would anyone question a reputable beer bar about showcasing something on a night that is so advertised. Not to mention the notion of “pawning off old stock” is an incredibly ignorant statement as the idea of saving inferior product for a large group of people that know how it should taste is just ridiculous.
See you on Friday.
Wow. This is the first time I seen this sort of trolling BS on here. KNOCK IT OFF.
If these people who are so quick to cast stones actually did some research (or knew what they were talking about), they’d find out that Bell’s has an experimental brewery in Kalamazoo – production is done in nearby Comstock – which allows them to brew small batches. They do this to keep seasonal favorites (read: Hopslam, Oracle, Oberon, etc.) on tap year round at the brewpub while trying out new recipes. This keg, a full half-barrel, will be less than a month old. Whether it was brewed in Kalamazoo or Comstock, I have no idea, but it is definitely possible to get Hopslam year-round (and I was told in Kalamazoo that they actually have a hard time finishing batches of it at the Cafe before it gets too old so this makes sense in terms of having extra kegs to ship to festivals… hardly pawning off old stock though).
Shame on all of you for jumping to conclusions.
In the words of the immortal D.C.:
Hatas wanna hate
Lovas wanna love
I don’t even wan’t none of the above
I want to p*ss on you
Drip drip drip, drip drip drip, I’ll pee on you
For all the haters, don’t come, more fresh hopslam for me and my beer drinking buddies. For those who offer support and do not condone this riffraff and their contentious behavior, cheers!!! I will see you at the bar. Just a reminder, it really is ALL about the beer.