Bells's Hopslam Fans

I was just introduced to this beer last year and it quickly rose to be one of my absolute favorites. It's a seasonal release and I thought it came out around February.

Last night I was at the liqour store right by my house (Cardinal in Forest Park) and they had it already. The bottles are dated 12/29/11. I only grabbed a six as they were 19.99 which I think is a bit higher than it was last year.

I'll be checking Binny's to see if they have it cheaper but I'll be buying it by the case either way.

If you're a fan you're probably as excited as I am that it's out already. If you've never tried it and you like great beer then do yourself a favor...

cheers!

Just picked up a sixer at Evanston First for $17.99. Good times tonight (although I'll probably save a few bottles for aging).

nr706 wrote:Just picked up a sixer at Evanston First for $17.99. Good times tonight (although I'll probably save a few bottles for aging).

Just curious, how long can one realistically age such hop-intense beer without any degredation in quality?

=R=

I wouldn't recommend aging it personally. I had some of last year's batch in the fall and the hop character was completely gone.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

nr706 wrote:Just picked up a sixer at Evanston First for $17.99. Good times tonight (although I'll probably save a few bottles for aging).

Just curious, how long can one realistically age such hop-intense beer without any degredation in quality?

=R=

Personally, I would make sure it is gone within six months -- preferably less even.

Certainly it'll change with age, and the hop character will mellow a bit. But at 10% ABV, it should stand up to some aging. Ask me again in six months.

jblth wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

nr706 wrote:Just picked up a sixer at Evanston First for $17.99. Good times tonight (although I'll probably save a few bottles for aging).

Just curious, how long can one realistically age such hop-intense beer without any degredation in quality?

=R=

Personally, I would make sure it is gone within six months -- preferably less even.

Hopslam is about its pure hopiness, which degrades surprisingly quickly. I wouldn't even hold it for six months. Six weeks maybe, and I'd keep it in the fridge in the meantime. I had a 2010 Hopslam at 8 or 9 months old and it made me sad.

$15.99 at Binny's. (Lincoln Park is out, so YMMV. Best to call your Binny's first.)
--Rich

Famous Liquors in Forest Park also had it for $15.99.
Vas Foremost (Milw/Cali) had it last week for $18.99.

Had my buddy grab me two 6-packs from Famous, but he said they were down to their last case. They put a hold on a guy after buying more than 2 cases, so they definitely monitor their stock. By now, they might be out, but the $3 difference was huge. Nice to see Binny's had it for $15.99! I went by Binny's on Saturday, but didn't even look at beer, just the wine/spirits sale.

miss ellen

Agree with the others above that this isn't a beer you'd want to age. I had one that was 2-3 months past its bottle date, and it was no where near as good as if it were fresh.

I also heard that Bell's isn't doing any minikegs this year, so bottles or on draft are the only ways you'll find hopslam for 2012.

smellen wrote:Famous Liquors in Forest Park also had it for $15.99.
Vas Foremost (Milw/Cali) had it last week for $18.99.

Had my buddy grab me two 6-packs from Famous, but he said they were down to their last case. They put a hold on a guy after buying more than 2 cases, so they definitely monitor their stock. By now, they might be out, but the $3 difference was huge. Nice to see Binny's had it for $15.99! I went by Binny's on Saturday, but didn't even look at beer, just the wine/spirits sale.

miss ellen

Yeah, I hit Famous after work on Friday. They were down to 3 sixers and would only sell me one. I sent my wife in to get another one. Then I went over to Cardinal and overpaid for a case. I just wanted to be sure to get a good quanitity and I was geting 12 for a friend so I bit the bullet and paid their shitty mark-up.

I'm not good at saving beer that's this good. The tempatation is too strong whenever I want a beer so I just go for this one first.

They've had it at Maria's Community Bar for the last week or so, where I've been enjoying it by the bottle, but I'm not sure on the 6 pack price.

I just checked and Poor Phil's has it on tap as of the 13th. I'm heading over there on Thursday with a buddy to tilt a couple and maybe grab some oysters.

Damn, just noticed they have FFF Dreadnaught on tap right now as well. They're going to have to roll me out of that place

Hopslam is about its pure hopiness, which degrades surprisingly quickly.

I age Hopslam for....let's see...as long as it takes to drive home from the liquor store.

Love the stuff!

Davooda

Davooda wrote:

Hopslam is about its pure hopiness, which degrades surprisingly quickly.

I age Hopslam for....let's see...as long as it takes to drive home from the liquor store.

Love the stuff!

Davooda

Me too! Love the stuf! Hoping that my beer buddy at Binny's put a case on the side for me.

Is there any chance someone here knows where I can find this still? I must have been in a coma for the past week to miss this. I'd KILL to get this beer!!

Idiosyncronaut wrote:Is there any chance someone here knows where I can find this still? I must have been in a coma for the past week to miss this. I'd KILL to get this beer!!

I know they still have plenty on hand at Maria's Community Bar, I checked yesterday.

Idiosyncronaut wrote:Is there any chance someone here knows where I can find this still? I must have been in a coma for the past week to miss this. I'd KILL to get this beer!!

I have no idea if this is still the case (particularly if Binny's South Loop customers are smart enough to look nearby after getting shut out there), but in years past (two years ago being my most recent experience), the South Loop Whole Foods had multiple cases weeks after Binny's sold out. Might be worth giving them a call -- the customer service desk will patch you through to the beer/wine folks. The Lincoln Park Whole Foods tends to be a secondary stop for people looking for things that the Binny's in the old Sam's space is out of, so that one tends to clear of the high demand beers fairly quickly. Have also seen a few six packs at Wine Discount Center on Elston in years past after Binny's and others were cleared out.

FYI, Fountainhead had it on tap briefly. We were told they sold it out in 3 days. I don't know if they are getting more. Luckily, there were lots of other fine brews available.

=R=

BeerMenus is one place to start -- while most of it is draft/on premise only, more liquor stores are listing their inventory:
http://www.beermenus.com/beers/bell-s-hop-slam

I have heard that there will be another batch coming. Bells like to package and release Hopslam as quickly as possible rather than releasing one large shipment at the same time.

And I've noticed the beer can sit at Whole Foods for a short time, too, if only because there's a lag between getting a particular beer one site and getting it in the system. The Gold Coast Whole Foods, in particular, might be worth a look.

A friend reported that Sheffield's had it on tap on Wednesday night. Apparently he and his buddy liked it so much they never tried anything else, and Sheffield's has an impressive beer list!

Anyone still looking for Hopslam should head up to Andersonville Wines and Spirits at Clark and Foster. They had a lot of it yesterday for $16.99/6 pack. I don't know if it's sold out around the city, but I was surprised how much they had in stock. And you can try it on tap at Hopleaf for $6/10 oz. (Imperial half pint) while you're up there if you're so inclined.

I am looking in the western suburbs, if anyone see some, let me know.
Thanks.

Had some on tap Wednesday night at Hopleaf . . . definitely not my thing.

However, the 2 Belgian sours I had, including the Cantillon Fou Foune, were terrific.

=R=

Tuesday the New Cardinal on Harlem and Wilson had a few cases. I might opick up a sixer tonight. I believe it was 16.99 for six

Bell's Hopslam rated sixth best beer in the world by Ratebeer. (Goose Island Rare Bourbon County Stout was #3; Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout was #4.)

Nice Midwest representation in that list. Two from Goose (who I always felt was an underrated brewery), two from Bell's (my favorite), two from Three Floyd's, one from Founders. That said, those "best beers in the world" lists always seem to skew towards BIG beers, so you could have the world's most perfectly crafted and balanced pilsner, and never be able to crack the Top 50. Those lists are always stuffed with imperial stouts, hop bombs, and Belgian-style beers. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, just something to consider.

Binko wrote:Nice Midwest representation in that list. Two from Goose (who I always felt was an underrated brewery), two from Bell's (my favorite), two from Three Floyd's, one from Founders. That said, those "best beers in the world" lists always seem to skew towards BIG beers, so you could have the world's most perfectly crafted and balanced pilsner, and never be able to crack the Top 50. Those lists are always stuffed with imperial stouts, hop bombs, and Belgian-style beers. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, just something to consider.

I agree. As an example, you almost never see Metropolitan's beers in those lists; their subtleties are usually lost on the big beer drinkers who dominate Ratebeer's ratings.

Suprisingly, I found Hopslam on tap at Cubby Bear North in Lincolnshire last night. We seldom go to CBN because it's generally a Miller Lite - Coors Light kind of bar. But they seem to have upgraded their tap selection a lot. They also had beer from Lake Bluff Brewery and Tighthead Brewing.

Saw some last night at Danny's Liquors at 2222 N Western Ave. I always thought of this place as a dump - and it was - but suddenly it has a remarkable beer selection, especially local stuff. And the prices are decent.

Out of curiosity, did you happen to see any of the Goose Island Bourbon County Stout varieties there? Those are becoming a real pain to find, and this place is pretty close to me, so just wondering...