You guys do realize... (overhyped beers)

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
OK, so best I can tell, the idea here is to compare a couple of beers (presumably by tasting them, which is of course, a completely subjective, impossible to quantify thing) to their respective "hype" in an attempt to determine if said beers live up to, surpass, or fail to live up to their "hype", which by the way, is a completely nebulous, impossible to quantify thing. I hereby declare this thread stupid :)

IMHO, Hopslam is gorgeous each and every season. I have not had the opportunity to try HT or PtE, as i live in St. Louis.
 
I kind of felt that way when I had my first PTE (and yes it was 2 weeks old so it was fresh). I was waiting for the clouds to open or my face to melt, but they really didn't. Fortunately, I was able to drink 5 more over the course of 2 days and began to appreciate it for what it was trying to do--not for the hype. It grew on me.
 
OB Gubna>Pliney the Elder. my .02.

It's also NOT a DIPA IMHO, it's a malty as hell sweet finishing American Barleywine.

Deviant Dales and Pliny is far fairer comparison.

Again, JMHO, I think Barleywines don't sell as well as DIPAs so brewers are calling their hoppy American Barleywines by another name for sale purposes.

I know a brewmaster who's best selling beer is an IPA and one batch he labeled as a "Bitter". It went from his best selling beer to his worst by making that change. He changed back ASAP.

Edit, I DO love Gubna. I just don't think it resembles a DIPA much at all.
 
OK, so best I can tell, the idea here is to compare a couple of beers (presumably by tasting them, which is of course, a completely subjective, impossible to quantify thing) to their respective "hype" in an attempt to determine if said beers live up to, surpass, or fail to live up to their "hype", which by the way, is a completely nebulous, impossible to quantify thing. I hereby declare this thread stupid :)

IMHO, Hopslam is gorgeous each and every season. I have not had the opportunity to try HT or PtE, as i live in St. Louis.

I want to trade PTE with you for Hopslam. I'll get it too you fresh and cool. I like your honesty here. This has turned into a "bash the beer you can't really get" thread....but it's still fun (shoutout for the OP ;) )

It's beer. Drink it! It's only going to make you younger and better looking in your head, not in real life.
 
Previous Hopslams: Decent. High priced.
2013 Hopslam: Watered down. Price still sky high.
Heady Topper: Underwhelming, enjoyed a late May can two days ago. Not worth driving to the New England area to find any.
Zombie Dust: Meh, watery. Not my favorite. Better as a summer lawnmowerbeer for my tastes.
Pliny: Underwhelming. No flaws but no character either. I like Blind Pig better.

Breweries doing something right this year:

Stillwater: Pretty much everything but their pre-prohibition ale has been stunning this year. Anything in the farmhouse ale or saison variety of beers amazed me.
Lagunitas: Lagunitas Sucks 2013 is, thus far, the IPA of the year. Brown shugga is always on deck in my house, too.
Cigar City: Hunahpu 2013 is amazing. I managed to squirrel a Brandy barrel aged one away for safe keeping. Muhahaha. Their version of Homefront is good too.
Clown Shoes: El Luchador En Fuego. Never heard of it? Good. Shaddap and buy it on the down low while you can. Don't want it? Send them to meeee!
Green Room: Secret Spot, their RIS aged in Maker's Mark barrels. Good luck finding it.
 
I love a fresh bottle of Pliny. It's a very well-rounded beer. I've had a lot of Sculpin, mostly draft, and it's just not as well-rounded. Hop Stoopid is nice, but not quite there. Lagunitas Sucks is not my favorite; if Hopslam tastes like that, then no thanks. Never had HT, but a friend lives about 20 miles away from Waterbury, so when I go to visit him (sometime this year I think) I will have to check that out and hit up Ben and Jerry's afterwards. If I can buy a case I will do so and ship it back home just so I can give them to deserving friends.

Can anyone recommend some good DIPAs or IPAs that can be found easily in Southern California? I tried Surf South Swell DIPA and I thought that was really good, one of my favorites as of late, but haven't had a lot that really matched the quality of Pliny.
 
Can anyone recommend some good DIPAs or IPAs that can be found easily in Southern California? I tried Surf South Swell DIPA and I thought that was really good, one of my favorites as of late, but haven't had a lot that really matched the quality of Pliny.

Track down some Enjoy By 7.04 from Stone.

You can thank me later. ;)
 
Track down some Enjoy By 7.04 from Stone.

You can thank me later. ;)

I had the 02-15-13 one. It was OK; maybe a little to dank and barn-yardy for me. Perhaps a fresh pint straight from the brewery...

Any other recommendations?
 
I love laguintas IPA. Funny how some tastes are so different...I also enjoy flower power a ton...excellent IPA!
 
Never had HT, but a friend lives about 20 miles away from Waterbury, so when I go to visit him (sometime this year I think) I will have to check that out and hit up Ben and Jerry's afterwards. If I can buy a case I will do so and ship it back home just so I can give them to deserving friends.

For the love of God, try to find something in a pub brewed by Hill Farmstead. My last trip to Vermont was all about HT, found it, but what I remember most fondly was the Hill Farmstead DIPA I had. Transcendent.
 
For the love of God, try to find something in a pub brewed by Hill Farmstead. My last trip to Vermont was all about HT, found it, but what I remember most fondly was the Hill Farmstead DIPA I had. Transcendent.

We New Englanders try to keep Hill on the down-low. Let everyone wait in line at the Alchemist while we enjoy a variety of some of the best beers in the region. They have so many lights out brews...my buddy is doing a Hill package run this weekend...can't wait!
 
Can anyone recommend some good DIPAs or IPAs that can be found easily in Southern California? I tried Surf South Swell DIPA and I thought that was really good, one of my favorites as of late, but haven't had a lot that really matched the quality of Pliny.

Naaa, I don't think they have very many hoppy brews in So-Cal. :ban:
 
I love a fresh bottle of Pliny. It's a very well-rounded beer. I've had a lot of Sculpin, mostly draft, and it's just not as well-rounded. Hop Stoopid is nice, but not quite there. Lagunitas Sucks is not my favorite; if Hopslam tastes like that, then no thanks. Never had HT, but a friend lives about 20 miles away from Waterbury, so when I go to visit him (sometime this year I think) I will have to check that out and hit up Ben and Jerry's afterwards. If I can buy a case I will do so and ship it back home just so I can give them to deserving friends.

Can anyone recommend some good DIPAs or IPAs that can be found easily in Southern California? I tried Surf South Swell DIPA and I thought that was really good, one of my favorites as of late, but haven't had a lot that really matched the quality of Pliny.

South Swell IS a good beer. Try double jack. Get it fresh. One of the best DIPA's out there IMHO. Obviously, Ruination is well loved out here as well. Kern River Citra DIPA (you'll never get it without going to the brewery, it's a ghost), Anything called DIPA that Alpine makes is also fantastic. There's so many great DIPAs in SoCal it's absurd.
 
If you're drinking a Hopslam in late May then it's way past it's fresh date.

Now if you're disappointed in a HT which is a year round beer then there is no hope for you.
 
Well, our own KayaBrew was kind enough to send me a can of Heady Topper. Thanks once again to Kaya for such a kind gesture.

It blew my mind, honestly. So much hop bitterness, and yet it didnt seem like hops for hops sake. Simply lovely. I see why you all love it.
 
HokieHomeBrewer said:
If you're drinking a Hopslam in late May then it's way past it's fresh date.

Now if you're disappointed in a HT which is a year round beer then there is no hope for you.

I found Hopslam on tap yesterday in Chicago. I knew it was extremely old but I ordered it anyway to see how it held up. It was very bad unfortunately. I asked the bartender how they still had any. She replied that they had multiple kegs still.

Worst part: I noticed after I drank the 4 month old 10 oz tulip glass that it cost me $9.
 
forstmeister said:
I found Hopslam on tap yesterday in Chicago. I knew it was extremely old but I ordered it anyway to see how it held up. It was very bad unfortunately. I asked the bartender how they still had any. She replied that they had multiple kegs still.

Worst part: I noticed after I drank the 4 month old 10 oz tulip glass that it cost me $9.

Ouch. I was at a Bell's tasting a while back and they said that if anyone ever encountered a store or bar selling old (like past 6 months) HS, to let them know. I don't know if they cut back their distribution to those places in the future, but they don't want it being sold past its prime.
 
Well, our own KayaBrew was kind enough to send me a can of Heady Topper. Thanks once again to Kaya for such a kind gesture.

It blew my mind, honestly. So much hop bitterness, and yet it didnt seem like hops for hops sake. Simply lovely. I see why you all love it.

As I said, my pleasure. I like it because the sweetness really balances out the massive hop nose and flavor. It's simply a great beer if you love hops.
 
Back
Top