Not too long ago I turned on a dog show on Animal Planet to indulge my 3 year old daughter who is a huge dog lover. It was interesting listening to the judges rant and rave over these dogs. I mean, you’d think they thought this Cocker Spaniel’s slobbery mouth with it’s tongue hanging out rivaled the Mona Lisa’s smile by the way they talked. Don’t get me wrong. The dog was cute. Very cute. But it wasn’t the Mona Lisa.
Which brings me to beer ratings…
I’ve discussed in the past how at times, certain beers achieve cult status, simply because in a viral sort of way, the herd deems one beer “the best,” and the intrepid reviewer would hate to disseminate a contrary opinion. Now, some beers are the best, because they simply are, “the best.” I have had plenty of top rated beers achieved beer God status on their own merit. From time to time, however, I stumble across a beer that makes me wonder why it is so coveted by the craft community.
Yes I have a beer in mind. It is Hopslam.
Before I go further, let me silence the haters. I LOVE Hopslam. I think it is delicious. I buy a bottle or two every year at it’s release. I love Bell’s Brewery. They produce quality, delicious beers. Hopslam included.
Why the disclaimer? Not to long ago someone on Twitter asked, “What beers do you think are overrated?” I responded, “Hopslam;” to which the inquisitor replied, “even this year’s? i think it’s pretty tasty.“ Tasty, yes…overrated…yes.
I drank three Hopslams this season, one a week three weeks in a row, trying to see if I could taste the pixy dust in this brew that inspires someone to pack the trunk of their car (saw a picture of that scenario) with the stuff. Each sip was good…very good, but each sip wasn’t a euphoric experience as described by countless twitter updates the past month or so. The beer is very well balanced, has a nice sweet and fruity malt with a caramel aftertaste, and a tasty hop profile (I picked up on Centennial). It finishes smooth. No complaints. I’d rate it 4.25 out of 5 subjective but not arbitrary stars. That’s a great rating. But it’s not the 6 out of 5 (yes I saw that on twitter) that the community attributes it.
I’m not alone in this. Billy Broas quickly agreed and said that in his opinion, were Dogfish Head’s 90 minute a special seasonal release it would be considered as sacred as Hopslam. He’s on to something. The fact that 1) Hopslam is a limited seasonal release, 2) it comes in an expensive $17.99+ six pack (actually this is a great deal compared to other Double IPAs that are served up in bomber sizes) and 3) it’s called Hopslam, contributes to its respectable yet overinflated (in my opinion) eminence.
I know in your head you are asking me, “Nate, so what IS better than Hopslam?”
Plenty, I’m sure but here’s one: Southern Tier’s Oak Aged Unearthly
Imperial India Pale Ale. After reading about the non-oaked version over at Beer and Whiskey Bros, I had to try it, and boy an I glad I did. This beer is packed full of complexity, even moreso than Hopslam. The flavors are so familiar but so unique and avant garde at the same time. Hops and fruity malts give way to serious whiskey flavors and lush earthy oakiness, peppered with occasional sour bites. Like Pavlov’s dog, I’m drooling on my keyboard (Pavlov’s dog was a renowned blogger, you know).
Feel free to disagree with me. It’s beer after all, and beer is open to a wide (but not total) degree of subjectivity. Before you go and answer one or both of these questions:
1) What beers do YOU feel are overrated in the craft community?
2) What makes Hopslam so highly rated?
And remember, this post is not a diatribe against one of my favorite brewery’s beer. I love the Hopslam, I’m just not prepared to marry it.
Pliny the Elder.
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I actually liked to your article in this post…that was the first one that came to mind as I was writing this (though I haven’t had it)
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i saw that. I’m also not alone on this one. Again, it’s a good one but there are several IPAs I would gladly drink before hand.
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There are so many that are over rated and some that deserve it.
The biggest, Pliney the Elder. Great beer, love it, but would not sell my kids for it. And people get offended if you talk negatively about it.
others, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and westy 12. These are great beers and wouldn’t turn one down, but I don’t get the vigilant defending of them like you can trade them for gold.
The one Dark Lord I had was amazing and with the party around the release, I think that deserves the hype.
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I think that many-to-most giant IPAs are far overrated.
I think people are in love with them because they represent what feels like an opposite to generic American lager content. Same goes for the perennial spoogefest over whatever Imperial Stout du jour.
A limited release schedule builds mystique and then a strong flavor profile makes people talk. Does it need to be the most complex, balanced, or even *good* beer to get hype? Nah, because most people aren’t actively comparing it with others at the time of tasting. They’re too busy steeping in the mystique and this weird feeling of superiority that people seem to have when they can try something that their fellow person cannot.
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@Erik. Hence the high ratings on BA. The type of ratings the rare and hard to find beers get on there are a prime example. I’m thinking specifically of the Pliny the Younger stuff that happened recently. For the most part, who can contradict the people who claim that this or that is the best beer in the world. There are a lot of beer worth a lot of attention. I see the issue of superiority all the time. I have a particular person that I know who regularly asks me if I’ve tried this or that. He feels really smug when I haven’t. Problem is, he is talking about the same exact brewery every time. Some of this stuff is silly.
@Peter. I’m inclined to agree that Dark Lord is worth the hype. In fact, it’s one of the few 5s I’ve put on the site. I loved the festival, too. I will say that I’m still reluctant to hype the beer myself. The real truth is that I wish I could try every single beer, hyped or not, to see what it’s about. It’s just sad that a mythology builds around the beers and can make them impossible to get (unless you arrive and camp out at 1 am or something like that).
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@Peter, Besides the Dark Lord (which I agree…the event lauds the rating, it’s ablast) I haven’t tried any of those hallowed beers.
@Erik…that’s a good hypothesis and it makes sense…we humans tend to be reactionary creatures. That’s why I liked perseguidor…it was a low alcohol, fairly mild limited release. It did have uniqueness going for it. The limited release thing is inevitable for a brewery, just to keep a brewery from atrophying. I feel bad for the brewer that never gets to brew anything different (like Orval’s Rock who had to travel to the US to brew 1 different brew).
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Obviously a certain level of subjectivity can go a long way as you get into hype and he said/she said opinions on beers. There is no doubt that the beers mentioned are great beers. Enough people have given credibility to their quality. However, I personally feel opposite of Peter(whom I respect greatly). In my opinion Dark Lord was good, but not a game-changer. However, I thought this year’s BCS stood in an elite category of flavor and complexity.
As far as Hopslam goes, it is my favorite beer. I’ve had it both on tap/in a bottle on a couple of occasions, and each time it has surprised me with how fundamentally flavorful it is(besides when it’s old).
For me, this is the only way to hold a beer (or anything for that matter) in such high regard. If each subsequent time I try the beer, it continues to surprise me with how tasty it is then I know I’ve found one that I can say is elite.
I think that these differences in opinion by people you respect really creates a fun and exciting dynamic in the craft beer world. Cheers!
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@fermentus, I actually though Dark Lord was over hyped until I drank an 08 last month and it blew me away. But that had been aged properly for over a year. For this years BCS, I couldn’t get past the alcohol. Looking forward to it again in about a year to see if it has changed.
But this is what makes this debate great, accepting and understanding different opinions with out being a lamb or tyrant.
None-the-less, it is so subjective and I think people also give a bit more credit to their local or staple brewery then others may. now with so many breweries and brew pubs in the states, there is always something different, bigger, or better right around the isle.
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Hopslam was fantastic two years ago when I first had it. Then last years batch was so so. This year was better. I would get sick of it if it was a year round beer. I like what DFH does with Burton Baton, comes out sometime during the year. I have it, love it and I say see you again next year.
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Thanks for the good and respectful interaction, guys. For my part, I love BCS and Dark Lord. These are two of maybe 4 beers that I’ve given 5s to. There is no doubt that subjectivity and preference play a role in beer liking/rating.
For instance, even though I gave Black Tuesday a 5 rating, I qualified that rating to a high degree. I gave it my subjective 5 rating and attempted to give it another rating for those who might not love the style. The main thing is that we recognize good beers when they come along. We can also recognize that most beers certainly aren’t worth the degree of hype that is attributed to them. As far as the question of elite beers goes, I’m not sure if you are describing consistency or complexity…maybe both?
If you simply mean consistency in always being tasty, then there are many beers that could fit. If you mean complexity (always tasting something new or surprising), then it might not always work. I consider something live Jever or Ayinger Brau-Weisse elite despite not being overly complex. Anyway, I think that it’s an interesting sub-point to the idea of what we consider elite, worth the hype, etc. Again, maybe this shows how much a role subjectivity really plays in the beer game. Can we all agree that Leinenkugel’s stinks?
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Bells ins’t easily available around here, if at all. That said, I will echo the opinion of Pliny the Elder being overrated. There are much better Imperial IPA’s that come to mind. Pliny was a bit harsh on my palate. Frankly, Rogue and Deschutes have beers in this category that offer a more balanced flavor.
To the other question, what beers I find overrated… the first one that came to mind was Samuel Adams. I know they get good reviews from lots of folks, including this site. My impression is that their beers tend towards harshness on my palate.
In the end… much of it is rather subjective, eh?
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Lots of good traffic on this post Nate. I’d just like to try Hopslam. Can’t get it out here. On the flip side there are a lot of really good brews that go largely unnoticed because for whatever reason they can’t achieve the type of cult following that many of the biggys do like PTE or PTY. I also agree that limited releases get lots and lots of attention. One I have had that I didn’t understand all the hoopla was Sierra Nevada’s Celebration ale. Its good, but people go nuts over the stuff. I haven’t figured that out yet.
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@Big Tex. I’ve given Sam Adams some good ratings. I like Utopias, Imperial White, and their Black lager. Some of their beers I give bad ratings. Coastal Wheat comes to mind here. I didn’t care for their Imperial Stout or Double Bock. Chocolate bock got some good ratings. I think they are more of a mixed bag for us. Nate wrote this a while back. https://thankheavenforbeer.com/2009/08/25/whats-going-on-here/. I’d say we run about 60/40 on them (60 good and 40 not so good). Of course, even within this Nate and I disagree a bit. Again, this shows some of the subjectivity.
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@Don. Maybe when we do finally get together it will be epic. I’m going to bring back some good beer when I visit Indy. I’ll be bringing back a bit of Hopslam, so I’ll have to venture up there with it. I don’t understand the Celebration either. Bigfoot is the hot one now.
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Thanks for all the comments guys…wish I could respond to them all, but i don’t think that would be cool with my boss.
@don…i’m with you on the celebration ale. I bought it once and didn’t buy it again.
A quick note to all…I misquoted the dude mentioned in the article. He brought it to my attention. In my haste to write this on my lunch break I didn’t cross reference my source and should have. A good lesson to me to be more careful, no matter how op ed this thing is. Regardless, the error is fixed. While the revision in no way changed the content of this post, sorry for the error!
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I have to agree that Hopslam is overrated but a very good beer. We had a hell of a time even getting it this year (didn’t get it at all last year). The local Bell’s distributor forgot to order it so it was looking like we were going to get none until the distributor north of our area cut a deal to give some as long as they picked it up. I got my hands on some and enjoyed it (review coming soon!) but I still prefer some other DIPAs over this.
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For me, anything with Pliny or Slam are pretty over-rated. While they are good, I just don’t think they live up to all the hype–especially the “I’ll steamroll over little old ladies just to make sure I get a bottle” kind of hype. A lot of these “brewery only” line-waiting all morning beers are a lot of hype, too, and many rarely deliver. There are exceptions, but they’re becoming few and far between.
Oh, if I see one more forum post on BA about PtY vs HopSlam, I’m going to find a hacker to crash the server! HAHAHA!
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Please crash it. Please! It’s like all of are saying…there’s no reason to miss an entire world of beer by being obsessed with one. I’ve got a good friend who flips over Pliny. He’s entitled to it and I tell him when I see some but I’m not buying too much, except for a couple bottles (even though they told me not to).
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How did I miss this post? Especially when I was mentioned? Oh well here I am late to the party as usual.
Needless to say, I think that HopSlam is a fantastic beer but is overrated due to the buildup and scarcity. As hard as we try to be unbiased and only judge a beer for its taste, we can’t help but get swayed by pretty packaging, an attractive story, or a limited release schedule. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but something we should be aware of when it is happening.
Thanks for writing this Nate.
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[...] wrote a great post about the topic where he says [...]
I think that because of it’s limited availability, certain beer geeks (myself included) rush to the shelves because it’s only available (at most) for 1 or 2 days out of the year in most areas due to it’s highly and strictly monitored allocation. I don’t think it’s overrated at all, truthfully. It’s clearly not the best beer as far as drinkability is concerned being that it’s 10% abv, but what I love about it is that it’s essentially the Two Hearted Ale on steroids, and while I love Two Hearted for it’s year round drinkability, it’s nice to look forward to something a ‘little extra’ once a year. I couldn’t drink Hopslam every day, but I did grab a case while it was around.
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michael reinhardt Reply:
January 24th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Agreed that it is a treat when it comes out. I was able to get it for years but can’t anymore. I do miss being able to get it.
I guess in the end some people see a rare or exclusive beer as having added value based on that. I personally don’t think of beers in that same way but can understand. I suppose the real question isn’t about Hopslam at all. It’s really about the nature of rating beers and whether limited availability somehow adds inherent value.
Thanks for your comments…and for the record…I would have grabbed some too.
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Westy 12 pwns Hopslam. End of story.
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THFBeer_nate Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
I have yet to try the Legendary Westy 12…ahh…someday.
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I read a little bit of your article and saw you said one or two bottles of HopSlam a year and stopped there. Lightweight.. I get cases of them and Nugget Nectar, Dogfish Antonia is also really good. Drink up before you Hate! lol
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