Getting Your Case Of Hopslam This Weekend? Set Some Aside For Later.

By Lorna Juett in Food on Jan 19, 2013 9:00PM

Bell’s revered seasonal double IPA, Hopslam, hit Chicago shelves this Friday. While most of us would take it home and guzzle it immediately, some might want to take a lead from Binny’s Adam Vavrick, and set some aside for cellaring.

On Friday afternoon, Vavrick invited the public to taste two versions of Hopslam. One was this year’s release, and the other was from a six-pack he had cellared for one year. He challenged guests to determine which was which. In the end, 13 correctly identified the cellared version and 7 failed the test. We won’t reveal where our trusty beer columnist fell in this challenge, but let’s just say she’s frequently quoted as saying, “I’m not a beer expert, only an enthusiast.”

Many beer nerds emphatically say that hoppy beers are not to be cellared since they develop off flavors and the brewers' intention is lost. However, we noticed that while the strong hoppy bitterness of the beer was slightly subdued, what the beer ultimately lacked was the herbaceous, floral, and citrus notes we like so much in a double IPA. Cellaring did make for a pleasant, drinkable, even slightly sweet beer. However, we don’t recommend you turn around and cellar your Zombie Dust or that bottle of Pliny the Elder you smuggled back from the West, but it was an interesting experiment nonetheless.

In the end, we preferred the fresh beer, as we are fans of IPAs in their freshest state. But, if you have patience, time, and decent cellar conditions, you can taste for yourself next year.