It was March11th, and I already knew that this wasn't going to be the year that I got to try Bell's Hopslam, their seasonal Double IPA (10% ABV). It was released in January, and none had surfaced at any venerable beer institutions around NYC co-incident with a time that I visited.
For the non-beer-geek readers, Hopslam routinely checks in as not only one of the best Double IPAs on the market, but also as one of the best beers of any styles, period. It's average ranking on the web beer rating aggregators RateBeer and BeerAdvocate is #10, putting it in truly elite company.
That in mind, I had spoken with a number of beer nerd friends who insisted that Hopslam didn't merit the hype - that it was insufficiently hoppy, or balanced, or flavorful. These folks had routinely pegged it as still "very good", but not fit for the same rarified air as the Heady Toppers and Pliny the Elders of the world. Additionally, Bell's very well-regarded Two Hearted Ale (an IPA) had been something of a let-down when I tried it, which only served to further augment my critical guardedness.
Given the tension between "official" praise and anecdotal skepticism, I had flagged Hopslam as a must try, if only to help resolve the question of its level of excellence one way or the other.
