Was only able to get a six pack this year, wanted to save it for better weather/special occasion/whatever.

I'm usually able to get a case so I'm not real picky about it.

Had Hopslam over the Super Bowl and I agree that it's probably best fresh.

Enjoying a Todd the Axeman for the Hawks game this afternoon.

Damn. I didn't get my hands on any until 2/18.

Todd is such a fantastic beer. Hard to get, even here in MN.

I grabbed the last 4 pack at my shop on Friday. I read they upped production this year similar to Abrasive. Abrasive was around Chicago for a couple months so I'm hoping for the same with Todd.

Don't sit on it, especially if you only have a 6 pack, its gets worse with age. IPA's should be had early in their life, within 120 days and thats a stretch.

Just curious, but wasn't the additional hops used to create IPA's put in as a preservative?

Shouldn't they actually last longer than other beers?

Yes, the reason why it was called India Pale Ale is because the British were shipping it to India in the days before the Suez.

I don't think anyone is saying that Hopslam won't "last" as long as other beers. What we're saying is that the flavor of a fresh IPA is leaps and bounds above the flavor of an old, stale IPA.

Over time (and due to light exposure), the alpha acids in IPAs break down and you're left with a beer that's much more malty and sweet, with no bitterness or hoppiness to balance out the malty sweetness. That's not to say it's no good or that you can't drink it, but the beer just isn't as good.

As a fun flavor experiment (and due to a friend having a ton of old hoppy beer), we have tried verticals of Hopslam back to the mid 2000s. They're surprisingly tasty still, though there is zero hop presence; they all kind of taste like an orange peel American strong ale or barleywine. We have fooled a few people with this description, but only after they gave a visible look of disgust when we asked if they wanted to try an old bottle of Hopslam.

With all IPAs, fresher is better.

Phish nailed it, its why most of Stone's big IPA's are called Enjoy By XXXX.

The bigger the IPA, the more hops, so the faster the slide.

I'd like to recognize 18th Street Brewery in Hammond/Gary, IN for their fantastic beers and unique taproom experience. I was driving back from a Michigan work trip last week and stopped in the Hammond, IN location to wait out the rush hour. Kind of felt like I was in the movie Judgement Night. Most metal brewery I've been to.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...psvzvxdemw.jpg

I just had a beer from 18th Street Brewery on Friday, Imperial Blud. It was awesome!

There's a lot of 18th St hype around here so I decided to check them out. I had a full pour of Galaxy Slayer which I thought was outstanding and a small pour of a bretted IPA fermented in wine barrels, which I'm still trying to process. I also had a barrel aged famerhouse from their Sour Note side project, which again was outstanding. Had I not been driving and worried about the hubcaps on my rental, I would've stayed longer. I did grab some stuff to-go.

Well, **** special occasions. Decided to crack the Hopslam.

Excellent as always.

Im in Wichita on a business trip, River City Brewing Co. Has a pretty good Red Ale