Hopslam in Chicago

Hopslam in Chicago

Tim wrote about his impressions of this year’s Hopslam when it was actually contemporary. He saw Ashley’s tweet about the tapping, and I saw that Sheffield’s was having a tapping party on Facebook. Hooray for beer and social networking!

I won’t give a full review of Hopslam, since Tim took care of that, but I wanted mention a few things about the beer and the bar.

Beer Release Events Are Awesome

Tim attended one at Ashley’s and my Hopslam release was hosted at Sheffield’s. There’s something about the feeling of a crowd together, all excited about the same thing. It’s the reason I like going to movies at midnight the day they open or going to live sports. There’s something about the crowd and shared emotion that makes the event or product itself much more enjoyable.

Beyond the crowd, I enjoyed having a theme for my drinking. Back in Sheffield’s “Beer School” bar they had, in addition to Hopslam, Hell Hath No Fury, Winter White and Two Hearted from Bell’s. It was like being back in Michigan for a night. When I was there for the tapping of Vrienden, a collaboration between New Belgium and Allagash, they also had a New Belgium Trippel and IPA along with Allagash Black and White. While aimlessly exploring an extensive tap list is fun (and usually the way ago), sometimes a more limited, focused and curated experience is awesome as a change of pace.

Sheffield’s Is Awesome

Moving away from Michigan has definitely helped me appreciate Bell’s more. They have tons of different beers (and an incredibly impressive selection of stouts) and almost all of them are anywhere between Very Good and I Could Die Right Now And Be Happy.

I’ll credit it to a mixture of expatriate nostalgia and appreciation borne from seperation, but now when I see Bell’s on draft, I’ll snag a pint (especially Two Hearted). I usually have at least on variety of Bell’s in the fridge at any given time. In getting excited to try new breweries, I let Bell’s fall by the wayside, but that’s not fair to them or, more importantly, to me.