Notes from 7/8/2008. Nananana-nananana HopSlam! Nananana-nananana HopSlam! Nananana-nananana HopSlam! HopSlam!! HopSlam!!! hopslam... Two bottles from the same batch(8283), from two beautiful & generous traders. One man(artisanbrew), one woman(Dryzga), helping me test the limits of my gluttony... time to doublefist some HopSlam! Alright, I'll allow a little civility; two tulips. The least I can do. :P The bottles pour out an orange amber, just slightly murky, just a little irritated by all the commotion. Close to an inch of head across the board, with an uneven layer of pond scum left behind once they settle. Greasy & yeasty, rich alcoholic fumes, cracker-ish, with of course... the rindy/green/dirty hops. A tingly note of pepper skims off the top as well. The hops seem to be backloaded, as all the malt & sugar suckerpunches me first. ...& wah?, where did all the alcohol go? Oooh, I feel it in my esophagus... but not on my tongue(so much). A sharp crackermeal-ish, syrup sweetness like I said comes first. Then it gets pretty peppery in the middle. It quits toying around, & in the endgame, it just clamps down on your tongue with a weighted belt stuffed with grapefruit rind, arugula, & a seriously strong pinch of salt I didn't see coming. I came in expecting something along the lines of Double Simcoe, but the texture is totally different. Very slippery, but very well carbonated. The alcohol doesn't come into play till it's halfway down, which was amazing. Body is no where as thick as Double Simcoe. Probably the only thing they have in common now is price. :P Tasty. Who's still hoarding some? :)