Photo by Joseph Leonardo.

Hype is an amazing thing. The same driving force that makes you want to get something now makes you weary about it. In the craft beer scene, hype can come from so many places. Sometimes the scarcity of a product creates a frenzy to get it. Other times, raters on Beer Advocate or Ratebeer give a beer such glowing reviews that we swallow the pill and do anything we can to get our hands on it. Other times, many people aren’t sure where the fervor comes from. There are many articles about hyped beers that can’t really pinpoint the reason for hype…which in turn create more talk about the beer to feed the hype machine.

Recently, Bell’s released its much-hyped Double IPA (DIPA) Hopslam. Now I’m going to go right out there and say it: this beer lives up to its hype. Citrus and pine are bursting out of the glass with honey and biscuity malts subtly glazing the palate. You’ll be saying “this can’t really be 10 percent ABV,” all while that girl in the corner suddenly went from ‘ewww…’ to ‘ooooh!’ It is certainly one of the best within the style and possibly the best we can get in D.C.

Last year’s paltry amount of Hopslam in the area sent lines out the door of some places and kicked sixtels of it in less than an hour. But we were willing to pay. The hype about just being able to be one of the fortunate few to grab a tumbler at a tapping or last single in the cooler for however much it costs was worth it for both bragging rights and taking a stroll through flavor country.