The Bar Towel

Had my first Smashbomb in a bottle last night...is it just me or is different than when on tap? Found very little lacing or head retention, muted citrus on the nose and not quite the hop wallop when I have it at C'est What? Thoughts?

Probably just the different levels of carbonation/gases used.

I think those bottles have also been sitting in a warehouse for about a month, which could explain the muted citrus. I actually had a bottle last weekend that was part of a case I'd picked up on Canada Day weekend, and I found the citrus to be less evident than when I first picked them up. Bottling date of June 18 I believe.

Sounds like a good one to pick up at the FM Brewery. Honestly the beers in Berlin GMY were showing less than a 1-2 week bottling date, at PRIVATE stores so maybe the lack of state-run retail helps shorten the supply chain.

Mind you Berlin is hopping with retail demand, which helps keep supply fresh. And here, many import beers are fresher through our system than the same you might find in Buffalo. Good with the bad, gentlemen.

Streets wrote:I think those bottles have also been sitting in a warehouse for about a month, which could explain the muted citrus. I actually had a bottle last weekend that was part of a case I'd picked up on Canada Day weekend, and I found the citrus to be less evident than when I first picked them up. Bottling date of June 18 I believe.

FYI - I promise the beer recipe is the same as the draught. It always concerns me on the first warehouse order that the QA process takes about a month or 20% of the lifespan of the beer. It will definitely dull the hop flavour in highly hopped beers.

Subsequent orders should be more vibrant as they don't receive the same analysis. Another possibility is a lower temperature in your home fridge than on tap. Who knows?

Thanks for drinking the bomb either way.

Peter,
Is the SmashBomb Atomic IPA in a open 6 pack? I would like to try one bottle to see if it's as hoppy as it is on draught. If it is I will buy more.

Yes, it's in open sixers.

Streets wrote:Yes, it's in open sixers.

Good luck and let me know the results!

Publican wrote:Peter,
Is the SmashBomb Atomic IPA in a open 6 pack? I would like to try one bottle to see if it's as hoppy as it is on draught. If it is I will buy more.

you seriously wouldn't buy a full 6'r for fear it may not be as hoppy as draught?

looking at the inventory positions at LCBO, most of it is already gone. And judging by general talk around here, London drinkers will support FM efforts in the future, too

While I was excited about my initial purchase of a case of Smashbomb, it is becoming increasingly more disappointing. There is a definite difference between the bottled and kegged versions.

Definitely different than the on tap version I had a few months back. The hops are a lot less pronounced and it had this awkward bitterness. Perhaps the hops were faded, but either way it was much better on tap.

It was still pretty good, it just doesn't fit into the 'one of the best IPAs in Canada' category anymore.

I did notice a difference between the two as well, but I have to believe what Peter said, makes sense.
I was up at the brewery the other weekend for my bachelor party, and having it straight out of the keg, at the brewery was out of this world. I can't get enough of the smashbomb!!
Looking forward to future shipments!!

Cheers!
Jeff

I believe the main factor for this difference is likely the time it sat around at the lcbo. For the last couple weeks i've been drinking Smashbomb bottled July 1st that was picked up at the brewery then straight in my fridge. It's been amazingly hoppy and delicious. Yesterday I got my first 6'er from the lcbo bottled June 17, which sat around warehouses, and while good, I didn't love it as much as the first bottles I had. Not as much a citrus hop, and more a distinct bitterness as RayOhm mentioned, reminded me alot of DDC Corne du Diable (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just not what was expected). Unless the batches varied slightly, I'm sure it was just the aging time. Excited to pick up the next batches, only upset i'm moving further away from the brewery soon.

bought a two-four from the brewery a couple weeks ago and it was better than any versions i had on tap.

hopefully this is just a setback of doing business with the lcbo and future shipments get to the shelves faster.