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It’s been about three months since NoDa Brewing beat out 223 other IPAs to win a gold medal at the World Beer Cup for their Hop Drop ‘n Roll. Doing so immediately launched them into the national spotlight, and they’ve been doing what they can to keep up with demand since. Winning gold was a great achievement, not only for NoDa Brewing but for the city of Charlotte and the state of North Carolina. Many local beer geeks, who have known all along how great the beer is, were thumping their chests with pride and validation. Others in the months since, however, haven’t been so appreciative.

In fact, lately many have been calling or e-mailing NoDa to complain about the beer’s dwindling availability in light of its newfound rarity. After hearing several nasty complaints, rumors and outright lies, co-founder Suzie Ford decided it would be best to address some of these by sitting down with myself and Charlotte Magazine’s Matt McKenzie (whose resulting piece you can read here).

So with that, let’s get to it and address five myths about NoDa Brewing’s Hop Drop ‘n Roll.

1. Hop Drop ‘n Roll is being discontinued.

This is the rumor with the least merit, but the one that Suzie most wants to put to rest. Why would the brewery discontinue a beer that they have brewed since day one, right after it won pretty much the highest accolade possible? The truth is that the folks at NoDa Brewing would love nothing more than to brew as much Hop Drop ‘n Roll as the people can drink.

Someone heard this rumor and bought out one of the Total Wines to the tune of five cases. That’s a lot of beer that other people could have enjoyed. It’s a vicious cycle; the beer is already in high demand, and now people are snatching up more than they would have otherwise.

And while the beer isn’t going away, however, you may indeed start to see a little less of it in the market. Which brings me to …

2. NoDa can brew more Hop Drop ‘n Roll at any time.

Hop Drop ‘n Roll was first brewed in co-founder Todd Ford’s garage around five years ago. On such a small scale, Todd didn’t have to worry if he’d have enough hops — he just wanted to brew an IPA that rivaled those he tried every time he flew out West.

The big batches of Hop Drop ‘n Roll brewed at NoDa today require a whopping 72 pounds of Citra hops alone (with about the same amount of Amarillo). As its name suggests, Citra hops impart some of those really bright citrus and fruit notes into Hop Drop. The only problem is that the hop is a proprietary hop, and it is in extremely high demand.

“It is definitely the hottest hop out there,” said Suzie. “No one has any extra.”

Compounding this problem is that hops are contracted for the next year, meaning NoDa ordered this year’s supply last year, well before they won the award. They increased production of the beer after winning gold to meet demand, but after taking a closer look at their Citra inventory they decided to scale back and brew at a rate that they could sustain until the next year.

The brewery may luck out and be able to secure some more for next year, as breweries that can’t get as much Citra choose instead to order hot new hops like Equinox, Mosaic, Ella and Topaz. They will also get a little help from the centrifuge that they ordered last week. This device essentially clarifies the beer without the brewery having to filter it. It won’t make more hops magically appear, but it will allow the brewery to salvage more beer. It’s only natural that hops soak up some of the beer during the brewing process. But since Hop Drop ‘n Roll is such hop-heavy beer, a higher volume of beer is soaked up by the very hops that make it so great in the first place. Suzie told me that they recently lost 11-barrels of a 60-barrel batch to the hops.

Hops aren’t the only constraint; they are limited by time as well. Hop Drop ‘n Roll ferments for 10-14 days, and Suzie has actually had people ask why they can’t turn it over more quickly.

“If you push it and it can’t sit and dry-hop for a few days, it’s not the same beer,” said Suzie. “We will not rush a beer, and we will not put out a sub-par product. We don’t want to brew the heart and soul out of Hop Drop.”

3. NoDa is lazy.

Yes, this has actually been a complaint leveled at the brewery.

There was a line of people waiting for the brewery to open the day after they won gold. The folks at NoDa knew they would have to work harder than ever.

And they did. Bars requested half barrels instead of sixtels, shops wanted 10 cases instead of two, and NoDa did everything they could to meet that demand.

“Literally overnight,” said Suzie of the interest in the beer. “The orders doubled that very next week.”

They have been working hard ever since. They have four brewers each brewing a 15-barrel batch of beer a day. Bart Roberts starts his day at 4:45 a.m. Chad Henderson follows, then Matt Virgil, and finally Brian Schonder, who typically leaves between 9:30-10:30 p.m. The brewery brews this way for five days a week, and they also do one batch every other Sunday.

4. Hop Drop ‘n Roll is the only beer NoDa brews.

So maybe this one is less of a myth and simply something we take for granted. NoDa Brewing currently has nine beers in production, and that number will go up to 10 with the Gose that they’re tapping this Friday. Cans of Jam Session and CAVU are still plentiful. And remember their other medal-winner, Coco Loco? It’s as good today as it was when it received the silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival almost two years ago.

While these might not appeal to those looking for Hop Drop ‘n Roll’s hoppy punch, don’t fret: the brewery is currently working on a new IPA. It won’t replace Hop Drop, but it will serve as a nice alternative when it’s not available.

“We’re giving Woody and Wilcox a facelift,” said Suzie. “We’re going to make that a new IPA formula, something in between Jam Session and Hop Drop ‘n Roll. It’s going to be a nice alternative.”

5. Head brewer Chad Henderson cries in every other batch.

False. Chad cries in every single batch of Hop Drop ‘n Roll.

Or so he joked when I was at the brewery the other day. Still, it’s not that far from the truth. No one’s literally weeping into these batches — at least not that I’m aware of — but they are doing everything they can to get as much of this beloved beer out into the market as they can.

“Be patient,” Suzie said. “We really are working as hard as we can. It hurts us as much as it hurts you.”