Brewed By: The Alchemist in Waterbury, Vermont
Purchased: 16oz CAN generously beer-mailed/gifted to me; 2014
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 8.0%
Reported IBUs: 120+????
Honestly, I never thought I would be drinking Heady Topper in my immediate future. I don't really beer trade...I'm pretty happy with finding local IPAs (midwest shelf turds). And yeah. Tonight's beer was generously sent my way by a cool dude...so I guess I'm tributing these thoughts to him. I'm also going to do a Heyoka! vs. Heady Topper throwdown tomorrow (which makes no sense because one is an IPA and the other is an IIPA...but more on that tomorrow). About The Alchemist:
If you aren't familiar with Heady Topper I don't know what to say. Literally, I am not going to say anything else about it. Heady Topher. You know. This is a cloudy, unfiltered beer. It's well carbonated, and has a radiant orange juice body. It produces a wispy finger of cloudy, dense head...and it just kind of looks like the quintessential American hop bomb. It's pretty pale, and dresses well. At times during this review I noticed the beer had a smug smirk. Needless to say, I would definitely bang it, but casting it in Spider-Man 3 was a big misstep. Donna had nice boobs. DAE?
Obviously the aroma is hops, but where do they go? What do they do? How many fingers do they use? Honestly, this smells like super dank orange and pine. It dials up that West Coast sweetness, with hints of guava, tropical fruits, agave, and bongwater. It's in the realm of Maine or even Pipeworks. But that's just a comparison for me. I think a baseline West Coast double IPA is probably Green Flash's. You really need to start there. You should lift too.
Yum...this is really tasty, and I see why this is immensely popular. This is really good shit. First off, this is a thick beer. At 8.0%, they managed to cram a lot of body into this. Second, this is really hoppy. Obviously. This dials up huge notes of pine, orange, guava, resin/hemp, and subtle notes that suggest tropical fruit, agave, and weed. There is enough sweetness in here to balance out the immense bitterness, so you end up getting a lot of welcomed resin notes. This is also pretty dank. The malt backbone is completely unobtrusive, as it should be. I think that is really what differentiates this beer from so many other Imperial IPAs. This beer doesn't have any malt notes or caramel sweetness...it's clean and hoppy, but it is still substantial through and through.
I dunno, there's not much to say. This is immensely drinkable at 8.0%. It is clean, full-bodied, carbonated, and it has good depth and duration. The one knock here might be complexity, but it's not an inherently complex style. Really, this is just a fantastic beer that lives up to its hype with huge orange, grapefruit, pine, guava, resin, and tropical fruit punching your mouth up front; the mids roll into orange juice, resin, weed, grassy notes, and more hops; the back end drops OJ, resinous dankness, and a dry clean finish.
Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. This lives up to the hype. It really does. This is one of the better Imperial IPAs I have had. This is a huge beer that thrives within the confines of 8.0%. It's also super clean, with virtually no traces of malt. This is a hop-forward experience through and through, but it is also fairly balanced and drinkable. I would suggest pairing this with spicy foods, pizza, a burger, wings, or anything that benefits from tons of dank, juicy hops. This is an OJ explosion and I am happy to have tried it.
Random Thought: I guess I can tick this whale off my list. Woohoo. Also, forget the whole "drink from the can" noise. This is going into a glass.
Reported IBUs: 120+????
Honestly, I never thought I would be drinking Heady Topper in my immediate future. I don't really beer trade...I'm pretty happy with finding local IPAs (midwest shelf turds). And yeah. Tonight's beer was generously sent my way by a cool dude...so I guess I'm tributing these thoughts to him. I'm also going to do a Heyoka! vs. Heady Topper throwdown tomorrow (which makes no sense because one is an IPA and the other is an IIPA...but more on that tomorrow). About The Alchemist:
The Alchemist are a brewery based out of Waterbury, Vermont. The brewery is small, local, family owned, and famous for Heady Topper. The brewery has been cranking out Heady Topper since 2003, but up until 2011 the beer was a tap-only exclusive. In 2011, the Alchemist Cannery was built, and since then the brewery has been selling so much Heady Topper they hardly have time to brew anything else. The brewery is currently closed to the public, and the Alchemist Pub and Brewery was demolished in Tropical Storm Irene. For more info, Facebook it or whatever.
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| Heady Topher |
Obviously the aroma is hops, but where do they go? What do they do? How many fingers do they use? Honestly, this smells like super dank orange and pine. It dials up that West Coast sweetness, with hints of guava, tropical fruits, agave, and bongwater. It's in the realm of Maine or even Pipeworks. But that's just a comparison for me. I think a baseline West Coast double IPA is probably Green Flash's. You really need to start there. You should lift too.
Yum...this is really tasty, and I see why this is immensely popular. This is really good shit. First off, this is a thick beer. At 8.0%, they managed to cram a lot of body into this. Second, this is really hoppy. Obviously. This dials up huge notes of pine, orange, guava, resin/hemp, and subtle notes that suggest tropical fruit, agave, and weed. There is enough sweetness in here to balance out the immense bitterness, so you end up getting a lot of welcomed resin notes. This is also pretty dank. The malt backbone is completely unobtrusive, as it should be. I think that is really what differentiates this beer from so many other Imperial IPAs. This beer doesn't have any malt notes or caramel sweetness...it's clean and hoppy, but it is still substantial through and through.
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| Heady Toppler ftw or something |
I dunno, there's not much to say. This is immensely drinkable at 8.0%. It is clean, full-bodied, carbonated, and it has good depth and duration. The one knock here might be complexity, but it's not an inherently complex style. Really, this is just a fantastic beer that lives up to its hype with huge orange, grapefruit, pine, guava, resin, and tropical fruit punching your mouth up front; the mids roll into orange juice, resin, weed, grassy notes, and more hops; the back end drops OJ, resinous dankness, and a dry clean finish.
Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. This lives up to the hype. It really does. This is one of the better Imperial IPAs I have had. This is a huge beer that thrives within the confines of 8.0%. It's also super clean, with virtually no traces of malt. This is a hop-forward experience through and through, but it is also fairly balanced and drinkable. I would suggest pairing this with spicy foods, pizza, a burger, wings, or anything that benefits from tons of dank, juicy hops. This is an OJ explosion and I am happy to have tried it.
Random Thought: I guess I can tick this whale off my list. Woohoo. Also, forget the whole "drink from the can" noise. This is going into a glass.
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