Name: Alchemist Brewing Heady Topper
Style: Double American IPA
IBU: 75
ABV: 8%
“Heady Topper is an American Double India Pale Ale. This beer is not intended to be the biggest or most bitter. It is meant to give you wave after wave of hoppy goodness on your palate. Tremendous amount of American hops will creep up on you, and leave you with a dense hoppy finish in your mouth. So drinkable, it’s scary. Sometimes I wish I could crawl into the can. Freshness and control have always been my main concern when it comes to beer. So we are committed to providing you with an unfiltered and unpasteurized hop experience. Why do I recommend you drink it from a can? Quite simply to ensure a delightful hop experience. The act of pouring into a glass smells nice, but it releases the essential hop aromas we have worked so hard to retain. If you MUST pour it into a glass, you may find that some of the hop resins have settled to the bottom – leave them in the can when pouring. This beer is perishable and is at its best young, fresh and hazy. Keep it cold, but not ice cold. Drink this beer immediately, we are always making more.”
To say I was excited to try this beer was an understatement. It is probably one of the most hyped beers on the market and held the title of highest rated beer on BeerAdvocate.com up until a few years ago. One of the reasons this beer is so highly sought after is its small distribution area which only covers a small radius around Waterbury, VT, which is where I traveled recently(thanks to my wonderful fiancée for making the journey with me). The beer’s distribution is so small that only certain beer distributers get it on each day of the week, often selling out in a matter of hours. After picking up a case and keeping it chilled on two separate car rides. It made it home to PA, but not after I stopped by a local eatery and tried one with lunch. I think further inspection is required though, so come along on the ride.
Written in all caps on the Can and as well in the description, it clearly says to drink it straight from the can, so I will be skipping the color aspect of the review for that reason, unless black and metallic count. The nose is like a hop explosion, with citrus and pine rushing through every whiff. It is everything you want a double IPA to be when you smell the nose. The beer taste like hops, hops, hops. You can tell they use different varieties of hops as you get varying flavors of both pine and citrus which balance nicely with a lot of malt. I drink a ton of IPAs and Double IPAs and this is one the most full-bodied ones I have had. The resin and malt linger on the palate beautifully. Overall, this beer lived up to its legend. It is probably the best DIPA I have ever had(which is a lot). I initially had mixed feelings over my first can, but this being my 5th can I can say with confidence this is a great beer. I wish I was able to get a second case of the stuff. It is a beer that was worth the wait and the drive to get. I am happy to be able to check off this beer off my must drink list, but it is definitely on my must drink again list. I recommend it if you are hop head like myself and even if you aren’t, I think you still like it as long as you like the occasional IPA. Cheers!
