The Alchemist Heady Topper Double IPA (REVISITED)

(Original Review -- February 2016)

Beer Name: Heady Topper
Brewery: The Alchemist (Stowe, VT)
ABV: 8.0%
How sold: 4-packs of 16 oz cans
Where bought: Craft Shack (San Diego, CA)  ****bought online
Price: $6.99(!) for 16 oz. tallboy can

Date Purchased: May 17, 2018
Date Received: May 30, 2018
Date Drank: June 6, 2018
When brewed? Year-round beer.
IBUs: 100 (per Untappd)

What's on the Can: "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 amounts 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 right into the can. Freshness and control have always been my main concern when it comes to our beer. We are committed to providing you with an unfiltered and unpasteurized hop experience. Why do I recommend that you drink it from the can? Quite simply, to ensure a delightful, hop experience. The act of pouring it in a glass smells nice, but it releases the essential hop aromas that 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 at its best when it is young, fresh and hazy. Keep it cold, but not ice cold. Drink this beer immediately, we are always making more."

What's on the Website: "We love hops - that's why our flagship Double IPA, Heady Topper, is packed full of them. Heady Topper was designed to showcase the complex flavors and aromas these flowers produce. The Alchemist has been brewing Heady Topper since 2003. This Double IPA is not intended to be the strongest or most bitter DIPA. It is brewed to give you wave after wave of hop flavor without any astringent bitterness. We brew Heady Topper with a proprietary blend of six hops - each imparting its own unique flavor and aroma. Take a big sip of Heady and see what hop flavors you can pick out. Orange? Tropical fruit? Pink Grapefruit? Pine? Spice? There is just enough malt to give this beer some backbone, but not enough to take the hops away from the center stage."

Where distributed: The Alchemist usually distributes their beers only in Vermont, which is why I was surprised to see Southern California get cases of Crusher, Heady Topper, and Focal Banger back in May 2018. For the longest time, the Alchemist only distributed within Vermont, within a 20-mile radius of Waterbury. Click here for where and when to buy Alchemist beers!

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Pours hazy light orange into a pint glass. Unfiltered; sediment suspended in the beer and at the bottom of the can. White head; some lacing on the glass. 4.5/5

Smell (25%): Lovely balance of hops, resinous/dank, and tropical grapefruit and citrus. 4.5/5

Taste (40%): Follows the nose; balance of hops, resin, and tropical grapefruit. Towards the aftertaste, more of the citrus comes through, including orange and tangerine. Full of flavor. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel (10%): Medium-bodied; good carbonation. Juicy with slight dry tongue. 4.25/5

Overall (20%): An outstanding Double IPA. After having a few hundred different beers since last having Heady Topper over two and a half years ago, it's pretty safe to say my palate has changed and now prefers the very tropical-forward New England-style IPA. Despite being from New England, I would not count Heady Topper (or any Alchemist beer I've had, for that matter) in the NE-style category most of us in different parts of the U.S. are familiar with. Make no mistake, this is a fantastic Double IPA, but in the last few years, more breweries have popped up and the competition has gotten crazy good. And yes, it's all personal preference. The price is steep to get this, so also keep that in mind. 4.5/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.575/5