Heady Topper
The Alchemist in Stowe, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - Imperial New England / Hazy Regular|
Score
8.17
|
|
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.
Sign up to add a tick or review
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Rerate 2018-02-09: fresh 1 pint can from Mikkeller webshop.
Orange, very hazy body, with floaties and a big, frothy, lacing, off-white head.
Lovely aroma of apricot juice, orange juice, dankness, pine, wet grass, pineapple, lychee, earth, some biscuit.
Tastes similar, a bit more citric, very juicy, while also very crisp and incredibly fresh for the ABV.
Medium, oily mouhtfeel, with an average carbonation.
Finishes complex and long, bitter, medium dry, crisp, zesty, but also very juicy and a bit sweet, with lingering pine, dankness, apricot juice, lychee, some earth.
Wow, this is amazing! Finally got to try a fresh can and now I see, where all the NE style IPAs drew their inspiration from! Tastes like a state-of-the-art Hazy IPA, but with even more character and depth and this beer exists so much longer than all the trendy stuff. Drinks very fresh for the strength, alcohol is completely hidden. This has everything, crispness, juiciness, dankness, a great dry hop-bite towards the finish, but it's so smooth at the same time. One of the most balanced beers I've ever had! Deserves the hype with every bit.
Orange, very hazy body, with floaties and a big, frothy, lacing, off-white head.
Lovely aroma of apricot juice, orange juice, dankness, pine, wet grass, pineapple, lychee, earth, some biscuit.
Tastes similar, a bit more citric, very juicy, while also very crisp and incredibly fresh for the ABV.
Medium, oily mouhtfeel, with an average carbonation.
Finishes complex and long, bitter, medium dry, crisp, zesty, but also very juicy and a bit sweet, with lingering pine, dankness, apricot juice, lychee, some earth.
Wow, this is amazing! Finally got to try a fresh can and now I see, where all the NE style IPAs drew their inspiration from! Tastes like a state-of-the-art Hazy IPA, but with even more character and depth and this beer exists so much longer than all the trendy stuff. Drinks very fresh for the strength, alcohol is completely hidden. This has everything, crispness, juiciness, dankness, a great dry hop-bite towards the finish, but it's so smooth at the same time. One of the most balanced beers I've ever had! Deserves the hype with every bit.
Tried
from Can
on 17 Oct 2015
at 12:21
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Old Rating 2015: 500ml can shared by Gurthnar at Bratislava RB Tasting, big thanks. Yellow hazy color, small white smell. Smells Pines, sweet herbs, grass, citric, grapefruity, light currant. Full body, soft carbonation, slick mouthfeel. Tastes Pines, citric, grapefruity, oranges, grass. Finishes with some hops, citric and pines. Decent stuff, hops not totally crisp, a bit underwhelming but still good. 7, 4, 7, 3, 16 New Rating: 1pt can courtesy of Saeglopur, big thanks. dark yellow cloudy color, small white head. smells lychee, spices, peppery, grassy, herbal. nice smell. full body, soft carbonation, slick mouthfeel. tastes citric, grainy, leathery, peppery, grassy, light herbal. finishes medium bitter with notes of citrus, leather and peppery notes. very nice one, rather on the herbal peppery side, bascially same ratings, rather weird one even.
Tried
from Can
on 17 Oct 2015
at 12:21
7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Can thanks to Jack! Pours a clear golden orange with a white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a good amount of bitter citrus with some light pine and a bit of a sweet grain backbone. Flavor is similar with a great combination of bitter citrus and pine with a light grass note and a light sweet grain backbone.
Tried
from Can
on 02 Oct 2015
at 19:20
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
From a can pours out a golden topped with a nice head. Have had this a few times and is always good. Nose is pine citrus hops a nice caramel sweetness. Taste is more of the nice hop kick well balanced malt bill. Not to sweet and just the right amount of bitterness.
Tried
from Can
on 15 Sep 2015
at 07:26
9.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 10
Texture 10
Overall 10
Canned 473 ml. Huge thanks to Rodney for getting this and sending one can to Zagreb. Shared with JFK10000 and Miro. Tried the sip from the can and poured into glass. Pours hazy golden with white head. Great fruity citrus/grapefruit aroma, much more intensive from the can. Hoppy fruity piney flavor with malt backbone. Very balanced. Light sweetness and heavy bitterness. Great lasting bitter finish. Loved it. If I had to choose one beer to drink from now on...
Tried
from Can
on 05 Jul 2015
at 11:08
7.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Can @ ZEBF 2015. There it is, the legendary Heady Topper. Got a fresh one, three days old it seemed. It’s a nicely hopped double IPA, with a bitter taste of pine, citrus and bitter peach. Caramelly malt body. Nice.
Tried
from Can
on 26 Jun 2015
at 11:50
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
16 ounce can. Pours a cloudy yellow gold color with a moderate creamy beige head. Aroma is pine and grapefruit. Flavor is bittersweet malt and lots of juicy tropical fruit. Notes of pineapple, grapefruit and mango. There is an underlying sweet caramel maltiness. Every sip brings complex hops and tropical fruit. Amazingly drinkable for such a highly hopped IIPA.
Tried
from Can
on 25 Jun 2015
at 21:27
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 10
From old notes. 475ml can from Olbutiken shared with friends after Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2012. Hazy orange color with white to off white head. Heavy hoppy aroma, juicy fruity, tropical fruits, citrus fruits, orange, grapefruit, peach, pine, malty notes too. Sweet and bitter taste like aroma. Medium oily body with soft carbonation.
Tried
from Can
on 19 Jun 2015
at 12:40