Heady Topper - The Alchemist

DocJitsu

California

4.21/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a murky, pale, wheat golden color with a cottony, stubborn white head. Flecks of barley and vegetable matter float all around the beer. Juicy grapefruit with some pine on the nose. ONce the beer settles, sweeter fruit breaks through. Grapefruit up front then grass and pine emerge. But, the flavor suddenly falls of a cliff for an abrupt finish. Alcohol and unami get picked up right away and pervade throughout. The mouthfeel is a little thin for the style. It dries a little toward the finish. Pretty big disappointment. Pliny, Abrasive, Sucks, all way superior in my opinion.

Serving type: can

01-31-2013 03:04:43 | More by DocJitsu

Jackals

California

4.63/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

I have to say that I was impressed by this beer. I only managed to have a couple of sips since i was sharing the one can we found we a couple of friends but i found this beer to be very,. very enjoyable.
The can has some pretty cool artwork
The smell was nice and hoppy, with a fantastic aroma of tropical fruits and grasses
The flavor was what sealed the deal for me, really crisp, clean, with a slow rolling bitterness that led to a lightly sweet finish the hangs with you for a while.
All in all it is a great beer, too bad they dont distribute more of it, because i would buy a case

Serving type: can

06-19-2013 21:43:41 | More by Jackals

tnewmark

Kansas

5/5  rDev +5.9%

06-19-2013 13:45:14 | More by tnewmark

taylor714914

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev -4.7%

06-18-2013 23:01:24 | More by taylor714914

bclemens

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +0.6%

06-18-2013 17:16:29 | More by bclemens

mdg80

Maine

5/5  rDev +5.9%

06-18-2013 16:34:18 | More by mdg80

JOSHMAN

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +5.9%

06-18-2013 14:41:32 | More by JOSHMAN

TychoNDC

New York

4.75/5  rDev +0.6%

06-18-2013 01:36:25 | More by TychoNDC

vbiliyar

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -15.3%

06-17-2013 14:13:08 | More by vbiliyar

ShanePB

Pennsylvania

4.64/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

A: Golden honey brown colored body with a bubbly, rocky and creamy looking head. A nice retention ring is left behind, along with sticky lace on the walls. Unfiltered floaties are unmistakable in the body, as mentioned there might be should you pour this out. Really, they're just ugly and kill the looks of the beer. I can't help but think this is part of the reason they recommend drinking from the can (other than the hop aroma retention).

S: Piney and earthy hop notes rocket from the glass. Hop resin and oils, orange and lemon bitter peels are next. Towards the end is a crisp bready element and caramel & pale malts. Touches of bitterness dance around the entire nose.

T: Bitter hop resin and oils wrestle the palate with a gentle nature. Pine and earthy hop notes again come through. Mid-palate are sweet orange and pink grapefruit oils, a generic citrus and rich sweet caramel malts. Finishes sticky and bitter.

M: Bubbly and creamy, perhaps a bit thin for a medium-bodied beer, though. Sticky bitter pine and sap on the palate in the linger.

This is easily in the top five Imperial IPAs I've ever had to date. It's extremely balanced, flavorful and never lets up on the delicious hop abuse.

Serving type: can

06-17-2013 12:10:05 | More by ShanePB

spw109

New York

5/5  rDev +5.9%

06-17-2013 07:24:59 | More by spw109

Hophunter18

Delaware

5/5  rDev +5.9%

06-17-2013 03:53:04 | More by Hophunter18

colsandurz

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +5.9%

06-17-2013 00:50:22 | More by colsandurz

kjfinnerty

Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +0.6%

06-16-2013 22:59:33 | More by kjfinnerty

Barley76

Maine

4.75/5  rDev +0.6%

06-16-2013 22:07:06 | More by Barley76

Rocklobsterbrew

Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +0.6%

06-16-2013 18:18:06 | More by Rocklobsterbrew

barflybastard

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +5.9%

06-16-2013 15:53:11 | More by barflybastard

swinyeju

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev -15.3%

06-16-2013 15:07:29 | More by swinyeju

eduardolinhalis

Switzerland

4.98/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

473ml can served in a tulip (to take a look in the appearance) and also drunk from the can as suggested by the brewer.

A: Pours a hazy yellow to orange to beige color forming a small think bubbled creamy head. Low retention and only few lingering lacings left in the glass

S: Hops bomb, of course. Refreshing and delicious. Strongly tropical fruity profile with strong notes of green mango (I've grown up in Brazil and we've had some mango trees in our backyard. So, believe me, green mango smells pretty much like this). A bit lemony. Malts and some sweetness

T: Excellent taste. Again, of course, giving emphasis to the hops. But the malts profile is also very good. Pale malts, mainly, something between Maris Otter and Perl, Slightly sweet upfront but with an overall, dry and crispy malt profile. Intensive hops bitterness, however, very well harmonized. Notes of citrus lemony hops. Green mango, tropical fruits. Light notes of brown sugar

M: Medium body and carbonation. Strong citrus hoppy aftertaste

O: Very drinkable. Excellent experience. I was expecting an excellent IIPA and that's exactly what I've got

Serving type: can

06-16-2013 10:37:53 | More by eduardolinhalis

messemcb

Arizona

4.75/5  rDev +0.6%

06-16-2013 09:19:11 | More by messemcb

errantnight

California

4.25/5  rDev -10%

06-16-2013 07:15:02 | More by errantnight

Oxymoron

Colorado

3.9/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.75

An east coast DIPA trying to be an west coast DIPA. Pours a very cloudy light amber to dark golden color. A good carbonation with good retention through the tasting.

The nose offers a lot of complexity and very malt forward. A nice citrus forward aroma with notes of orange mango and lemon. Some minor grapefruit, more comes out as you taste it. Some piney and hint of herbal undertones as well but more citrus forward. A hint of bready malts but no off yeast notes.

The taste is a bit one dimensional. Hoppy flavors up front with good citrus and orangy flavors. The grapefruit comes out a bit more versus the nose. But the bitterness is a bit lacking and the malt/body is hidden. Some piney and over resiny notes come out as well into the finish. But I would have liked a bit more complexity in the taste.

The body is moderately light. Has more of a single IPA character instead of the DIPA complexity. Carbonation is good.

I do feel like Im nit picking this beer, and there are some fantastic hop notes that really come out, but I am really looking for a bit more character here. Well it's a good thing no one really reads these reviews anyways.

Serving type: can

06-16-2013 07:13:25 | More by Oxymoron

AJ01923

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +5.9%

06-16-2013 02:52:28 | More by AJ01923

nollie77

Ohio

4.75/5  rDev +0.6%

06-16-2013 02:35:01 | More by nollie77

TomTown

Texas

4.5/5  rDev -4.7%

06-16-2013 02:30:58 | More by TomTown