Heady Topper - The Alchemist

herman77

Minnesota

4.7/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Big Thanks to MarkF150. Believe this was canned 8/9

A: Very cloudy honey orange with a cream colored head. Good retention. Very nice lacing.

S: Lots of sweet tropical fruits, mango, papaya, pineapple. Simcoe hops? Sweet malty backbone.

T: Follows the nose. Again, all those kinds of hop flavors I love and nice bitter bite in the finish. Not overpowering though. The sweetness helps balance it out as does the carmel malt backbone which I feel is bigger than it really tastes. Finishes fairly dry, maybe a little too dry. That would be only real complaint in the taste department.

M: Medium body. Average to lower carbonation. Feels really slick with all the hop oils.

O: Good drinkability. A world class IIPA. Right up there with Pliny, Hopslam, Abrasive and Apocalypse Cow in my book.

Serving type: can

08-23-2012 22:48:26 | More by herman77

rumorsofsurf

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -10.1%

05-24-2013 16:15:42 | More by rumorsofsurf

smitty5245

California

4.75/5  rDev +0.4%

05-24-2013 15:07:45 | More by smitty5245

dar482

New York

5/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I had this recently out of two cans, unfortunately one was absolutely flat with no carbonation. The beer in general has a lovely little bubbled good amount of carbonation. It is actually one of the highlights of this mindblowing beer.

Poured part of it into a glass as it comes in a super hazy unfiltered yellow gold color.

The aroma has a huge brilliant aroma. The best I've smelled from a beer. Pineapple, tropical fruits, mango, grapefruit papaya, almost like a fruit juice, but also this sticky candy sweetness and pine aroma. It's gooey, huge sweetness. It's so darn juicy, no Double IPA has pushed towards how good the aroma is in this.

Your initial hit on your tongue is just a bouquet of fruits and freshness. It's just shocking how much hop and fruity flavors this IPA packs. You get smooth grapefruit, peach, pine bitterness.

it is so smooth after that hit, but then after that, there's a bitter aftertaste that stays in your mouth. This is not meant non-hop heads. It has just huge strong bitterness that is very dry and astringent.

The mouthfeel is where this beer stands out. It's almost like an IPA was mixed with unfiltered fruit juice. There is a round mouthfeel that never cuts thin like other Double IPAs.

It is the best IPA/double IPA I've ever had. What stands out is the perfection of hop bomb/drinkability that this beer has. It pushes towards what a hop head wants, but just completes it with this perfect mouthfeel. No Double IPAs will be able to complete with this complete roundness of mouthfeel and flavor, at least so far.

(I'm literally having Double Trouble right now, which is a world class beer, and I'm just sitting here disappointed and picking apart how good Heady Topper is compared to it.)

Serving type: can

05-24-2013 05:10:49 | More by dar482

SwG237

New York

4.75/5  rDev +0.4%

05-24-2013 03:48:54 | More by SwG237

barnzy78

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

16oz can, poured into a glass for the purposes of reviewing in comparison to other DIPAs, even though they say to drink it from the can.
Cloudy, cloudy tangerine body with a thin, white head that fades to a layer of foam atop the ale, leaving a little lace on its way down. Super fresh aroma, with orange rind, grapefruit, juicy fruit gum, mango. Taste is super fresh again here, with loads of mango, orange rind, mandarin, bitter grapefruit juice, grassy, a little nutty as it warms. Creamy and smooth medium-full body, lower carbonation, finishes bitter but not overly - more like grapefruit juice. Insanely balanced and drinkable. I'll need to get a hold of this again....for my wife. First ever IPA or DIPA she liked!

Serving type: can

05-24-2013 03:16:03 | More by barnzy78

GBallHead

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev -4.9%

05-24-2013 00:30:07 | More by GBallHead

Lurkerson

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +5.7%

05-23-2013 19:57:13 | More by Lurkerson

Boston_Steve

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -10.1%

05-23-2013 19:15:47 | More by Boston_Steve

JayPatrolVT

Vermont

5/5  rDev +5.7%

05-23-2013 12:03:29 | More by JayPatrolVT

jtdolla911

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +5.7%

05-23-2013 02:25:17 | More by jtdolla911

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

4.75/5  rDev +0.4%

05-23-2013 01:06:25 | More by mikeincharleston

velcrogrip

Florida

5/5  rDev +5.7%

05-22-2013 18:24:18 | More by velcrogrip

melleblond

Connecticut

5/5  rDev +5.7%

05-22-2013 17:17:51 | More by melleblond

adamhand

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +5.7%

05-22-2013 16:21:01 | More by adamhand

NJBeer265

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +5.7%

05-22-2013 15:45:47 | More by NJBeer265

kizyle

Georgia

4.75/5  rDev +0.4%

05-22-2013 13:15:23 | More by kizyle

jmcgahran1

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev -4.9%

05-22-2013 01:39:10 | More by jmcgahran1

Gatch

Massachusetts

4.74/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

A: Hazy, golden yellow with a fluffy, white head. Gets lumpy with some head retention. Some good lace.

S: Massive, dry citrus. Pine sap, fresh hops, freshly cut grapefruit. Huge citrusy, American hops. Don't know what else to say other than...Breathtaking. Unbelievable. Brings a smile to your face. Begs you to take a sip.

T: H-O-P-S! Huge, dry, resiny, piney, citrusy, earthy hops. It's honestly just a heavy hop rush. But never too much. A beer like this isn't supposed to be this smooth and balanced. It's supposed to be too dry or too cloying. But it isn't!

M: Incredibly smooth and drinkable. Everything a beer and a DIPA should taste like. Just crazy.

O: The hype is absolutely real. I don't want to stop drinking this.

Serving type: can

05-22-2013 01:33:07 | More by Gatch

Lasering

Florida

4.5/5  rDev -4.9%

05-22-2013 00:18:32 | More by Lasering

JordanPhraczek

Massachusetts

4.99/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Drank out of a can because it told me to, canned the day before. huge shoutout to bringing this to Boston after a depressing news release from alchemist.

A - would have gave it a 5 and actually had no standing to give a rating but just the mystique and the can itself deserves praise.

S - wow hop nectar and resin galore. I feel like music is playing in my head to the beat of this beer. Frank ocean to be precise.

T - not overly bitter just perfect piney hop taste. does it taste like I thought it would? even better somehow. the bottom of the can held the greatest depth of flavor but the beer is never bitter. Bravo.

M - frothy dry hop slime. almost feels oily its so hoppy but the carbonation adds a maturity to it.

O - thank god I finally tried this beer just enjoy it if you can. worth going to Vermont for.

Serving type: can

05-21-2013 22:30:01 | More by JordanPhraczek

Carpentiere

New Hampshire

4.99/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Wow. I kept reading the hype but finally got some of this. What an incredible beer. The aroma from the can is full....but not overpowering. The taste....is refreshing. So refreshing. The aftertaste is a wonderful complement. The ranking of this beer is not hype. I am half way through the can and know I would drive a far distance to load up on this.

Serving type: can

05-21-2013 21:53:47 | More by Carpentiere

aleman39

California

4.5/5  rDev -4.9%

05-21-2013 21:15:41 | More by aleman39

dcloeren

Texas

4.75/5  rDev +0.4%

05-21-2013 20:43:02 | More by dcloeren

Busker

Connecticut

4/5  rDev -15.4%

05-21-2013 17:54:55 | More by Busker