Heady Topper - The Alchemist

METALBOOZESOLID

Vermont

2.83/5  rDev -40%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Easily the most overrated beer I have ever tasted. Though it isn't bad, it really is just a $12 hop bomb. So many better IPA's out there, it's shocking to me that this is the "top rated" beer on BA.

Pours a hazy light orange color with a light white head, and immediately fills your nose with hops. It has a mild sort of carbonation and goes does easily. If you like hoppy beers, this is a good one for you.

Good, but not that good. Does not live up to hype

Serving type: can

03-13-2013 15:32:18 | More by METALBOOZESOLID

mindfulmead

Pennsylvania

2.85/5  rDev -39.6%
look: 1 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Ok, another double IPA. Hoppy, we get it right? So what is so great abut THIS Ipa? If you were to break the rules and not "drink it IMMEDIATELY out of the can" you end up with a foggy IPA with chunks of hop pellets to chew on while they add to the hoppiness. As it sits, the trub gathers as gravity wins the battle to the bottom of my glass. Don't get me wrong, the hop particles that are suspended add a decent profile to the beer, but at what cost? I think it would be great as a "harvest IPA" if vegetal matter was the intention but there are another 11.5 months to use your hops in that case.

To me it seems like an unkept hop room. Interesting, nice, and Hoppy with some funkiness growing somewhere. I know from reading the can before I drink it I need to follow rules. I broke them all. I think that any homebrewer can create an equitable beer with a draft keggery and one weeks time.

J&J's Robust Porter in their restaurant was much better for my dollar and I just don't see what all the hubub is about. I think they should concentrate on making beer instead of money but I appear to be in the minority here. I do like the beer but know for a fact that there is more talent behind the curtain.

Serving type: can

03-16-2013 05:47:21 | More by mindfulmead

amphion1065

Massachusetts

2.88/5  rDev -39%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I've had many a can of Heady Topper over the past few months, and with each one I'd hoped that my opinion of the beer would change for the better. I'll review my inaugural taste here, as it hasn't changed at all really. 16 oz. can poured into a Duvel tulip. Reviewed from notes.

Pours a fairly dark orange with nice clarity, in spite of the small bit of suspended yeast. A one-finger white head recedes pretty quickly, leaving minimal lacing.

The nose is very, very nice. A lot of citrus fruits, bright oranges and mangoes. But there is an off-putting, lingering aroma of quasi-rotten fruit that I just can't shake. It's a very curious sweetness that just seems unnatural.

Hops seems oddly dead in the taste. Waves of malty sweetness seems to obscure any bitter hop bite. At the same time, a very strange vegetal flavor throws the balance of this beer out of whack. It seems disjointed, and though this can was very fresh, it just feels faded.

The carbonation is too low, and the mouthfeel is too heavy. Perhaps some more carbonation would help the flavors open up.

As a rejoinder, I'll add that I've drank Heady Topper straight from the can, though I didn't find that that method of presentation impacted the taste at all. In the end, I suppose it's just not for me, though certainly not terrible.

Serving type: can

02-20-2012 15:54:09 | More by amphion1065

LSx

California

3.35/5  rDev -29%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

Poured from the can into Duvel tulip.

A - I understand why they want you to drink it from the can, pretty bad appearance for such a highly rated beer - cloudy light gold color, lots of sediment/dregs that float around in the glass.

S - Definitely interesting smells, peach, banana, not so much pine as is common with the big IPA's.

T - Moderate bitterness, good malt background but the fruit notes overpower the traditional citrus and pine.

M - Good carbonation level

O - Hate being harsh on such a well reviewed beer that I had trouble acquiring, but the three of us tasting this beer at the same time were all quite disappointed in just how mediocre it was. Once you take into account the terrible appearance and odd fruitiness, it's definitely a beer that I will not look to get again.

Serving type: can

04-24-2013 17:36:54 | More by LSx

leftde18

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -28%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Purchased a can from the Warren Store

A-N/A, Drank from the can

S-Piney and herbaceous but without pouring it out, definitely underwhelming in my opinion

T-Hops on hops on hops, so much so that it obscured the hoppy nuances I was hoping for. Bright, fresh pine sap overwhelms at first, it followed by a pleasant bitter finish. There are other notes of citrus under the sappiness but my pallet was overwhelmed quickly by hop-power before I could pick them out

M-Viscosity trumps its carbonation and it feels sticky, like a liqueur. I didn't really like it, especially towards the end.

O-I could not find this beer's finesse, there were TONS of hop flavors but they didn't sing in symphony. I would buy it again, but I would not seek it out.

Serving type: can

06-09-2012 23:07:44 | More by leftde18

jethrodium

California

3.53/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

16 oz can generously shared by colonelforbin. Thanks Mike. Pours a very cloudy light amber with a small light tan head that has decent retention and leaves a good lacing on the glass. The aroma is big mango, floral notes, light caramel, a bit of pineapple, and some sugar cookie. The initial taste is sweet with mango and pineapple going into a bit of caramel, sugar cookie, and some light dankness. There is a very light bitterness on finish along with some lingering mango. Light bodied. Low carbonation. I definitely could use a bit more bitterness and a bit less sweetness. Not bad, but certainly not in the class of the best west coast IPAs.

Serving type: can

05-08-2012 21:31:21 | More by jethrodium

TheDudeRules

Minnesota

3.63/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Very hazy amber pour. Sediment is suspended throughout. Two fingers of pillowy off white head. Scant lacing is left behind on my glass. Hops and citrus collide in my nose. Looks and smell are living up to the hype. The first striking character upon taste is the creaminess. Incredibly so especially for an ipa. Pine and grapefruit up front. Sweetness to finish the swallow. Ends lightly bitter. Honestly it is not as hoppy as I expected. Very easy to drink regardless that it is an imperial.

I find I had a preconceived notion on what it was going to be. Pure greatness. Well, it isn't. It's damn good but not as much so as the hype train says. I'm trying not to have a mind explosion right now. All hail the king of imperial, Abrasive from Surly.

Serving type: can

11-27-2011 22:00:01 | More by TheDudeRules

gory4d

New York

3.63/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Two cans, one poured, the other straight up. Poured has a nice white head, no lacing. The smell is piney and flowery. The taste is totally raw and bitter, sweet upfront and that's the end, except for a chalky dry aftertaste. It's greasy with a good amount of fizz. Why is a beer like this necessary?

Serving type: can

08-04-2012 03:57:08 | More by gory4d

harrymel

Washington

3.65/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Review 05FEB12
Thanks Keith!
Pours a cloudy apricot with some off-white foam formation. This falls to a broken sheet of the same. (3) Smells of fruits, resin, pineapple. The nose is a little bit raw and harsh, but not bad. (3.5) The flavor is really nice with a sweetness that is collaborative with the bitterness. There are flavors of resin, pine, mango. Decent enough. (4) Mouthfeel is a bit thin for the style with moderate carb and a dry finish. A little too dry of a finish. (3). This beer is not nearly as wonderful as it was the first time I tried it, maybe it's the fact that I've had it multiple times, or that I'm now immune to it's glory, but it is a far cry from the initial tastes I had. Maybe it's the new brewery, whatever the case is, I will likely not be seeking this out again any time soon. too bad. (3.5)

Review: 21SEP11
Dave, you did this. Thanks man.
Can date: not listed, but I know it to be recent.
A: Pours a hazy apricot ale with no domineering head formation, but a night sheet of honey cream foam. Spotty lace.
S: Oh yeah, pine, resin, citrus, pineapple, tropical fruits with a touch of feline urine. Very complex and the underbelly is a sweet malt foundation.
T: Plenty more of what happened in my olfactory: sweetened honey, aggressively bitter with many, many differing fruits on the palate. There are some wood tones as well. This is complex and refreshing.
M: Medium bodied with moderate on hi carb with a semi dry finish.
O: Well, I can see what all the hulla balloo is all about. This beer is hardcore hops and proves its value in my mouth. There have been some discussions about the comparison between pliny and this beer. Simply put, they cannot be compared, they are both outstanding beers with unique and ingenious characteristics which shine to each's own. Simply put: drink this beer, it will make you happy. 4/4.5/4.5/4/4.5 (~4.5)

Serving type: can

02-07-2012 07:54:33 | More by harrymel

BStalf21

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

not sure what all the hype is about. A really good beer but not even in my top 10 of imp ipas let alone top overall. Seemed like a good one dimensional hop bomb. I tried a Hop Henge from Deschutes in the same night and i have to say I was more impressed with that beer then heady.

Serving type: can

02-27-2013 18:03:10 | More by BStalf21

HopHead84

California

3.75/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

9/17/2011

I'm enjoying my fourth or fifth can as I write this review. Snifter.

A: Dark orange with some cloudiness and a finger of white foam. Lacing is scattered and retention is good.

S: Bright citrus notes, with tangerine, orange, grapefruit, and a dash of pine. There's quite a bit more malt in this can than I found in the bottle I tried, imparting some bread and caramel.

T: Smooth moderate bitterness with no evident alcohol. Malt imparts bread, biscuit, and caramel. Once again, this is quite a bit maltier than the bottle I enjoyed last year, and decidedly less bitter. I get orange, grapefruit, and a little melon. Dank pine is evident throughout.

M: Medium in body with an upper low level of carbonation. The general theme seems to be lower carbonation with these cans.

Overall: This is good, but it's not on the same level as the bottle I had in 2010. This seems much maltier and the hops aren't as vibrant. It's also a bit heavy on the palate due to the low carbonation.

Serving type: can

09-18-2011 04:17:45 | More by HopHead84

leschkie

California

3.76/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

16 oz can poured into a tulip. Courtesy of huadog (thanks Russ, you rock buddy).

Pours a vibrant burnt apricot with a white frothy head. Moderate lacing decorates the glass as I continue to guzzle this baby down. Smells of citrus fruits, grapefruit, and malt. Piney hops I was looking for seem to be mellowed down quite a bit in the nose. Taste is very smooth, pretty much zero bitterness whatsoever. Hops (thank goodness) makes its appearance as the beer rolls around my tongue. I was tempted to call in a search party to look for any bitterness from the hops, but it appears it will just remain on the missing persons report. Mouthfeel is quite impressive. Overall, it's a good DIPA. However, I have had better.

Serving type: can

10-07-2011 01:22:15 | More by leschkie

Rhettroactive

Virginia

3.78/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

From 16oz tallboy to my Hess Imperial pint glass on 12/15/11
*From notes

-- Many thanks to the multiple BA's who've hooked me up with generous pours and fresh cans of this over the last few weeks. --

A: It looks like a really dingy cider. A good pour yields a fluffy 1.5 finger white head and solid retention. It should be noted that there are large white gobs floating around in the beer. Some settle. Some don't.

S: Wonderful bouquet. Juicy hop oil, it's got that island fruit vibe all over it.

T: It's hoppy alright, yet it's quite bready and rather bitter too. There's not a massive amount of complexity to it, it's simply an easy drinking beer that comes off more like a low key IPA then an Imperial.

M: Meh. It feels alright, but it's not gonna blow any skirts up or anything.

O: Having had large amounts of this at three separate tastings in a six week period, I can honestly say that Heady Topper is a grossly overrated beer. It's not bad, in fact it's a very pleasant brew. It simply doesn't reach the heights one would expect from it's rDev. Don't go out of your way to attain this. I know I won't.

Serving type: can

01-10-2012 23:21:02 | More by Rhettroactive

pepsican

Iowa

3.78/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 2 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Looks like dirty sewer water dumped into a light beer, smaller off white head. Aroma is tropical fruit, marijuana, onions. Similar flavor, lots of onions, garlic, tomato, juicy fruit, papaya, and orange. Bitter finish, pretty dry for the ABV. Reminds me exactly of what Toppling Goliath is doing around here.

Serving type: can

10-19-2012 04:23:47 | More by pepsican

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a can into a Dogfish snifter

A- pours a really dark, murky shade of dark orange with a one finger offwhite head. Looks....ugly, actually

S- nice aroma of tropical fruits, getting a lot of mango out of this

T- taste is a little muted, so I'm not sure how fresh this is...nice bit of citrus with a slight bitter finish. But man, is it muted. Can't be fresh

M- medium bodied. Fine for a DIPA

O- I was assured this was fresh...with no dating, I can't be sure. It's still good, but is it world class? Not in this state, it's not

Serving type: can

11-01-2011 01:26:12 | More by bigfnjoe

zaphodchak

Virginia

3.8/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

It's in a can. It appears as a silver can. I got the last bit of the can at a tasting, and at the can's insistence, consumed it out of the can.

Powerful fresh grassy hops are immediately apparent despite the can.

Bitter, powerfully grassy west-coast US hops. Slight undertone of honey, but not nearly enough to balance. One dimensional, perhaps, but good at that dimension.

Decent but a bit fizzy, almost prickly.

Well, it's an IPA, and it's a good one.

Serving type: can

12-11-2011 03:43:12 | More by zaphodchak

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sorry, I had to pour into the glass despite the can's pleading to drink directly. Thick, slowly receding head. Leaves plenty of chunky, blanketing lace. Cloudy, dark gold color.

Very strong evergreen hop smell. Prickly with a touch of citrus rind. Like smelling a bag of hop pellets.

Extraordinarily bitter. Starts off fairly neutrally with a bit of mild pale malt. Still this is a bitter, bitter hop bomb. Be prepared to pucker up. Hop heads shall rejoice, but I think this might be too much of a good thing (and I lean towards more hoppy beers). The body is predictable and appropriate for the style.

I was very excited to find this beer in Boston, but its hype exceeds my expectations.

Serving type: can

07-29-2012 19:57:18 | More by smcolw

AleWatcher

Illinois

3.83/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Can shared by Whitemomba-- thanks Jason!
Served in tulip pint.

Really hazy... Small particulates floating around... Creamy tan head, decent retention, thick legs leave nice bubbles.
Smells waaaay more piney than I remember... Nice grapefruit, some grassy and floral notes too. There's a little earthy dank quality on the back of the nose that has an odd character to it...
The taste follows the nose; dry, bready/crackery malts with big hops at the back end. Citrusy grapefruit, big pine, some floral and grassy notes.
The dank note I got on the nose translates to a VERY strange hint of cedar chips/hamster cage substrate... It is a combination of the hops character blending with the dry malts. It hurts the overall and flavor a bit, but still doesn't make the beer undrinkable.

Serving type: can

09-18-2011 02:06:45 | More by AleWatcher

Murchmac

California

3.85/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to masterhomebrewer to try this beer. I really wanted to compare it to PtY

Pours an orangey amber with yellow highlights and a white head.

Piney and citrusy, smells not overwhelming but pleasant.

Taste follows the nose, almost really fresh sweet taste that hangs in your mouth,

Not resinous like a good DIPA should be, and really really light and thin.

Although pleasant was like drinking hop water. It was good but not worth trading the farm away. PtY is a lot better.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2010 22:42:11 | More by Murchmac

maximum12

Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Big thanks to baconsausage for shipping this towards the Arctic Circle along with a slate of other great beers. The IPA fiend in me has really been looking forward to this one. 22 oz. bottle split into two pint glasses, with the floaties & several ounces left for later potential rumination.

Pour is wide-mouth orange, clear without the hop poop left in the bottom of the bottle. Smell is startlingly bitter, citrus, pine, & touches of raw onion.

Heady Topper is perhaps the oiliest IPA that's crossed my mucous barrier. Bitterness street-sweeps the senses, separating into grapefruit, citrus, & a knifeful of onion. Strangely reminiscent of Gubna. Definite tang in the back-end, astringent, before the bitterness throttles the life out of everything else in the finish. Strangely, it affects my tongue more than anything else. Bizarre.

Very drying, invitingly sippable, this is a very good beer, but not sure what all the hoopla is about. Not to say I'd ever turn one down!

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2011 03:20:31 | More by maximum12

jmdrpi

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

16 oz can, no date.

appears a hazy rust orange color with tons of floaties. bright white head that fades. obviously this is why they want you to drink from the can.

aroma is hop forward obviously. orange, lemon, cut grass, slightly earthy too. taste is super cirtusy. a touch of biscuity sweet malt, but not much. tasty though if you're looking for fruity citrus hop flavors.

medium thickness, but it coats the tongue, a bit oily. good carbonation level, but I'm not a fan about the oily feel.

good, but not sure it lives up to the crazy hype and higher price. seems quite similar to other citrusy DIPA's. still glad I got to try it though.

Serving type: can

04-29-2012 22:06:17 | More by jmdrpi

Prospero

Colorado

3.85/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Light in color sort of a amber straw, nice white head and good aroma, not as much aroma as I would have expected, but good citrus and flower comes through. Also drank out of the can as suggested. The taste is nice and smooth, great drinkability. Maybe not as well balanced as others, the bitterness seems to linger with this one and I think it tends to take over the thin malt base. Great beer overall, but needs a bit better balance.

Serving type: can

06-01-2012 16:28:48 | More by Prospero

JamesShoemaker

New York

3.86/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

16 oz can poured into my snifter. Huge thanks to Urbancaver for sending four of these, along with some KRE and HF. Good trade, let's do it again. Can is seventeen days old.

A - yeah, it's godawful looking. Of course, if the instructions on the can were followed, to drink it straight from the can, repeated emphatically around the top, then I'd have nothing to say in this category. Two sips from the can, not much nose, so into the glass it went. Opaque, murky, pissy, orange-yellow with some lingering foam on the forced pour. Sediment is pervasive and really disgusting, but not unprecedented (thinking specifically of Weyerbacher Insanity). My score would be lower, but as I drink it, I realize that the appearance really doesn't affect my opinion, but as a monolithic category, it deserves the hate. The brewery should really take it as a compliment that it's so highly rated despite this.

S - the first thing that pops up is honey, followed by some resinous, floral notes. Fruit comes at the very end, but it's weak on the nose, more prominent in the taste.

T - not a great balance, as I've heard it described. The bitterness overwhelms the fruity flavors, including the citrus. Bitterness recedes to resin, resin to stickiness, and things are capped off by another lingering bitterness. Points for a progression of tastes, but the hop profile isn't to my liking.

M - bitter and sticky, but not totally unpleasant. Can't find any alcohol, but I didn't expect to at only 8%.

O - worth the hype? Not at all in my opinion. I know how often this comparison is made, but fresh Abrasive really blows all other DIPAs out of the water, including this one. Very glad I got to try it for the tick (I'm not a ticker, I swear!), but I won't be seeking it out regularly.

Serving type: can

04-15-2013 02:12:00 | More by JamesShoemaker

pwoods

Ohio

3.88/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Big thanks to rpstevens for the bottle in Secret Santa '10.

22oz. brown bomber poured into a Russian River tuliip.

A: Pours a very hazy dark apricot color. Moderate head on the pour but with plenty of retention and lacing.

S: Aroma is heavenly. Amarillo, Simcoe, Centennial. Some pineapple in there as well.. so maybe Citra? A candy like sweet aroma from all of the tropical fruit and citrus fruit hops. Malt is there a bit but this is all hops.

T/M: Massive hop flavor, mostly dominated by the citrus and tropical fruits. Not much bitterness here... it's there but not to the level that I was expecting. Malts don't bring a whole lot here either. There's a good amount of sweetness but more from the fruity hop character and the lack of a firm bitterness. It doesn't finish very dry, either, and I think the low-ish carbonation(which the label says is intentional) adds to the lack of perceived dryness.

D: Pretty easy to drink but a bit one dimensional with only hop flavor and not much bitterness or dryness.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2010 04:02:33 | More by pwoods

readbaron

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to KickInTheChalice for the pour.

Pours out golden orange with a finger of frothy white head. Limited lacing, and decent retention.

Smells hoppy - piney and bitter - but with a strong tint of copper/metal in the nose. For an east coast DIPA, not as much malt as I would have expected. The hops and copper do fade into a bit of honey sweetness, but this is a hop forward beer.

Taste is better than the nose - there's still something metalic/copper going on, but it's not as overwhelming as it smelled. Starts off with Sweet honey caramel malts, followed by dank hoppy bitterness.

Feel is solid - medium bodied, crisp and dry.

Overall - I don't get the hype for this beer - actually for all the Vermont DIPAs. Not a bad beer, but certainly not world class.

Serving type: can

10-14-2011 16:12:24 | More by readbaron