Heady Topper

    As I sit here trying The Alchemist's double IPA, Heady Topper for the first time, I can't help think about all the praise and mystique I've read about in reviews and from people who have had it. It's been called the world's best beer by some.

     The brewery sells Heady at $10.00 a four-pack to it's re-sellers, a good price for 16 oz. cans of craft beer. The "black market" can get a little out of hand for this brew, a local restaurant had a few cases and they were selling it for 10 bucks a can and there have been reports of it selling for over $100.00 a four pack in the Washington DC area. I have a hard enough time spending 10 on a bomber, but prices like that are outrageous.

     For whatever reason, brewer John Kimmich wants people to drink Heady from the can, it even says so right on the can in big, bold lettering. I'm not one to follow direction very well at times and I poured it into a glass. On one hand I could see how the brew tumbling through the opening in the can would introduce turbulance with every sip and possibly make some flavors pop. I say possibly because I've never tested that theory. On the other hand, drinking from the can doesn't let you get a good whiff from the beer and smell the various aromas. 

    When it comes to writing reviews I'm not going to write a 10 paragraph essay making up bullshit descriptors for what I see, smell and taste, it will be short, simple and straightforward when it comes to that part. With that said, here we go with my first review.

    I like to see what a beer looks like so using a glass is a no brainer for me. I also wanted to see if I could harvest the yeast from the can to use in a future home brew. The beer pours a hazy yellow with a nice two finger foamy head that dissipated fairly quickly. 

    Aroma has citrus, melon and strong piney notes. Flavor starts out a bit sweet just before you're hit with the hops, lots of hops with a piney, lemony flavor and a somewhat dry finish. And that's pretty much all I got from the flavor department.

    Did it live up to the hype? No and I've found most beers can't, it seems the hype comes more from scarcity than anything else and this beer helped reinforce why I don't chase trophy beers. Is it a good DIPA? Yes it is but it isn't something I'd go out of my way to get either, I've had better, more easily found DIPAs. I'm glad I didn't go to the restaurant that was selling these for 10 bucks a can, I would have been pretty upset had I spent that much on a beer that isn't worth half that.