Focal Banger
The Alchemist

Overall, a very solid IPA and a worthy sibling to Heady Topper. It has more subtle tastes and comes away tasting somewhere between a ne ipa and west coast ipa, with both citrus and pine notes. And yet, it's not overwhelming.

Better Than Heady

A: Creamy and hazy tangerine-popsicle coloring with a two inch bone white capping that was bready on the surface and lasting. Beautiful glow of orange when backlighted, is like an alaskan sunset for the last time before the cold winter. Things were a bit to dense to determine effervesce, but the glass showed a smothering of lace bands encompassing the entire drinking vessel.

S: Wet, and juicy mangos and pineapple for aroma along with some light fresh green melon and peach fruitiness. A touch of wet citrusy nature also chimes in, with some orange floral hops. Cantaloupe and honeydew fruitiness rounds out. There is a respectable amount of fresh whirlpool hopping here, with a touch of semi-dry orange peel upon farther warming.

T: Unexpectingly a smack down of tart tangerine and orange peel bitterness with semi-dry citrus peel appear first on the tongue, with a bitterness factor off the charts. Dank tropical pineapple-peach combo with a grassy dry hopping overlay. The double dry hopping, or perhaps triple? here certainly is distinguishable, appreciable, and note taking worthy and sure to knock your socks off. Spicy herbal orange peel and flowery hops dry things out a bit, while a lingering grassy pine hop coating smothers the tongue with an unrelenting assault, staying well after the swallow.

M: Dry, flowery hop coating and feeling on the tongue. Malty depth is there to try to offset the loads of hops with a mid-range carbonation feel. Sticky resins, alkaline bitterness, with a tongue numbing and pulsing of the dry hops are sure make you pay attention.

O: Overall what more can be said about a beer brewed by those that brought you Heady Topper. While Heady was a delicious fruity tropical poolside drink, this has a fresh wet nose that was similar, but then gave you a knock out punch of dry hopping like a hit from mike tyson in his prime. These guys are true artist when it comes to blending and formulating, and getting the most out of the hop additions, while creating balance and tropical hop bombs that are matched by few. Highly enjoyable, drinkable, and worth the wait, as it seems I am always late or last to the party on these epic beers. But good things come to those who wait. Cheers until your first experience.

 

A: orange, very hazy. Nice fluffy white head
S: ripe orange, mango, papaya, pineapple, super tropical, hint of dank
T: somewha dank and earthy- classic alchemist yeast notes, lots of orange, grapefruit pith, tropical fruit, sweet robustbitter finish
O: very good smooth, rich IPA, balances tropical and dank earthiness very well.similar to heady topper but more tropical and imo drinkable.

 

Another winner from The Alchemist team

Close runner up to Heady. Excellent grapefruit/more tropical tasting. Still has the hop kick at the end, but toned down in comparison. Only a one palm smack rather than two like his brother Heady Topper. Easily drinkable with a milder finish.

Canned in a big old tallboy crafty craft can and sent from a beer buddy in Portland Oregon
Pours (I’m drinking it from the can as instructed but put a splash in a glass) to reveal a very slightly hazy lemon jello coloured body with nice white head
Aroma lemon & bicarbonate which makes you expect flavours to be NEIPA but no, more classic WEST coast here, hop burn I haven’t had in a long time creates sizzling grapefruit with shortcake like grain running though out and starbust bitter finish

 

 

 

Prefer Heady Topper but this is very well done. Nice lingering bitterness.

 

Tough to say which I prefer, this or Heady. What a refreshing beer at times with its citrus and earthy backing.

Lucky me we get a drop in Rochester, NY every 3 months or so. What can I say: creamy feel, great head retention, snappy grapefruit pungent awesome smell, dank as all hell. I love it!

Never had a beer say not to pour into the glass before

So going off looking at pictures as I drank this from the can

Canned 01/03 - consumed on 2/03

Herbal and hoppy nose with a touch of tropical

Smooth, piney, hoppy and very herbal

Sharp carbo bite but otherwise easier drinking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single from a local bottle shop for $5.15. Canned on 01-03-23, so this beer is just 3 1/2 weeks or 25 days old.

Look: It pours a hazy yet translucent golden orange color. It has a frothy, small-bubbled off-white head about 1/8th of a finger tall. Nice head retention.

Smell: Very dank. Lots of hop resins and citrusy orange zest and grapefruit rind. More subtle melon notes (cantaloupe). Green bell pepper on the finish after swirling the glass. It's also a bit of sharp oniony notes.

Taste: It's really delicious. I am impressed at the level of balance in this beer. From the nose, I kind of got the impression that the palate is going to punch me in the face. However, it strikes an impeccable balance between hops and malt and it tastes just moderately bitter with a long-lasting finish. It has a very nice malt base with grainy sweetness. I am not sure if this has any caramel malt in it; I perceive that type of flavor profile. The finish has tons of citrus rind - orange and grapefruit - along with lots of pith and some earthy, woody, resinous pine. That being said, it's surprisingly gentle and restrained with its bitterness. This beer is incredibly easy to drink. The bitterness builds as I drink more of it.

Feel: Softy, chewy mouthfeel. Really nice. Very soft, gentle carbonation. Medium bodied.

Overall: This is my second Alchemist beer. I thought that Heady Topper really lived up to all of its hype, and Focal Banger can hold its own also. Personally I think that I prefer the "single IPA" style to the double IPA style, yet it's really hard to call a winner because both of these beers are just so good.

Great beer--95% as good as Heady Topper. Nice alternative, smells amazing with just enough bitterness.

 

 

A friend brought me this. I'm a Belgian fan, not so much IPA's. But this was out of this world.

Though I've been to Stowe numerous times, I've never actually had this particular bier.... Well, an Alchemist employee recently dropped off a few of these cans at my work (Stark) and so here's my chance to give it a go....

Poured into a small sniftah, it's a hazy, medium golden-yellow color, with some scattered carbo within. The head is a fluffy, marshmallow-white, 1/4" layer of creamy foam. It lasts fairly well, with a solid covering, and nice lace left on the glass. Has a rich citrus-fruit aroma - some grapefruit and pineapple, plus a bit of lemon zest, Has a medium to medium-plus body, with a silky smooth feel.

Flavor has a bit of crackery, biscuity malt, but that aspect is quite understated. What isn't understated is the hoppy character of this brew. There's some subtle, semi-sweet tangerine, but it's mostly bitter fruit that holds sway here. There's some grapefruit, plus lemon zest and a hint of pineapple. It's quite pithy, resiny and piney. The finish is a bit dry, but the pithy, rindy aspect lingers for some time on the palate. Though I'd prefer something a smidge sweeter, this is still a solid brew. Prosit!!

4.25/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2387

Ok, drank the first third directly from the can, per directions. Very large taste of grapefruit and citrus, along with a healthy bitterness. Now sipping from the glass, still getting layers of taste and flavor as it warms up a bit. Focal Banger has to live in the shadow of its bigger brother, Heady, but it holds its own and the some against almost any other.

 

 

 

 

Glad to be ticking this one. From a can, served in a glass, kicked up a thick soapy head. Body is hazy and much paler than expected. Smell is sweet, floral, tropical, slightly concentrated. Taste is much more intense than the nose lets on. A swirl of sweet tropical flavors and bitter floral notes, backed by that delicious concentrated citrus flavor. It certainly bitters through the sip. There’s also some bready malt that comes out. Feel is smooth, a bit dry, warm finish. What stands out to me is how long the bitterness stays in the mouth after each sip— it takes noticeably longer than other brews to taper off. No disappointment here.

@WunderLlama sent this my direction during NBS BIF#16

It says drink form the can. Who knows what hte liquid looks like! of course, I kid.
I'll be honest, I was expecting another hazy. This is not completely clear, but it's not going to be mistaken for a hazy IPA any time soon, though I find the language annoying, because 'hazy' is exactly how I WOULD describe the beer if that terminology didn'ty already have a connotation. It's mostly clear, but not crisp. How about htat. Big white wet head sits atop, and the bubbles pop leaving sticky lacing down the glass.

Nose is straw grains up front. There's some lemon citrus, a bit of floral, and it's somewhat earthy. This is not at all what I was expecting, but I'm digging this unexpected tur.=n.

Flavour follows the same recipe, grainy malts up front, backed by light floral and citrus hops that take an intense grapefruit turn on the finish. That grapefruit flavour becomes more and more the driving factor the more of it I drink.

Pith and pine both on the finish, but boldly and warmingly bitter. Strong, but not sharp.
This is a pleasant surprise and I am grateful to Maynard for sending it along!!

Pure hop goodness.

 

Pale hazy yellow, though not opaque, with fluffy two plus fingers of white head - yeah - couldn't make myself drink it from the can....
Aroma bursts as warms with tropical fruit, melon, peach, and grapefruit - there is a touch of pine and not an insignificant dankness - weedy citrus and a delicate onion note.
Tastes of creamy sweet pale malt, citrus, tropical fruit salad; piney resin, backend grapefruit peel bitterness that digs its claws into you and yeah some weedy dankness.
Creamy and smooth full mouthfeel with nice carbonation and a lingering sticky bittersweetness.