Heady Topper

It's great. Focal is better. Drink it however you want.

 

Just remember 'best' is personal preference, Dewey I got 2 Focal from 5/28 if you've got similar Heady!

Crusher is a bit too high abv for me, Heady is right in the sweet spot.

If you're trying to write notes for yourself carefully pour the first in a glass, after that drink from the can.

 

Indeed it is. I wish I had some Heady to swap... or to drink - I headed up to Portland instead of Vermont a couple weeks ago, so the fridge is full of mostly Foundation and Battery Steele at the moment.

Agreed on Crusher. It's super sticky, super malty, and a bit heavy for my particular tastes. Very nice beer, and I'm glad I've had it, but it's my least favorite Alchemist brew.

On a side note, I hope they release Petit Mutant again soon. That was super tasty.

 

Drink your first one from the can and really get your nose in there. Drink your next one on another night from a glass. See if you have your own preference. Enjoy!

 

I've heard focal is better but heady is definitely overhyped. It's damn good but nothing better than you could find locally

 

Curious what your local preference is that is as good as or better than Heady Topper. Would help to keep it at $12.50/4pack a la HT. The 87, maybe?

 

I will never forget my first Vermont run where we came home with cases of Heady and Sip. Yes there are more choices now and many of them are great. Heady Topper will always be totally awesome to me. For those that think Heady Topper or Sip of Sunshine are overrated I will be happy to take them off their hands.

 

Only issue with Heady and Sip is that they're not the current hypebeast style of uber-tropical hazy IPAs. They're both fantastic beers, and almost perfect examples of their styles, but if you want a bitterness-free juice bomb, they're simply not designed as such.

(Also I think Focal outclasses Heady side-by-side, but I'll drink either every day for the rest of my life if that's an option)

 

If she was at the same conference I was they had $9 cans of stale Heady at the bar. Good thing for you fresh 4-packs at $12.50 were literally next door at the brewery!

 

That's the one for me. 87 is excellent. Grabbed a 4 of 87 and a 4 of Sip on Friday. Don't get me wrong, sip is lovely but 87 edges it for me with a little more bitterness and a wee bit more fruitiness.

Both heady and sip are great, but I can walk into many a local store and grab an equal or if not better 87.

 

Besides trill and TH? 2 roads and shipyard are making good NEIPAs for cheap.

 

What sets heady apart is th unique flavor of the Conan yeast. It adds i nice peach like fruitiness that complements the pine and citrus hops incredibly well. Many other neipas are not as complex and just have an overwhelming tropical hop flavor. The beer also changes as it warms and seems to hold up better than many of its peers. Personally I think the alchemist's hoppy offerings are better then anyone else when comparing them to other neipa producers. Absurdly hoppy with multiple hop flavors but yet cleaner tasting then it's peers with a strong pleasant bitterness.

 

I always thought the can thing was so that folks weren't turned off by floaties and sediment. I find that with all IPA's that much is lost by drinking from the can. Even at the post-TH BBQ, I ask for a cup to drink the latest score.

 

Agree, I don't like drinking out of cans or bottles

 

I'm in the Heady > Focal camp, but both are great beers. With how far the NE beer scene has come (and my palette has changed) they don't blow me away like they used to, but I'll never pass up a can of either for the sense of nostalgia they give me

 

I can't really put Heady in with the juice bomb NEIPAs. Heady seems to blur the line a bit between East and West IPA. It is complex with added floral & herbal notes that you don't necessarily get with what I envision to be a prototypical NEIPA. Decent bitterness at the back-end and a drier finish than a juice bomb beer. It was my gateway beer to the elite beer scene, so I'll always think of it with a lot of reverence.

 

Trill and TH are both roughly 50% more expensive than Heady (12.50/4pk of Heady vs. $18-$21/4pk of Trill, $16/4pk for TH) and are completely different beer styles. Heady is not a tropical juice bomb. And I'm not sure I buy the argument that 2 Roads and Shipyard are making beers as good as Heady. Nice beers, but Heady is great.

 

You make a great point. When you compare price Heady is still king by a mile...