The Alchemist coming to CA

I never thought of Heady as liquid weed. I got more of that from Beachwood IPAs like Amalgamator and Melrose or from certain Alpine IPAs. Heady was more pine cone for me.

 

Drinking my 3rd and final can from the Alchemist trio can release. Maybe I should of opened this one first. Hop chunks are all over in suspended animation inside the glass. I did a full on pour on this. Bad move. Maybe it’ll be good fresh on draft? Oh well. Moving on...

 

I've also try the crusher and didn't like it that much in the beginning of the can, because it has a very earthy taste (like mud or something alike), but once i reached the middle of the can, the taste changed, it was more citrously. In my experience it was not so good at the beginnign but then it got better, it was worth it of the $6.00 I paid for it.

 

I'm hoping to have more Head in the coming year

 

i found Focal Banger at BevMo yesterday, was very surprised. I bought all 3 at Texas in Carlsbad on the day they dropped, didn't expect to see this make BevMo at 19.99.

 

I hope it was 20 for a 4pk?

 

Care to divulge which BevMo? Thanks!

 

Probably somewhere near Carlsbad based on the fact he bought the first few at Texas, but those are guesses uses my detective skills.

 

Will confirm the $19.99 price...and it is the four pack.

 

Were they in the fridge?

When I see bevmo, I imagine them being on display in the center of the store under a bright light.

 

All BevMo locations have been made aware that this product is to be delivered directly to the cold box.

 

Oceanside- yes it was 19.99 (cheaper than Texas!) there were only 2 4pks there, I bought 1 yesterday. Yes they were in the coldbox.

 

That's why they say to drink it from the can all over the can! Partially to avoid seeing the floaties that have always been there and partially to focus the aroma (or some explanation like that)

 

huh

 

I just drank my 2nd of 2 Heady Topper cans. I mentioned this on WBAYDN when I had the first can but... I can sort of appreciate this for its historical context. But I have decided I do not like this beer.

I will definitely say having this 2nd can a month later, it has the exact same profile I recall from the first time around. It's got a weird sugary sweet malty backbone, and then clashing nondescript bitterness. I suppose it's a little softer than IPAs of yore and has a little of that bubblegum yeast. But it's closer to a WCIPA than the modern NEIPA.

I just feel like real WC IPAs are balanced a lot better (PtE >> HT).

What did you all think?

 

I remember liking Heady more the first time I had it in 2013 (delivered through snail mail - go figuere) than this time around. In these SoCal cans I tasted more malt and that bubblegum you speak of. It technically might have more flavor than Pliny, but Pliny is way more pleasant and smooth.

 

Definitely no question I like pliny over heady, but heady is still solid, and better than most wc ipas, imo. doesn't come close to falling into the NE style, unless we're gonna also put lagunitas sucks in there.

 

Are you guys arguing that one of the first NE IPAs isn’t a NE IPA?

 

When Heady Topper was born in 2003 they didn't call it a NE IPA. They just called it an IPA. I'm not sure what they themselves call it now.

I think that breweries like Trillium and Treehouse are really the markers of what people consider an NE IPA. The SUPER hazy and unfined juice like beers. Heady was never exactly like that. It has some sediment and a soft mouthfeel but it's not a juice bomb. I think there can still be some non-"NE-style" IPA's made in New England. There's a whole spectrum.

 

Finally tried it. This is from the SoCal allotment.