Super annoying Heady Topper question

She should be able to find some cans, you may want to get on the phone and call a few of the stores the day she is there then relay instructions.

 

Agree that some should be around, especially at smaller places with low limits. She may have to got to a few places to get a few 4-packs. Definitely call ahead that day.

 

Other stuff: Maple Syrup - Grade B.

 

It's a short drive from Burlington to Waterbury, where Alchemist's Heady Topper is brewed.
If she's coming to Burlington by car from the south, on I-89, she will go right by Alchemist.
She can buy it at the Craft Beer Cellar in Waterbury; or drive another 15 miles south on I-89
to Montpelier to Hunger Mountain Co-Op and buy it there. Hell I got a 4 pack at my house.

 

Considering they are doing the pop up Sale forget Heady as everyone will find it Saturday due to the pop up sale(Unless they are up Friday) Have your friend go to the sale.

 

Most places shouldn't sell loosies. I've never seen a retail outlet sell single can of Heady. I think "authorized Heady Topper retailers" are only suppose to sell 4-packs and cases. Bars don't sell to go beer.

The last pop-up sale required everyone getting in line about 2 hours before they started selling beer. So unless your friend is a super-duper good friend that doesn't mind waiting 2-3 hours in line in freezing/near freezing temps for some beer for you, I'd skip the pop-up sale and keep looking at retail outlets.

The Winooski Beverage Warehouse has been having Heady last from Tuesday noon/evening delivery to Wednesday morning, so if you're lucky you might be able to get some there first thing Friday morning after the Thursday delivery.

 

For the last pop up sale I got to the hunger mountain co-op at 9am and there were plenty of cases of heady available, and that was a holiday weekend. Plus every other gas station around there sells 4 packs. Shouldn't be a problem finding some.

 

It's not quite as easy to get as some are implying, IMO, especially if your window of opportunity is small. I live in a more southerly part of Vermont, and getting Heady can prove illusive if you don't get there on a delivery day (or early on the day after). Make sure to check the Alchemist website, and have a few back up stores in case the first one falls through. Not everyone carries it, and pretty much every beer customer wants it. If you have a smart phone or if you know the area, Heady is easier to get. Otherwise, preparing yourself using the delivery days is well worth it.
Regardless, there is a lot of good beer in Vermont, local and otherwise. Look out for anything by Lawson's Finest Liquids. They rival Heady in rarity, and pretty much everything they offer is excellent.

 

When your friend is ready to pick up the beer, call a few stores for her, then you can just tell her where to drive to. The places which get the biggest shipments are Beverage Warehouse in Winooski and Hunger Mountain in Montpelier. Also, a new place recently added is the Craft Beer Cellar in Waterbury - I'm not sure how big of allotment they get, but it's a new store and have lots of other bottles.

 

Sorry to threadjack but how long it too long to sit on some HT? I was lucky enough to have a few friends give me some and I don't want it to go bad. I also don't want to drink it just to drink it, although I have been...

 

This video from John Kimmich has the answer you seek:

 

It is confusing as they used to say at the brewery that you should drink within 30 days and then I watched the above video. I have a few HTs from early November and tried one the other day. It has changed but not in a bad way. I try to drink a decent amount with 4-6 weeks but given I cannot get up to VT often, I spread the rest out for quite a bit longer until I can get back up. Others would probably disagree with this strategy but it works for me.

 

i picked up two cases at the brewery right before it closed to the public. I happened to be up in Burlington for the weekend with my wife. If I know someone in VT I literally have to call all the local stores to see if they have any left.

 

One case = Fri, Sat, & Sun.

Done.

 

It tastes a little better/more interesting when it's brand new but I have a couple from November as well and it's still excellent. It loses a small bit of the hoppy weediness but not enough to be unrecognizable, and it retains like 95% of the grapefruity taste.

 

I had one yesterday for my Bday before we went out to dinner. The can was about 2 months old and it didnt have the amount of hop when it was fresh. It almost mellowed out a big and was more smooth going down. It was still fantastic but not MUCH changed from fresh to two months old.