Heady Topper is a double India Pale Ale brewed by The Alchemist in

Waterbury, Vermont Waterbury is a town in Washington County in central Vermont, United States. Although the town is still home to the Waterbury Village Historic District, the village sharing the name of the town officially dissolved as a municipality in 2018. As ...

. It is unfiltered and contains 8%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

. The Alchemist describes Heady Topper as having flavors of orange, tropical fruit, pink grapefruit, pine, and spice. Unpasteurized, it is kept refrigerated by authorized retailers until point of sale. It has been described as "a complex web of genius", and , it was rated the fourth best beer in the world by Beer Advocate.

Overview

At the beginning of 2013, production was 1,200 cases a week with plans to expand to 1,800 during the following summer. , The Alchemist brews 10,000 barrels of Heady Topper per year out of their Waterbury plant. Heady Topper has gained a reputation locally throughout New England, and its reputation has been spread nationally and internationally. In the lead-up to the

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...

, ''

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'' reported that contender Bernie Sanders had "been photographed proudly holding a can of Heady Topper". In an article published by the UK's ''Esquire'', journalist Michael Smith commented about Heady Topper that it was "so in-demand

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

ey don't even get out of the brewery, let alone the country. Brewed in tiny quantities, they excite such hysteria that on the day of release buyers queue around the brewery fence: by lunchtime all the fresh beer's sold". Local establishments, including the brewery itself, have imposed limits to how many four-packs can be purchased per customer. The beer is sometimes referred to as "The Heady" by regular followers of The Alchemist brewery. In November 2013, The Alchemist closed their retail shop citing traffic and public access issues, and moved to a larger space in Stowe, Vermont on June 30, 2016. The new, larger brewery and retail space opened the same day. However, The Alchemist continues to brew Heady Topper exclusively at their Waterbury location.

History

John Kimmich came to Vermont in 1994 to learn the craft beer industry from

Greg Noonan Gregory "Greg" John Noonan (March 4, 1951 – October 11, 2009) was an American brewing expert who wrote several published books on brewing. His writing credits include ''Brewing Lager Beer: The Most Comprehensive Book for Home - And Microbrewers' ...

. He worked as head brewer at Vermont Pub and Brewery in

Burlington, VT Burlington is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south ...

., where he met his future wife, Jen. Together they opened The Alchemist as a brew pub in Waterbury in November 2003, with ''Heady Topper'' an occasional offering. After customers began illegally taking Heady Topper offsite, Kimmich began bottling the ale. The Kimmichs started the production brewery in August 2011, and

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 ...

destroyed the pub the same month. Despite no marketing effort outside of Vermont, it grew in popularity through personal recommendations and craft beer websites.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://alchemistbeer.com/
Longreads' story on Alchemist Brewery and Heady Topper
Beer in Vermont