Alchemist Heady Topper

Brewed by Alchemist Pub and Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Waterbury, Vermont USA

Draft, EBF: Clear orange, light white head. Strong orange aroma, woody creamed grapefruit, lots of pineapple. Very intense vegetal hops though the malt backbone is present, if not up to the typical imperial IPA level. Floral and citrusy bitterness. Well made in the style, but too aggressive citric bitterness for nothing to my tastes. Oily medium body, light carbonation. One more, one less… / Re-rate from a pint at the brewpub: Extremely aromatic, zesty orange hops with a nice supporting biscuity maltiness that smoothens the upcoming hops onslaught, bitter yet tactful and sensitive. Better than the 3.3 I had initially gave it.

Sampled at the 2005 EBF: Pours a clear bronze color with a lacy white head. Intense fresh bold green hoppy aroma. Body is mildly sweet and well hopped but thin. Has a good resiny hop profile and a crisp clean pine finish, but could use a little more malty sweetness to be true to style. Still a nice beer though.

on tap-pours a retaining big foamy/creamy light tan head and hazy amber color. Aroma is cascade hops-citrus. Taste is cascade hops-citrus, uber dry, bitter, raw. An I2PA less the slick mouth feel. OK carbonation.

On draught at Alchemist. Pours copper with a thin white head. Smells of citrus ad perfume. Taste is hoppy with more hops on the finish. An unexpected hop bomb.

The Lure:
Gorgeous grapefruit and oranges make the mouth water and the mind not care about the shyness of the malt underneath. Great lacing around an obviously unfiltered authenticity.

The Festivities:
Addictive citrus fruit and hop resin cooperate marvelously in this well-brewed and quite quaffable all-hop affair. Biscuity malts clings to the yeast. Superb hop bitterness follows the multi-faceted hop flavors, and lingers ad vitam eternam. A tad more malt sweetness and complexity would definitely propel it to stardom, but this is already fantastic as is.

Transcendence:
Millions of sunrays uplift the spirit.

Vermont Brewers Fest ’07. Fruity hoppy aroma. Pale golden. The aroma is quite fruity with notes of peach, apricot, and pear. Earthy with light orange peel and pine. Fresh, light pale malt. Quite light and easy to drink, defying its ABV. A berryish yeast gives this brew some interest. Sweetish from both the hops and the pale malt. A really nice brew.

March 2004: Draught at the brewpub. Very light golden appearance, almost no head. Fruit, fruit, fruit in the nose -- oranges, grapefruit, apples. Very aromatic indeed. Very sweet, soft at first, with many fruits, brown sugar and a hint of cinnamon, but a massive hop-whallop (120 IBUs) takes over shortly. Smooth and creamy throughout, low carbonation. Not at the top for the style, but quite tasty and dangerously drinkable. 8/3/8/4 16 3.9

September 2006: This year’s edition definitely shows more malt presence in the body, and the aroma is if anything even more fragrant, fruity and floral with some light touches of berry. Really coming along, approaching mastery...

Original Rating (8-3-8-5-17=4.1): Extremely fruity aroma - orange and grapefruit hops nose battles with yeasty esters. Clear, light amber coloured with decent off-white head that lasts nicely. Bitterness is masked by the opening sweet fruitiness but creeps up from the sides of the tongue. Citrus y hop flavours mingle wonderfully with sweet malts and yeasty esters. Alcohol is not at all apparent in the flavour although it is gently warming. Medium body and smooth creamy mouthfeel. A pleasure on the tongue. More please. On tap at the Vermont Brewers Festival.
Rerate (7-4-8-4-14=3.7): Orange, grapefruit-citrus, resinous hop nose. Opaque yellow-tan coloured body is topped with a low, fine bubbled, white head that recedes to a partial cover and rings with lace down the sides of the glass. Very strong hop bitterness and assertive, tart, citrus character - this one is all about the hops although sweet malt character is evidenced underneath. Medium body with moderate carbonation. Sampled on tap at the brewpub with beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, Rastacouere and Yowie.