UPDATED: APR 6, 2021 After moving away and having A LOT of NE IPAs, I had one again recently. There’s still something special about it. It’s not too sweet, not too bitter, well balanced, full bodied yet crisp. Worth the trouble if you can find it fresh.

UPDATED: FEB 23, 2021 This beer is everything they say it is. Hopped in lawyers, hazy, beautiful smell... superlatives on and on... great can.

UPDATED: FEB 12, 2021 Knocks me out when I drink it but it’s one of the best beers I’ve ever had. Rich and smooth.

UPDATED: FEB 8, 2021 Entire Bay Area gets a limited amount of Heady Topper once a year. This year it all sells out in 1 hour, because of Instagram, except....(drumroll) at Whole Foods in Capitola, which I guessed correctly from it distal location. Finally I get to try it. Yeah! Pours with lightly hazy gold color. Initial bright citrus and piney hop aroma is quite nice and strong, but fades quickly. Very sharp finish: a combination of high citrus hop bitterness, light citric or other acidity, and some mineral character. Some light meaty profile to this, maybe unhealthy yeast, or malt profile. Certainly middle of the road for hazy IPAs, but you have to admire the originator of the style. Easish to drink. Pretty good.

UPDATED: JAN 23, 2021 0,473 litre Can, shared with Bergstaden. Cloudy Golden with white head. Malts, hops, Citrus, some herbal bitterness.

UPDATED: JAN 12, 2021 (Can) Hazy burnt orange body with large, stiff white head and lots of lacing. Aroma of pine resin, grass, moderately malty, some tropical fruit, peach, notes of orange and grapefruit. Medium-plus body, oily texture, round and chewy. Flavor is moderately sweet, caramel malty backbone, pine resin and grapefruit bitterness, peach, melon; a bit dank and an earthy quality.

UPDATED: JUL 8, 2020 16 oz can, canned 6/10/20. Pours hazy dark yellow with a medium meringue white head that retains fairly well and leaves a little lacing. The aroma is fruit with resiny piney hops that are slightly catty. The flavor is some wheat malt with sugary fruit and a big resiny ashy bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with smooth carbonation. Overall, a nice NE DIPA, but not quite the mind blowing experience I was expecting. Too much catty, ashy, dank hops.

UPDATED: JUL 3, 2020 Can (6/22/20) pour. Appearance is deeply hazy light brown-orange-yellow with nice lazy sparkle at the edges of the glass, finger-width foamy white head with decent retention and light lacing. Aroma is citrus, candied fruit, herb/vegetal, pine that you kind of need to sit with to get through the various layers. Cracker malt backbone. Taste is strong pine and citrus, with stone fruit and bitter component dominating the second half. Mouthfeel is light side of light-to-medium bodied with smooth, frothy texture, soft carbonation, fair alcohol warmth and finish as taste with strong bitter finish. Overall, I can see the bridge between the West Coast IPA's and the birth of NEIPA and this is an important beer. Very well crafted as there's good complexity but it doesn't beat you over the head. Enjoyable, and I'm glad I've now had it, but given what's being produced these days it doesn't blow me away. A bit thin for the style these days.

UPDATED: JUN 28, 2020 Hazy rich golden with a thick white head. Lovely nose of dank fresh floral resinous hop oils and a touch of grapefruit pith. Smells like a summer beer fest. Full flavor that’s a little soft and pale and wheaty but has a bit of body to it , supporting a fresh floral dank resinous bitterness that’s balanced and smooth. Really firm and charming and dank.

UPDATED: JUN 23, 2020 Pint can. Cantaloupe hop aroma with notes of pineapple, mango, grapefruit, orange and some pine resin. Pours hazy golden colored with a large off white head that has excellent retention and good, soapy lacing. Starts with juicy pineapple, mango and orange flavors. Finishes dry, but quite smooth with wonderful cantaloupe, dank grapefruit and pine resiny hop flavors. Quite good. Definitely lives up to the hype.