Heady Topper: The Beer, The Myth, The Legend

Excitement comes in a lot of forms, but none are quite as delicious as the rush from something you’d never thought you’d see or do. I feel like this is something that gets rarer as you get older. Or maybe it’s a more familiar sensation when we are kids because we don’t have access to a bank account of our very own.

The beer world does it’s best to contribute to keeping the feeling alive. Everyone has a list of elusive beers—those examples of beer perfection. Heady Topper from Alchemist is on most people’s I”‘d like to get” list. Hard for it not to be when word of mouth built quite the hype.

You can imagine my surprise when Adam returned from a trip to the store for hamburger rolls with two cans of the beverage in tow. He’d only been gone twenty minutes at the most. A quick glance at the driveway to make sure a TARDIS or a Delorean wasn’t parked outside. Damn. Nope.

Alchemist paired up with Night Shift in Everett to distribute Heady and Focal Banger in Massachusetts. Who said COVID hasn’t done anything positive? I have no idea if the distribution relationship is a one-time thing or not, but I’m not complaining.

It’s not every day I sit down to try a beer that comes with directions. The bottle-conditioned Belgians often have recommended pouring instructions, which are typically in graphic form. Heady is a horse of a different color. The guidelines ran the length of the tallboy can. The summation of the instructions being that the brewer’s highly recommend drinking the brew from the can.

Well, two fewer dishes to wash, so why not? A quick snap of the tab while taking our regular seats out on the deck, and we were off to the races.

Bringing the can up to my face, I was met with an intense juicy and piney nose. Orange, lemon, grapefruit were all swirling around together. Grapefruit was the most prominent of the citrus half of the aroma. The pine notes showed up as I started to pull the can away from my face.

Heady’s nose is a delight. I wouldn’t complain if the fragrances were combined into a perfume. If I was a perfume wearer, that is. Anyway, these flavors set the expectation for an exciting beverage.

As I took my first sip, I was ready for more citrus and pine to hit my senses. But the flavors captured in the brew…seem to be escaping me. Each sip was a bitter smack to the face. Not necessarily a bad smack mind you. It’s just the bitterness blinded me from all other flavors. Well, except one. A sticky resin after taste hung at the back of my mouth following each pull.

Honestly, I thought it was me. Maybe I needed something to cleanse the palette and try again. A totally normal thing to happen. But no. That wasn’t it. Eventually, which was about half of the beverage in beer terms, I owned up to my bitter experience. Adam was having the same problem with Heady.

We waffled for a minute or two. Then we broke the rules and got glasses. What are two dishes in the grand scheme of things? It’s not like we have gobs of plans.

The fruit salad from the nose hit my palette immediately. The fruity goodness hung long and lusciously on my tongue but then faded into the background. The resin notes stepped forward but not in the same way as when I was drinking Heady from the can. Same with the bitterness. Both were prominent but never overwhelming.

The second half of the Heady Topper can was a far more enjoyable drinking experience for me than when the beer was in the can. I wouldn’t have called Heady Topper in the can insanely drinkable, however in a glass, I absolutely would.

My admission here probably underscores and highlights my unrefined palette. It certainly feels weird to be suggesting to go against the folks that brewed the beer. It’s their creation, after all, they should know best. And given the popularity of this brew, I would guess my opinion is a minority one.

Beer is supposed to be enjoyed, though, so I can’t see the point in struggling through. So, don’t follow the rules for this one if it’s not working for you.

Cheers, Nerd Girls! Until next time…