A New Beer Thread

I don't know whether to laugh or be horrified...

 

Don't read too much into it.

 

Better than naming it the Final Solution I guess.

 

Is it strange that I was less than dazzled by Heady Topper?

Despite living in Mass, I always have plenty of Bell's Two-Hearted (which I love) on hand because my dad brings it out when he visits. So I swapped a sixer of it for a 4-pack of Heady Topper from someone who went up to the brewery. I really was not impressed. Not a bad beer by any stretch, but I found it to be a one-dimensional, unbalanced hop bomb and didn't get the hype at all. Is it because it's hard to get? Or is there something I'm missing? I can think of a dozen IPAs that I'd rather drink. I'd crawl to the end of the earth (and even visit Florida) just for some Cigar City Jai Alai. But I don't think I'd go out of my way for more Heady Topper.

 

If Jai Alai (a great beer) is your favorite, then Heady Topper probably is more hop-forward than you are looking for.

 

I don't mind hop-forward at all. I love DFH 90-Minute, Hopslam, Sculpin, Smuttynose Finest Kind, Racer 5, Jack's Abby Mass Rising and a number of other very hop-forward IPAs. But all of those have more malt flavors that come through to balance it out, which makes for a more enjoyable beer to me. Heady Topper tasted very one-dimensional.

 

Will be trying Abita Oktoberfest tonight. If it's anything like the rest of the Abita line, I'll like it. I always miss Hopslam at our Total Wine store. One of these days, I'll be lucky enough to plop down $20 for a 6-pack.

 

Hopslam is very good. Didn't live up to the massive hype for me, though. Not sure it could have. I bet I'd say the same about Heady Topper if I was ever up that way to try it.

 

Given a choice between Alchemist IPAs, I'd drink a Focal Banger 1000 times out of 1000 before a Heady Topper.

 

Who makes that?

 

The Alchemist in Waterbury, VT (brewers of both Focal Banger and Heady Topper).

 

Duh. Sorry. Brain fart there.