Heady Topper beer

petethebrick

Heady Topper beer from the US is ranked number 1 in the world on beer advocate.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27039/16814/

Can you get it anywhere here in Ireland? Has anyone ever tried it?

Ipso

From what I read it's hard to get outside Connecticut?

Creamy Goodness

Extremely hard to buy anywhere bar north east of the USA.

It often pops up on the subreddit of http://www.reddit.com/r/beertrade but you'll be hard pressed to find someone willing to part or make it worth their while trading for anything less than something like Westy.

Seaneh

I've a funny feeling that the same as the likes of Russian River and Westvleteren beers this is a little over hyped due to it's exclusivity. When something is rare and hard to get and people build it up it almost always ends up being over hyped.

I've had a few Westy XII and a few Pliny the Elders and yeah they were class, but I don't know that they were better beers than others I've had of similar style or if they were the best beers I've ever had.
I'd have to have a few more of each to see if I got bored of them over time. Then you only have 1 bottle you're always going to have some psychological "It has to be brilliant" thing going on. When you've had a beer semi-regularly you start to become used to it or bored of it and then start coveting something newer or rarer.

When/if it ever becomes widely available and the rating pool is more than a handful of people in one corner of the US or Belgium and hardcore beer geeks paying over the odds for bragging rights, then you can start trusting web ratings.

upforit101

Seaneh wrote: »

I've a funny feeling that the same as the likes of Russian River and Westvleteren beers this is a little over hyped due to it's exclusivity. When something is rare and hard to get and people build it up it almost always ends up being over hyped.

I've had a few Westy XII and a few Pliny the Elders and yeah they were class, but I don't know that they were better beers than others I've had of similar style or if they were the best beers I've ever had.
I'd have to have a few more of each to see if I got bored of them over time. Then you only have 1 bottle you're always going to have some psychological "It has to be brilliant" thing going on. When you've had a beer semi-regularly you start to become used to it or bored of it and then start coveting something newer or rarer.

When/if it ever becomes widely available and the rating pool is more than a handful of people in one corner of the US or Belgium and hardcore beer geeks paying over the odds for bragging rights, then you can start trusting web ratings.

Amazing; I was waiting for the "but Heady topper Is not as good as Galway Bay Brewery of Foam and Fury" line there. Not a sign of it. Truely amazing.

upforit101

petethebrick wrote: »

Heady Topper beer from the US is ranked number 1 in the world on beer advocate.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27039/16814/

Can you get it anywhere here in Ireland? Has anyone ever tried it?

Business idea for some Irish Brewers; just go and copy it.

Plenty of sites with step by step, paint by numbers ways of doing it.

http://www.bear-flavored.com/2013/08/brewing-heady-topper-clone-recipe-group.html



http://www.bear-flavored.com/2013/08/brewing-heady-topper-clone-recipe-group.html

Technocentral

Havent tasted it (obviously) but at least it finally puts pay to the silly people who say that great beer doesn't come in a can!

Seaneh

upforit101 wrote: »

Amazing; I was waiting for the "but Heady topper Is not as good as Galway Bay Brewery of Foam and Fury" line there. Not a sign of it. Truely amazing.

Feel clever posting that? I hope you sat back and thought "hawhawhaw, I got him there".

Genius...

Seaneh

Technocentral wrote: »

Havent tasted it (obviously) but at least it finally puts pay to the silly people who say that great beer doesn't come in a can!

Some super stuff being canned these days with the likes of Sierra Nevada, 21st Amendment, Brew Dog, Surly, Oskar Blues all doing it now.

The Hill Billy

upforit101 wrote: »

Amazing; I was waiting for the "but Heady topper Is not as good as Galway Bay Brewery of Foam and Fury" line there. Not a sign of it. Truely amazing.

Let's stay on-topic & have less of the digs at other posters please.

tHB

enda1

Hmm. I'll be over States-side soon enough and will try my hand at picking up some of these rare beers. Already had 2 bricks of Westy 12. Got a couple of bottles left too ageing.

Seaneh

enda1 wrote: »

Hmm. I'll be over States-side soon enough and will try my hand at picking up some of these rare beers. Already had 2 bricks of Westy 12. Got a couple of bottles left too ageing.

What part of the country are you heading to?
Someone here might know the area and be able to steer you in the right direction.

enda1

Seaneh wrote: »

What part of the country are you heading to?
Someone here might know the area and be able to steer you in the right direction.

NY, Boston, Chicago and middle of nowhere Wisconsin.

Going end of June and start of July. I'm sure I'll have to pay above odds for grey-market beers but a few won't break the bank relative to the whole holiday cost.

Cheers!

Seaneh

enda1 wrote: »

NY, Boston, Chicago and middle of nowhere Wisconsin.

Going end of June and start of July. I'm sure I'll have to pay above odds for grey-market beers but a few won't break the bank relative to the whole holiday cost.

Cheers!

Best bet for Heady Topper will be in NY but I don't know where to look for it, you might get lucky and find some Dogfish Head stuff too.

In the mid west you should have a pretty decent selection from the likes of Great Lakes Brewing, Surly, Founders, Indeed, Goose Island and a load more and probably some stuff from California and the Pacific North West and Colorado but again no idea where to send you in that area.

RGDATA!

Seaneh wrote: »

Best bet for Heady Topper will be in NY .

I honestly think you'll be very lucky to get it in NYC. It's not officially distributed there. Occasionally some bars get their hands on a few crates, and might have it for a limited time at crazy prices, but have a few mates over there and they've found it hard to come across. No trace of it when I was over there last Sept. Didn't go mad looking for it, but scouted around on line in case there was somewhere I could try it to see what the hype is about.

Seaneh

RGDATA! wrote: »

I honestly think you'll be very lucky to get it in NYC. It's not officially distributed there. Occasionally some bars get their hands on a few crates, and might have it for a limited time at crazy prices, but have a few mates over there and they've found it hard to come across. No trace of it when I was over there last Sept. Didn't go mad looking for it, but scouted around on line in case there was somewhere I could try it to see what the hype is about.

I just meant out of the places he listed, NY is the most likely to have it.

Ravelleman

Seaneh wrote: »

Some super stuff being canned these days with the likes of Sierra Nevada, 21st Amendment, Brew Dog, Surly, Oskar Blues all doing it now.

I found all the 21st Amendment stuff I tried last summer to be exceptional. The can designs were also excellent.

There's something about cracking open some big, hoppy American pale ales from a can that really excites me, perhaps more so than bottles. Though that's probably just because of the range of beers that are currently being canned.

I hope more Irish brewers - like Metalman, finally - will do it in the future.

Ipso

Ipso wrote: »

From what I read it's hard to get outside Connecticut?

My mistake, the brewery is actually Waterbury, Vermont. Its a threehour drive from Boston.
There is another Waterbury in Connecticut that threw me of.
Massachusetts or upstate New Yorm may be your best bet.

RonanC

I visited the brewery while skiing in Stowe - you won't get it in NY, and will be very lucky to get it anywhere outside of a 25 mile radius around Waterbury. I doubt you'll find it in Boston either.