Craft brewed Indian Pale Ales are all the range these days among the hipster beer fanatics. The more bitter, the more hoppy the better it seems. Originally hopped up for long sea voyagers, the IPA is the current go to beer of craft brewers across the nation.
Floral, pungent and the bitter the better it seems as brewers compete for the most, “blow your head off” hoppy sensation.
The Alchemist Brewery in Waterbury and now in a state of the art facility in Stowe, Vermont has been riding the hoppy beer craze to the top with their highly sought after “Heady Topper” a “double IPA”.
The Alchemist Brewery only has two beers that they produce around the clock – Heady Topper and Focal Banger (another hoppy beer). 45,000 cans of Heady Topper roll out of the brewery each week and are distributed only to a 25 mile radius.
Fans of this heady hopped up beer sold in pint size cans which boldly proclaim that the beer should not be poured into a glass but drunk right from the can to preserve all of the wonderful hop aromas. Sharing is not suggested in other words, get your own can!
Demand is high for the Alchemists brews. When they started out as a home brewery in a neighborhood of nearby Waterbury (think Ben and Jerry’s and Green Mountain Coffee), neighbors began to complain as the line of cars stretched around the block on canning days.
The new state of the art facility, visitor’s center and tasting room in Stowe, Vermont just down the road from the ski area, serves as a mecca for beer aficionados.
I visited recently around opening time during late October when the fall foliage season was just about dead and had no trouble grabbing some four packs for a party but supplies are controlled. At the time they had limits on the four beers in the coolers.
Focal Banger – Limit 4 Four Packs
Sterk Wit – Limit 4 Four Packs
Heady Topper – Limit 2 Four Packs
Skadoosh – Limit 6 Four Packs
I was happy to snag a four pack of each offering for $53 and served them as a tasting at a party the next night. We have five tasters, older than the hipster age but all with plenty of experience drinking beer.
Interesting that IPAs are very popular these days with all of their extreme hoppiness but our panel of beer tasting experts seemed to enjoy the more flavorful, less bitter styles like porter and nut brown. Sterk Wit and Skadoosh were the favorite among the Alchemist brews.