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The story of Heady Topper, Americas most loved craft beer

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Re: The story of Heady Topper, Americas most loved craft beer

#11

Post by NotSammyHagar »

SirFatty wrote: post #2

who? what?

Never heard of this on the west coast. You mean there is beer made east of the beerocracy states of Washington & Oregon? At least the hops must come from here, right :-)

I wish it was available around here, but the legally required liquor industry beer industry middlemen have too much power in what gets imported. In the Seattle area there are dozens of brewerys in the city, plus zillions in surrounding areas. There are so many it's virtually impossible to have visited all of them, much less heard of them.

Re: The story of Heady Topper, Americas most loved craft beer

#12

Post by stumblers »

SirFatty wrote: post #2

who? what?

huge caveat: I haven't read the piece yet, but had to quickly respond to you. This is probably totally inside baseball for beer snobs. For me, Heady Topper is the beer that made me a beer snob. Never understood why anyone would ever stand in line to buy beer but sadly now I do.

The most interesting aspect of their story is that it seems to somewhat defy market gravity...they keep their prices pretty steady (very expensive), supply is limited, and demand keeps growing. I'm no historian or expert but I think they've been a market creator in this style of recipe (Lawsons, Hill Farmstead, Trillium, Fiddlehead, etc). That might be wildly inaccurate, so take it for what it's worth.

Again, haven't the read the piece but had to respond.

Re: The story of Heady Topper, Americas most loved craft beer

#13

Post by muninn_ »

NotSammyHagar wrote: post #11
SirFatty wrote: post #2

who? what?

Never heard of this on the west coast. You mean there is beer made east of the beerocracy states of Washington & Oregon? At least the hops must come from here, right :-) I wish it was available around here, but the legally required liquor industry beer industry middlemen have too much power in what gets imported. In the Seattle area there are dozens of brewerys in the city, plus zillions in surrounding areas. There a…

Ohhhh man. You have no idea what you're missing out on. There is great beer all across the US. We get some beers from Washington and Oregon and California (Rouge and Stone come to mind immediately), but there are a ton of beers from the East Coast and the Great Lakes that are beyond fantastic. Check em out sometime!

Re: The story of Heady Topper, Americas most loved craft beer

#14

Post by irongeek »

NotSammyHagar wrote: post #11
SirFatty wrote: post #2

who? what?

Never heard of this on the west coast. You mean there is beer made east of the beerocracy states of Washington & Oregon? At least the hops must come from here, right :-) I wish it was available around here, but the legally required liquor industry beer industry middlemen have too much power in what gets imported. In the Seattle area there are dozens of brewerys in the city, plus zillions in surrounding areas. There a…

The northeast is a beer mecca. You have great beer on the west coast but there is beer just as good if not better here. A lot of hop farms are in Pennsylvania and the New England states now.

Re: The story of Heady Topper, Americas most loved craft beer

#15

Post by joezydeco »

I've tried a Heddy Topper (it was offered to me in a restaurant in Burlington), I live near Goose Island, and I've consumed New Glarus in Wisconsin.

To me it's all about the scarcity. People waiting overnight for limited-edition brews, crossing state lines to buy exclusive brands...it adds this psychological value to the beer.

When you strip that away you're left with another 100+ IBU beer that my palate eventually can't take anymore.

Re: The story of Heady Topper, Americas most loved craft beer

#16

Post by whistlerbrk »

rm_-rf_slash wrote: post #3

Sounds like the writer liked their beer a little too much to make a balanced piece. It is my understanding that from coast-to-coast, America's most beloved craft brewery is Dogfish Head, and that the most popular craft brewery (by sales volume) is Sam Adams. I have never heard of Heady Topper, and I used to drink like a fish.

Sam Adams is not a craft brewery. I understand that term is subjective, but really truly not in this case. I wouldn't say Dogfish Head is either anymore.

Re: The story of Heady Topper, Americas most loved craft beer

#18

Post by whistlerbrk »

joezydeco wrote: post #15

I've tried a Heddy Topper (it was offered to me in a restaurant in Burlington), I live near Goose Island, and I've consumed New Glarus in Wisconsin. To me it's all about the scarcity. People waiting overnight for limited-edition brews, crossing state lines to buy exclusive brands...it adds this psychological value to the beer. When you strip that away you're left with another 100+ IBU beer that my palate eventually c…

Yeah, the obsession in America over IPAs really needs to end. I'm sure this is a good brew, but the vast majority of them seem to me to be an exercise in absurdity. Too high ABV and so bitter you can't taste the fact that most of these beers have nothing else to offer in terms of body or flavor.

I liken it to Starbucks drip, you like it because in order to make it palatable you have to dump sugar and cream into it.

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