Heady Topper like recipe

Hi all

I was at the Vermont Brewfest last week and among a wide range of really, really good beers I was in particular blown away by the Heady Topper from The Alchemist Pub and Brewery, a double American IPA with 8% and 120 IBU's.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/alchemist-heady-topper/32329/

Can any of you more experienced brewers (who might have even tasted the beer) tell me what kind of ingredient profile a beer like this might have (hops, malt etc.)? I am not of to cloning it, but I would looooove to be able to produce the same kind of hoppy and bitter feel this beer has in a batch of my own in the future. Does the high abv make it a challenge to achieve the bitterness through the boil (due to the high gravity), and would something like this even be possible to brew from extract and steeping grain?

Cheers,
Thomas

I'd suggest the tried and true Pliny the Elder clone from Russian River. If you can't do a full boil it would be very difficult to get enough bitterness. You could do two boils, filling the fermenter up with 2.5 gallons and then later that day or the next 2.5 more gallons. Some table sugar is a good addition from strong IPAs (especially when using extract) because it helps to dry it out which boosts the perception of bitterness. Good luck!