Heady Topper

[mjohnson]

Could it be a late addition of magnum? I had a beer at a club meeting where someone dry hopped with magnum and it had crazy tropical fruit flavors. Anyone else try that with the same result?

 

[kaz4121]

I had Pliny and Heady Topper side by side and I prefer Pliny. Heady #2. Hopslam wasn't even close to those two.

As for a clone, I would be interested, i haven't even been able to find ANY ingredients stated anywhere online

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

I personally think Pliny is dry hopped with hype... Heady Topper is where its at. I'm definitely interested in others chiming in...

 

[Airborneguy]

I've had Pliny shipped to me and drank if very fresh, less than a week, and it doesn't have near the hop aroma or flavor of Heady Topper. Pliny is a typical west cost IIPA to me: too bitter and too dry. Lagunitas makes IPAs that I find much more enjoyable, and I've never had one of them anywhere near as fresh as the Pliny I've had.

 

[deepsouth]

while i prefer heady topper to pte, it's like arguing what's better, $1,000,000 or $1,000,010.

 

[954surfer]

+1 amarillo
I just bottled an IPA that used amarillo pellets and whole cone simcoe for dry hops, so its one of them. I couldnt smell pineapple in the hops at all, but it sure comes through in the beer.

But whats up with the break material in Heady? I dont know for sure what that is, but I also noticed More Brown than Black (an alchemist callaboration with stone and ninkasi I think) has similar little bits of floaties that wasnt yeast. At first I thought it was hops but now I have noticed the same "snowflakes" in my (pre-hop) boils sometimes.

Are these just old beers? does anyone else know what Im talking about? whatever it is, its good though

 

[skeezerpleezer]

Has anyone gave this a shot yet? HT is great.

 

[koopa]

I took my first stab at cloning this one recently and went with....

80% Pearl Malt
6% Caramel 15
6% Carapils
6% Corn Sugar (last 15 minutes of boil)
2% Acid Malt

20 minute additions:
- 1oz Simcoe
- 1oz Centennial
- 1oz Columbus
- 0.75oz Amarillo
- 0.75oz Nugget

10 minute additions:
- 1oz Simcoe
- 1oz Centennial
- 1oz Columbus
- 1oz Amarillo
- 1oz Nugget

0 minute additions:
- 1oz Simcoe
- 1oz Centennial
- 1oz Columbus

Dry Hop additions:
- 1oz Simcoe
- 1oz Centennial
- 1oz Columbus
- 0.25oz Amarillo
- 0.25oz Nugget

- My recipe's IBU's = 125 (calculated)
- Heady Topper is actually 119 IBU's (calculated)

Target OG: 1.071
Actual OG: 1.072
Target FG: 1.010
Actual FG: 1.013 (I would have left it on yeast longer but needed the fermenter for another batch)

Target ABV: 8%
Actual ABV: 7.8%

Mashed at 150F
Fermented at 67F (ambient) so roughly 71F in the fermenter
US05 yeast used

Results:
- Color and body look spot on to me (calculated SRM 5.7)
- While not a perfect clone, the taste is definitely in the ball park.
- Plenty of pineapple, hints of peach, some grapefruit, and some pine resin
- Definitely drinks a touch sweeter than Heady so hitting 1.010 FG is essential to recreating the real thing.
- Didn't get as intense of a nose as Heady and slightly less hop flavor too (partially related to the sweeter finish, but mainly due to my present lack of a hopback I believe)

- The freshest samples seemed to have a bit more fruit sweetness than Heady (mainly from the Amarillo) but after having it on tap for 7-10 days the hop profile seemed to balance out a bit and while the vibrance of the hops mellowed, the flavor seemed to taste more like the real Heady

My goals for next time:
- Hit 1.010 FG
- Maybe back off on the amarillo a bit
- Increase centennial presence (needs more grapefruit character)
- Run the beer through a hopback (Blichmann Hop Rocket) for added hop aroma / pungency
- NOTE: The hop floaties found in Heady Topper cans suggest to me that they are running it through a Hop Back on the way into the can, so I will probably use the hopback twice. The first time on the way to the fermenter in lieu of my "0 minute" hop additions. The second on the way out of the fermenter and into the keg

 

[FRS]

Nice! I will have to try something similar soon! I assume this is a 5 gal batch?

What made you go with Pearl malt over 2-row?

 

[koopa]

Nice! I will have to try something similar soon! I assume this is a 5 gal batch?

What made you go with Pearl malt over 2-row?

Yes it was for a 5 gallon recipe and a few VT locals (who homebrew) have "confirmed" that Pearl is the "go to" base malt for John Kimmich when he brews this recipe so that put me in said direction. BTW Pearl is freaking awesome and just might become my "house" base malt. It is like a half way point btw pale malt and marris otter. Rounded and more flavorful (like marris) but still retaining a touch of nuttiness in the finish that doesn't overpower the hops up front!

BTW Some VT local homebrewers also degassed a can of Heady and took a gravity reading confirming that 1.010 is indeed the FG. Considering the ABV is 8% you can use those two pieces of information to confirm that the OG is right around 1.071

 

[jeffdill]

Subscribing! Thought I read they use some hop extract in this...but don't quote me on that.

 

[stat]

I just did this recipe:


10 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 64.3 %
4 lbs 8.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 27.6 %
10.6 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 4.0 %
10.6 oz Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 4 4.0 %
0.41 oz Magnum [14.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 5 17.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [12.30 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 6 20.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 5.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg tank 7 Yeast 8 -
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 14.0 Days Hop 9 0.0 IBUs

I used yeast from a 750ml bottle of tank 7 and pitched at 65 and let it free rise to around 85 peak. The aroma and flavor are overwhelmingly pineapple. Like opening a can of pineapple chunks and taking a big swallow of the juice.

I've seen many people recommend Amarillo and simcoe but since I let this saison yeast get pretty high I'm thinking a good portion of this flavor came from the yeast. If I used a more Ipa favorable malt bill and upped the hops considerably it may be close. Then again I've never had heady topper so who knows.

 

[koopa]

I was up at the Three Penny Taproom's 3rd Anniversary Party last weekend and they had a keg of Heady Topper Double Dry Hopped with Amarillo. It was being talked about by the locals as being a variation of the standard Heady Topper. It was fantastic and seemed a touch more fruity than the regular Heady. What it also suggested to me is that what makes it a variant then would either be the use of amarillo and/or the double dry hopping.

One thing that I did notice while drinking regular cans of Heady Topper is just how apparent the hop extract is. I know extract is supposed to mainly contribute to bitterness, but I feel that when used at a certain level it gives a flavor character to the beer as well.

 

[skeezerpleezer]

I was up at the Three Penny Taproom's 3rd Anniversary Party last weekend and they had a keg of Heady Topper Double Dry Hopped with Amarillo. It was being talked about by the locals as being a variation of the standard Heady Topper. It was fantastic and seemed a touch more fruity than the regular Heady. What it also suggested to me is that what makes it a variant then would either be the use of amarillo and/or the double dry hopping.

One thing that I did notice while drinking regular cans of Heady Topper is just how apparent the hop extract is. I know extract is supposed to mainly contribute to bitterness, but I feel that when used at a certain level it gives a flavor character to the beer as well.

Just out of curiosity, how can one differentiate between hop extract and boiled hops? I imagine I have had some beers (other than Heady Topper) with hop extract, but never got any distinct flavor that would say hop extract unless I knew it was there. I wonder how many big breweries use it in their IPAs.

 

[VTbrewing]

Their new beer is out. Celia saison. It's made with sorgum and brewed with orange peel. And it is a gluten free beer. This one comes in 12 oz bottles.

 

[skeezerpleezer]

Is it good?

 

[koopa]

Just out of curiosity, how can one differentiate between hop extract and boiled hops? I imagine I have had some beers (other than Heady Topper) with hop extract, but never got any distinct flavor that would say hop extract unless I knew it was there. I wonder how many big breweries use it in their IPAs.

I'm sure lots of breweries use it at moderate to low levels that are undetectable to anybodies palate (self included) but a few breweries use it at a higher concentration that I feel is detectable flavor wise. These examples all seem to have a similar flavor note that I attribute to the higher concentration of hop extract.

I've also had experiences at one bar I go to where a another homebrewer I know has brought hop extract into the bar and "dosed" peoples glasses with it. For example he came up to me and asked me what I was drinking. I told him a saison and he asked me if I wanted it to be an IPA. I said I had no idea what he was talking about but I liked IPA's. He proceeded to dose my glass with extract and I then got to taste the effect it had (post boil) on the flavor. After dosing to a certain degree he asked me if it was "too much" for me and I advised no. He then said lets try to find your hop extract threshold and kept adding it until it was stiff enough for me to tell him to stop. It was an interesting experience indeed.

 

[skeezerpleezer]

I may have to get some to try out. It could be very beneficial in big IPAs, reducing the loss to absorption.

 

[j1laskey]

Found it!

 

[twinturboa51]

Found it!


View attachment 61129

where?

 

[j1laskey]

Vuc's boat side . Salem MA

 

[j1laskey]

Vuc's boat side . Salem MA

 

[j1laskey]

Vics

 

[thisgoestoeleven]

I still can't figure out what hops they use. I'm doing some research right now though...

 

[deepsouth]

i just brewed an all citra pale and i know they were brewing this before citra came out, but i think it's in there now.

 

[dankbeer]

I've had heady topper a few times over the past year. Courtesy of a few friends who like to trade beer (NC here, so no normal distribution). The first time I tried HT I was blown away with the hop flavor and aroma combined with what tastes like a low IBU (for a IIPA). But, by the 3rd time trying it, what really stood out was the overall sweetness of the beer. koopa (page 4) mentioned some VT locals degassed a can and took a gravity reading of 1.010. This surprised me because it tasted more like 1.014 +

I have brewed a few clones (shot in the darks) of this with .33 oz of CTZ / Centennial / Citra (1 oz total for each addition) added 30 minutes, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2, and flame out. The point was to try and reach HT's high flavor and aroma while keeping the IBUs low (due to my comment above). And dry hop'd with 1/2 oz citra, 1/2 oz centennial, and 1/2 oz CTZ.

My "clones" always came out with more IBUs than the original and the sweetness seemed to be low. The flavor and aroma were good in their own right. But, not a match. There must be something in VT's water that brings out that great flavor. : /

 

[TimTrone]

Tried it for the first time a few nights ago. The bartender recommended it, and I didn't even know what it was. It's a awesome place. Had it with some beef tongue, cod cheeks, and calves liver mouse. So good

 

[hickdog]

Vics

Can't find Vic's boat side on google maps. Do you have an address?

 

[hickdog]

Can't find Vic's boat side on google maps. Do you have an address?

I am guessing you mean Vic's Boathouse in the Victoria Station Restaurant?

 

[koopa]

I was up in VT a couple of weeks ago and got some fresh Heady cans. This batch pretty much tastes like hop extract, centennial, and citra to me! Definitely lacking some of the simcoe glory that I've experienced previously.

I've been drinking Heady Topper on tap/cask since 2008 and it always tasted around 1.010 FG to me, plus I know the degassing was done properly so I'm sure of it. I can't speak to can batches as I've found them to be quite variable.

As for my homebrew attempt, similar to yours. Liked my flavor combination, but lacked the hop intensity. I chalk it up to not being John Kimmich and to not having a hop back. I really think hop backing is used to make HT and I've just recently purchased a Blichmann Hop Rocket which will be used on my second attempt of cloning Heady Topper!

I've had heady topper a few times over the past year. Courtesy of a few friends who like to trade beer (NC here, so no normal distribution). The first time I tried HT I was blown away with the hop flavor and aroma combined with what tastes like a low IBU (for a IIPA). But, by the 3rd time trying it, what really stood out was the overall sweetness of the beer. koopa (page 4) mentioned some VT locals degassed a can and took a gravity reading of 1.010. This surprised me because it tasted more like 1.014 +

I have brewed a few clones (shot in the darks) of this with .33 oz of CTZ / Centennial / Citra (1 oz total for each addition) added 30 minutes, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2, and flame out. The point was to try and reach HT's high flavor and aroma while keeping the IBUs low (due to my comment above). And dry hop'd with 1/2 oz citra, 1/2 oz centennial, and 1/2 oz CTZ.

My "clones" always came out with more IBUs than the original and the sweetness seemed to be low. The flavor and aroma were good in their own right. But, not a match. There must be something in VT's water that brings out that great flavor. : /