Hazy, intensely aromatic, 8% double IPA from The Alchemist in Stowe. Drink from the can; do not pour. Considered the beer that started the New England IPA category.
John and Jen Kimmich founded The Alchemist as a Waterbury brewpub in 2003 and began canning Heady Topper from a new Waterbury cannery in 2011; production expanded to the Stowe brewery and visitor's center in 2016. The unfiltered haze, the floral citrus aromatics from late hop additions, and the 'drink from the can' instruction on the label became blueprints for an entire category of US craft beer. Sister IPA Focal Banger followed in 2014.
3 editor picks for Heady Topper double IPA in Burlington, ranked by editorial score. All Burlington signature dishes · Heady Topper double IPA across every city.
The Alchemist Brewery and Visitor's Center ★ 4.8
stowe · 100 Cottage Club Rd, Stowe, VT 05672
John and Jen Kimmich founded The Alchemist in 2003; the Heady Topper IPA from this Stowe brewery (35 miles from Burlington) sparked the entire haze-IPA.
Mule Bar ★ 4.5
winooski · 38 Main St, Winooski, VT 05404
Open since May 2013 in downtown Winooski; expertly curated craft beer list with rotating draft plus Heady Topper and Focal Banger. Plant-based plates.
Vermont Pub and Brewery ★ 4.3
church-street-marketplace · 144 College St, Burlington, VT 05401
Vermont's first brewpub (1988) doubles as a workhorse downtown bar; a long list of in-house brews, the cask hand-pull, and a kitchen until close.