The Hunt for Heady Topper

A friend of mine who lives here in Vermont came to visit me recently and brought with her a four pack of canned beer. Not exactly being a beer person the gesture seemed a little underwhelming, but when she told me it was the famous cult beer Heady Topper, well I had to try one. “I hate you” was the first thing I said after tasting the unfiltered, unpasteurized hoppy IPA. Turns out I really liked the beer, but I also knew how impossibly difficult it is to find.

For anyone unfamiliar with this beer it is brewed by a family run company called The Alchemist, out of Waterbury, Vermont. In the past decade it has risen to rock star status here in the Green Mountain state, thanks in large part to its insanely hard-to-get status, which some are convinced is a purposeful tactic done to keep interest peaked. But in reality it is just a matter of supply and demand. Each time people try the beer they fall in love with it. As a result, the company’s beer sales have grown steadily since Heady first launched in 2004 largely due to word of mouth—interestingly the company does very little, if any marketing or advertising.

Let’s face it—they don’t have to.

But finding a store that has Heady Topper in stock is not so simple. Only certain stores and bars within a 25-mile radius of where the beer is brewed get dependable shipments and only on specific days of the week. Then if you find one of these locations it is not uncommon to find 50 people or more lined up hours before the store opens, just to have a shot at buying Heady Topper. And it is not just locals—parking lots are often filled with cars from all over the northeast, people who are willing to drive four or five hours just to get the chance for some Heady. It is not uncommon for a store to sell through its entire case allotment in less than an hour.

There is even a website, Heady Spotter, that offers a glimpse into the daily delivery schedules, and the Twitter feed @HeadySpotter offers close to real time delivery info so Heady lovers can be in the know.

Alchemist brewer John Kimmich has said in various interviews that keeping the beer local was a very conscious decision. Rather than letting a number of large distributors move his company’s beer, he instead chose to sell mainly to mom and pop retailers who he felt would really benefit from carrying the beer.

This summer, The Alchemist opened a second brewery in Stowe, Vermont. The state-of-the-art-facility, which also features a visitor’s center, was designed to be as low impact as possible. Heady Topper is sold here as well as the brewers’ second year round beer, Focal Banger, as well as a few seasonal beers. But Heady Topper often sells out here as well and lines can be lengthy, too, which is why the company recommends folks bring umbrellas, sunscreen and plenty of water to drink while they wait.

Ah, if only every company had problems like these.