An Unobtainable Beer

The Alchemist is a family run brewery specializing in fresh, unfiltered IPA. John and Jen Kimmich originally opened The Alchemist as a 60 seat brew pub in the village of Waterbury in 2003, and after eight years of success and growing popularity, they decided to open a small production brewery. Today The Alchemist currently operates two breweries in Vermont; you can find one in Waterbury, and one in Stowe.

“Highly celebrated and nearly unobtainable”

The Alchemist’s most famous brew is undeniably the Heady Topper Double IPA.  Featured in Vermont Life‘s 2014 Summer issue, The Alchemist’s flagship canned beer is described as “highly celebrated and nearly unobtainable” by The Atlantic, and requires a standalone article in Vermont Life to fully explore the intrigue of the beer.

The Heady Topper provides a flavor profile that is certainly hoppy and bitter, but not exceedingly so.  John Kimmich originally created the beer as something he himself liked drinking, its boom in popularity merely a byproduct of its unique taste.   In Jim’s own words: “we knew it was unique, but we didn’t think it would be the highest-rated beer in the world.”

The article describes the beer as the “most desirable beer on the market,” but, alas, the methods to get your hands on one leave much to be desired; the Heady Topper is exceedingly rare, which is part of what fuels this brew’s mystique.  It is sold in various brew pubs in the Burlington area, as well as local markets around the Waterbury area, but apart from those local and often remote areas the beer is mysteriously absent.  This may not be an accident, as many beer-aficionados are known to make the voyage up to the northern part of the state just to try the acclaimed double IPA.

“We knew it was unique, but we didn’t think it would be the highest-rated beer in the world”

How, then, do you get your hands on one of these cans?  Vermont Life nudges you to travel to the brewery itself, in Stowe VT.  Stowe is a notorious tourist destination, with picturesque scenery and charming vistas galore, and it’s hard to resist the image of this family run, cozy brewery nestled between the state’s snow-capped peaks.

 

Source: Vermont Life Vol. 68, Iss. 4, pages 32-37