Heady Topper Clone - Now a Commercialized Kit?

[bbohanon]

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...w-kit.html/?icn=NBHomepage&ici=off-the-topper

"Off the Topper" as a clone name is a bit odd..

Wonder how close this is to the real thing? Looks very similar to the recipe posted here some time back...$60 bucks for that bad boy in extract form..All grain looks to be about $56(http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/off-the-topper-iipa-all-grain-homebrew-kit.html)


Interesting..

 

[CBXBob]

Yeah $60 is a heavy lift for an extract kit. Most of the cost is probably the hops, and that yeast at $8.+
Have you tried Morebeer's Pliny the Elder Double IPA kit? Lots of hops, a Russian River company authorized kit. I've done it 3 times and absolutely love it. and I just use the US05 yeast and it comes out great. Just my opinion (and taste) I've tried Heady Topper and liked it, but Pliny always puts a huge smile on my face Extract kit 49.99, All grain 45.99, US05 $3.49

 

[kcmobrewer]

Hop extract I'm sure is driving up the price as well.


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[Teromous]

They aren't the first ones to make a kit, but unfortunately most of the time when I find a clone kit for this beer for sale it goes out of stock very quickly. Hopefully a large supplier like NB can keep it in stock. One notable element is The Yeast Bay - Vermont Ale which is supposed to be the yeast that The Alchemist uses. It a sizable list of ingredients: Recipe

On a side note, if you are interested in Heady Topper information I recommend checking out the Chop and Brew Q&A session with John Kimmich from The Alchemist:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdfySDN2mF0"][youtube]LdfySDN2mF0[/youtube][/ame]

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

If you are in the market for a kit, Northern Brewer is always reliable. I'm not sure what the advantage would be over putting it together yourself, but if you like the convenience or don't have a good B&M store nearby, why not? I think they made a great decision to offer Yeast Bay's Vermont Ale Yeast with the kit. It's excellent.

 

[bbohanon]

Great feedback on this..I am on the fence about picking this up from NBrewer as I like the original(and brewed the clone recipe listed here twice before) but dont drink it often(mostly as I only go to Vermont once a year so the supply of HT I get when I go has to last) and its a bit much as a daily drinker for me to be honest.

Too much of an IIPA with all those hops kills me heartburn-wise if I drink more than 2 of them on a given day(I am just getting old I reckon).

I do have alot of hop-head friends I give my beer to that do love the original and the clone I made and its been a while since I brewed it so this new kit drew my attention.

I have seen the morebeer pliny clone, but never brewed this nor have had the original so I might try this one out first..I actually have about 15 cans of HT still in the fridge from the summer vermont visit so I can harvest this yeast and step it up to a pitchable amount for the pliny to see how it ends up.

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

I have seen the morebeer pliny clone, but never brewed this nor have had the original so I might try this one out first..I actually have about 15 cans of HT still in the fridge from the summer vermont visit so I can harvest this yeast and step it up to a pitchable amount for the pliny to see how it ends up.

My experience using Yeast Bay's Vermont Ale yeast came with a Pliny clone I was brewing from the recipe that Vinnie posted in Zymurgy. It turned out great--I'm sure you'll be happy with the final product.

 

[danomyte]

Looks very similar to the recipe posted here some time back....

can i get a link to that recipe?

 

[kcmobrewer]

There's a huge thread. Just google it...


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[Teromous]

Just a caution to anyone looking to buy this kit from NB; I received the email about the kit and immediately ordered it on the 16th. Monday I received a canned email saying that it would be late, and today I received an email saying that it was shipped (6 days after the order). If you are planning on making this kit I would factor in 1.5-2 weeks of delay.

 

[Doctor_M]

They aren't the first ones to make a kit, but unfortunately most of the time when I find a clone kit for this beer for sale it goes out of stock very quickly. Hopefully a large supplier like NB can keep it in stock. One notable element is The Yeast Bay - Vermont Ale which is supposed to be the yeast that The Alchemist uses. It a sizable list of ingredients: Recipe

On a side note, if you are interested in Heady Topper information I recommend checking out the Chop and Brew Q&A session with John Kimmich from The Alchemist:

[youtube]LdfySDN2mF0[/youtube]

And in that same chop and brew episode Kimmich basically said HT is forever evolving. Just like a lot of the PTE "clones" that use Columbus at 90 minutes that Vinnie released years ago (last I heard they use hop extract) it is not the same beer that RR is brewing today. Not saying the beer isn't a clone of what was once said beer but don't expect it to be a clone of the beer you can buy at your local beer store tomorrow.

 

[Teromous]

And in that same chop and brew episode Kimmich basically said HT is forever evolving. Just like a lot of the PTE "clones" that use Columbus at 90 minutes that Vinnie released years ago (last I heard they use hop extract) it is not the same beer that RR is brewing today. Not saying the beer isn't a clone of what was once said beer but don't expect it to be a clone of the beer you can buy at your local beer store tomorrow.

I've never even seen a can of Heady Topper in person. Part of the reason I want to make the recipe is so that I can see what kind of beer this kit will make. I'm not interested in a clone per-say; just good beer.

 

[metanoia]

I've never even seen a can of Heady Topper in person. Part of the reason I want to make the recipe is so that I can see what kind of beer this kit will make. I'm not interested in a clone per-say; just good beer.

It's good, just not #1 beer on BeerAdvocate good. I was lucky to score a can from my cousin's husband while visiting them in Boston a couple years ago (guy's got a sizable cellar of craft beer). But me, I'm much happier with a bottle of 90 Minute.

 

[bluemoose]

HT is not the same beer it was an year or two ago. It used to be an incredible treat, one of the best I've had. Now it is a great beer, but I wouldn't go too far out of my way to get it. Not sure what changed. It seems like the change may have coincided with the increase in brewery capacity.
I have a couple in the fridge that have been there for three weeks because we have been drinking an excellent IIPA home brew. That never would have happened a couple years ago!


Sent from the kingdom of beer.

 

[grizzly2378]

HT is very good...I managed to score two 4 packs when my mom went on a recent trip to New England. And while I'm glad I got to try it, it didn't totally blow my mind. It is probably unfairly over-hyped at this point. Again, it is an excellent beer, but there are other excellent beers (Fresh Squeezed is my go-to IPA, or Myrcenary for a IIPA) that are also excellent and easily available (if I can get it in South Dakota, you can get it pretty much anywhere...).


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[Michael311]

I brewed the AG version of this kit three days ago. I watched the video posted above and I have to compliment Northern Brewer for making a kit with a recipe and procedures that closely follows the Alchemist's philosophy, particularly with hop additions. The recipe calls for hop shots (extract) at 60 mins and then there are no more hop additions until flame out. Another interesting step is cooling the wort to 180, then adding more hops. Also calls for two separate 4-day dry hops.
I received the kit about 10 days after ordering it but I am on the west coast. Since we can't get Heady Topper in CA (would have preferred to use the Conan yeast) I hope this turns out close to the real thing!

 

[Teromous]

An update on this recipe:

The Simcoe in this recipe has been replaced with "Simply Select Hop Blend." The quantity of hops and times have stayed the same, so it's just a 1 for 1 swap. I contacted Northern Brewer and they told me that the blend is 30% Chinook and 70% Ahtanum.

I figured it would be worth mentioning this because I also saw that Plinian Legacy is using this blend, and Midwest Homebrew Supply is also using it in their Ferocious IPA kit.

 

[eadavis80]

Glad I found this post. I am about to brew NB's Conundrum IPA and in looking at the instructions online I saw Select Hop Blend, but they mailed me Simcoe. I bought the kit a while back and always verify ingredients when I receive a shipment. I'm confident this will taste good with either one. If I like it a lot, maybe I'll order another one just to see if I can taste the difference between Select Hop Blend and the Simcoe!

 

[Michael311]

An update on this recipe:

The Simcoe in this recipe has been replaced with "Simply Select Hop Blend." The quantity of hops and times have stayed the same, so it's just a 1 for 1 swap. I contacted Northern Brewer and they told me that the blend is 30% Chinook and 70% Ahtanum.

I figured it would be worth mentioning this because I also saw that Plinian Legacy is using this blend, and Midwest Homebrew Supply is also using it in their Ferocious IPA kit.

Weird. I wonder why they changed it?

 

[1fast636]

Farmhouse brewing has a clone kit that is based off the recipe on here, the heady topper can you clone it thread. And it's only $49 with yeast included.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I got 6 cans in a beer trade and it was pretty incredible, and 2 bottles of pliny. But Columbus Bohdi is just as good as both of these if not better in my opinion.

 

[sdenue57]

I'm getting ready to brew this tomorrow. The yeast starter is spinning away. This yeast smells amazing! I even have a couple Headys I'm trying to save to compare it with from my birthday beer trip to Vt. That's going to be hard though. I find Headys delicious, lol

 

[FinchSCF]

Hate to dig up a dead thread, but I brewed the Northern Brewer kit and wanted to report in for anyone thinking about brewing it. Turned out very nice! I haven't had Heady Topper, but if it's anything like this, I'd take one any day of the week. Punch of bitterness at the front that bursts into a mango, pineapple, candied orange hop profile. For the amount of hops, this beer turned out far more balanced than I expected. Well worth picking up and brewing!

 

[Paradigm]

A Heady clone isn't going to be a Heady clone unless you're pitching harvested conan. That's my summer project, Alchemist is a 3 hour drive >: )

I got 6 cans in a beer trade and it was pretty incredible, and 2 bottles of pliny. But Columbus Bohdi is just as good as both of these if not better in my opinion.

You gotta get it and drink it on distribution day. It's really something special when it's as fresh as you can get it.

 

[sdenue57]

So I meant to update how it went with this brew awhile ago, but you know how it goes, lol. So this kit turned out very good, but not really a clone. Don't get me wrong, this makes a very delicious beer! But it's not Heady. If i wasn't trying to get away from buying kits, would definitely brew this one again.:rockin:

 

[hezagenius]

I brewed this up a few months back (still have some in the keg). I had a real Heady last night and compared it to the kit and I noticed my batch had more malt in the flavor and has from the get-go. I'm still getting a lot of hop aroma in mine but it just was never what Heady was. Mine was also darker in color. I hit the FG pretty close and I followed the fermentation temperature schedule to a tee. I had higher hopes for the kit. I will say though that there is very little in the way of alcohol flavor in my batch so that at least is close to real Heady.

Has anyone else noticed more of a sweet, malty taste in their batches versus the actual thing? I did the extract kit. Maybe I'll try the AG version next.