Is Pliny the Younger the Best DIPA? Nope!

Instead of 6 month it only took 6 or so days to get some real beer talk going.  I'm improving. The last post I did before dropping off of planet beer was a comparison of Heady Topper and Fat Head's Head Hunter DIPA. Since I left off with hops I'll come back the same way. And there is no better time than now since Philly hop heads are all a buzz over the annual arrival of Pliny the Younger.

Philadelphia is one of a handful of cities outside of California that receives Pliny the Younger. So when it hits the town the rush is on.  This year I relied on Twitter to ensure I got my PtY fix. After getting a tech geeks version of a heads-up I slid into Teresa's Next Door for a couple glasses of the hoppy elixir.

Pliny the Younger @ Teresa's Next Door

Is it worth the hype? Should you stand in line for hours or pay an outrageous amount for a few precious ounces?  Been there done that, so for me, no. However it is a great IPA. This year's version is fantastic. Big fresh hops is what this is about. It's very well balanced, so no over the top bitterness or cloying sweetness. The danger is that even at 11% it's too easy to drink.

For years Pliny the Younger has been put on a giant hop pedestal and worshiped.  Sure it's great but there are some serious contenders for the title of ultimate IPA. Both Heady Topper from The Alchemist in Vermont and Abrasive out of Surly Brewing in Minneapolis are serious hop forward beers. They come in 16oz cans, which may be my favorite format for IPAs.  Whats not to like about big cans? No light creeping in to destroy those delicate flavors, lightweight and of course, more beer than a 12 oz bottle. I've gushed about Heady Topper many times. A couple posts back I have it besting Head Hunter IPA. For me it goes above PtY and sits on the top of hop hill.

With that said I recently had the chance to have Abrasive DIPA. Amazing!  Opening the can gets you an immediate aromatic hop wave to the face. The flavors are big tropical fruits: grapefruit, orange, tangerine and mango. The hops are dank and resinous with an aggressive piney bitterness. This pulls up along side Heady Topper and although it doesn't pass it, it hangs in there neck and neck. If you are lucky enough to have a can, drink it now.

A real surprise came from Evolution Brewing in Maryland: Lot No. 6 DIPA. A fantastic flavor mix of mango, tangerine, orange zest, toffee and hints of pepper. The sweetness balances out the piney resinous blend of Citra, Columbus and Centennial hops. Great to see this newer brewery putting out such a high level DIPA.

As it is with life with the good comes the bad. Not necessarily bad, but unfortunately disappointing. Two beer that I always have at the top of my DIPA list were shockingly lacking this year. Bells HopSlam and Troegs Nugget Nectar both seemed to have slipped against the competition. HopSlam while still offering a big mix of citrus and pine, seemed sweeter with more of a malt background. Nugget Nectar (bottle) lacked that impressive hop profile that you expect from a DIPA Imperial Ale*.  However the cask version did not disappoint. For both Nugget and Slam it might not be that they are fading but simply that the new kids in the glass are bringing it bigger and better when it comes to an impressive hop experience.


Double IPAs continue to grow in popularity. Each year more and more offerings hit the shelves.  Pliny the Younger while still a fantastic representation of the style has serious competition for the title of "The Best DIPA". Heady Topper and Abrasive deserve serious consideration. Other brewers such as Lawson's Finest Liquids, Hill Farmstead, Tired Hands and Alpine certainly have beers that could jump into this race. Unfortunately I didn't have any to compare. Hopefully I'm lucky enough to have another lineup of beers worthy of a PtY comparison.

*I was reminded that Nugget Nectar is not a DIPA.  Yes I know it's an Imperial Red Ale.  Because of its hop forward profile it tends to get lumped in with IPAs. My bad! Taking that into account it still seems to be under performing when compared to past years.

DIPA Rankings

1. Heady Topper

2. Abrasive

3. Pliny the Younger

4. Lot No 6

5. HopSlam

6. Nugget Nectar

Head to Head Hops: Heady Topper & Head Hunter

Currently I'm fortunate enough to have two amazing examples of how to do a great IPA.  Heady Topper from The Alchemist and Head Hunter from Fat Head's Brewery both have an almost cult like following and for good reason.  Mind blowing hops, super hype and limited distribution create a real want from those in the beer world.  Having both beers in house presented the perfect opportunity for a head-to-head (sorry couldn't resist) comparison.

Heady Topper

For those of you who have had Heady and taken the time to read the can know that I broke one rule in conducting this tasting, I poured it into a glass. Sorry HT purists I needed an equal playing field.  Besides why hide that spectacular golden pour. As pleasing as it is to the eye, upon opening a can, the aroma of super juicy green hops is completely intoxicating. Smelling this beer is instant joy for any hop head. What starts on the nose continues with the first sip. Boom, big tropical flavors of grapefruit, mango and pineapple.  It's all there with the accompanying sweetness holding back any bitter punch. No fear the sweet side is pleasant and never cloying. Even though some pine bite comes around in the finish there's no harsh ending here.

Head Hunter

Not nearly as accomplished along the hype trail as Heady, Head Hunter is still no slouch. Previously only available on draft, it was bottled for the first time this year. For good reason it became a monster seller right out of the gate. The hops are working overtime in this one.  While the aroma blast out of the glass isn't epic,  the pine bite is immediately detectable. Wet grass, pine and citrus (pineapple and grapefruit) are all present. The bitter side moves right in and the sweetness that shows stays in the background to keep everything in check. A wonderful bite along with flavors of citrus and pine flow from start to finish.

So which is better sweet or bitter? Heady or Head Hunter? As always personal preference will be the judge. I gravitate towards DIPAs/IPAs with a sweet side that blend in enough bitterness to prevent everything from becoming a cloying, headache inducing mess. Heady does this perfectly. Head Hunter is fantastic but Heady is tops in this match-up.

Heads Up Philly Heady Topper Is In

By the time you read this it may be too late! Hopefully the rush to get Heady Topper, one of the most sought after DIPAs, isn't so frantic that all those selling the canned elixir from Vermont's The Alchemist Pub & Brewery aren't already staring at empty shelves.  This is the first and possibly the only time Philadelphia will get Heady.  The current distribution in the Philly market is due to extra production. Look at it as a bit of a tease. For now once it's gone, it's gone. Here is more from the source (The Alchemist website)

Now that mud season is among us, I am happy to say that we finally have some extra product to send out of Vermont. Over the course of the next 8 weeks, we plan to make shipments to Philadelphia, Boston and NYC. We wanted to attend Philadelphia Beer Week in June, but realized that we will not have enough product to send out of state once summer is upon us.



So, we will have Heady Topper available in Philadelphia within the next 2 weeks. Origlio is helping us with this shipment; we hope to have a link on our website listing retailers as soon as possible. I do know that our friends Tom and Peggy, at Earth, Bread and Brewery will be having some sort of event with Heady. Wish we could make it! They are a lot of fun.

The event mentioned at Earth Bread + Brewery happens tomorrow night (4/19). They will be pouring Heady from cans and offering free can cozies while they last. I'd expect a few people to show for this little gathering. Remember keep your elbows in and no crowding the bar. Cheers!

(Photo from www.brewerysessions.com)