The Pursuit of Hoppiness
The tale of comparing two white whales
Pliny the Elder and Heady Topper are hard to find, but worth the search.
When I first began drinking craft beer, I randomly heard the term “white whale” thrown around by fellow craft beer drinkers in reference to a beers that were hard to find.
Most notably, as a fan of IPAs, I consistently heard of Pliny the Elder and the ever elusive Heady Topper referred to as white whales (a reference literature fans are sure to recognize from Moby Dick.)
Pliny the Elder has won beer of the year from the American Homebrewers Association for eight years running; that’s no small feat, especially when you consider the growth the craft beer industry has seen over that time.
Based out of Santa Rosa, California, Russian River and Vinnie Cilurzo are two household names amongst beer enthusiasts.
Pliny the Elder is a double IPA that comes in at 100 IBUs and right around 8%. It’s full of pine on the nose and up front, with citrus at the finish. It’s far too smooth for a beer of that strength, and begs you to take another drink or 10.
Colorado is one of the handful of states Russian River distributes Pliny the Elder to, and we are lucky enough to have it available in Pueblo from time to time.
The Alchemist is based out of Stowe, Vermont, where it’s made a mythological name for itself with Heady Topper. Heady Topper sits right at 8% as well, with an IBU rating of 120.
As a brewery that only distributes within very small radius, Heady Topper is beyond difficult to acquire if you don’t live in the area or know someone who is willing to ship you a can. Look it up an eBay and you’ll find people selling it for $40 a can, or $20 for an empty can. Really.
It just so happens over the course of the past week I was able to get my hop-loving mitts on a bottle of Pliny the Elder and a can of Heady Topper within days of one another.
It took some negotiating, and sending beer across country in exchange for the Topper, but a few days later it arrived.
I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was to compare the two most sought after double IPAs in the country, at a single sitting.
I’ve had Pliny a dozen or so times, with each experience seemingly better than the last. The can of Heady Topper that arrived via UPS was a first for me.
So what’s it like to drink these two beers back to back? Extremely fun.
I invited a friend, Troy Rahner, to join me in this experience. Troy owns a homebrew supply store in Pueblo, and knows a thing or two about beer.
We decided to start with Pliny since we’d had it before, and kind of knew what to expect.
As we shared the bottle, we noted how smooth and delicious the beer was. Having just experienced it on tap at the Big Bear Brew Fest, we compared differences in flavor between the kegged and bottled versions.
Out of the keg, Pliny has a much stronger citrus flavor and aroma, with pine almost taking a back seat. However, out of the bottle it’s all pine with a dose of citrus at the end.
Either way, it’s delicious. Hands down one of the most consistent, drinkable, and enjoyable beers you can find.
Then, it was time to open the can of Heady Topper. Mind you, this is a can of beer that adamantly suggests drinking it straight out of the can instead of pouring into a glass — we opted to pour.
Purists will cry foul, and I hear you. I have another can arriving in a few days, and I will follow the directions. Pinky promise.
That said, from the moment I took a whiff of Heady Topper until the can was empty, I was continuously falling in love.
Starting with the overpowering citrus smell, filled with hints of pine. To the bitter bite up front, that eventually fills in nicely with citrus and lemon, then the lingering bitterness that never seems to end.
Don’t get me wrong, Pliny the Elder is still one of my favorite beers. Ever. It’s incredibly smooth and drinkable, whereas Heady Topper is up in your face, constantly reminding you of just how potently delicious hops can be when used properly.
In the end, I have to tip the scale in favor of Heady Topper. Just slightly.
If you have the opportunity to beg, borrow, or steal a can of Heady or a bottle of Pliny from a friend, do it. You will not be disappointed.
On Tap: Over the coming days and weeks Bell’s Brewery will begin distributing its Hopslam double IPA. This, too, is one of the more sought after IPAs around. Full of malt, hops and a slight hint of honey, it’s worth calling around town to see who has it in stock.
