Which is better? Heady vs. Focal vs. Sip of Sunshine

If you could pick any beer in New England to be THE BEST IPA which would it be?? We've always had a soft spot for Heady Topper and Sip of Sunshine. Now that you can get Focal Banger regularly as well, it also tops our list. But which one is the best? We decided to do a blind taste test. Think you know which one we picked?? Let's find out!

Steff's Blind Taste Test Results:

We woke up at about 8am and knew we had the whole day off which usually means we were in for a long day of drinking. So we made ourselves some coffee and drank some water to hydrate before the drinking commenced. While sipping our hot coffees we talked about which brews were better, Heady Topper, Focal Banger or Sip of Sunshine. I argued my point that Heady was and always will be the best. Steff on the other hand defended her belief that Sip of Sunshine was a gift of the Gods and knew in her heart that it was one of the greatest IPAs ever brewed. After about 30 minutes of arguing, we decided to put an end to the debate! I pulled out three tasting glasses and suggested we do a blind taste test to really see if we could distinguish the three beers. We laughed as we realized it was just a little after 9am and we were about to start drinking. Steff put a blindfold on and I gave her Focal first. She smelled it and smiled and said it reminded her of some happy place and down the hatch it went. "TSKAAAHHH Damn that's good" she said. Clearly she knew this one was a winner. Next up was Heady Topper, which in the tasting glass looked super light and filtered. Not what you'd expect from a Vermont Juice Bomb IPA! She smelled it and noted that the aroma was weak. When she tasted it, she shrugged and said she was ready to move on to the next one. As I handed her the Sip of Sunshine, she smelled it and smiled. "That's the aroma I was looking for!" she exclaimed! Slightly hazy, little less filtered and full of hoppy aromas, I knew she would guess this one right off the bat.

She asked to revisit the second two because she was unsure of which was which. Still with a blind fold on she stated that she knew the first one was Focal Banger but sadly couldn't tell which order the other two were. On a second visit of the mystery beers, she decided that Sip of Sunshine was in fact the last beer and with only taste and sense of smell was able to identify all three beers! I was truly impressed! I actually got scared that my senses might not be as acute!

Her order of how tasty and delicious each beer was, you ask?..... 1: Focal Banger 2: Sip of Sunshine 3: Heady Topper. So though Heady didn't win over Sip of Sunshine, I still got some satisfaction that Focal took the number one spot! Now I'm gonna turn the page over to her. As always, thanks for reading guys!

Josh's Blind Taste Test Results:

I've always had a soft spot for Lawson's Sip of Sunshine. It's a double IPA packed with juicy tropical fruit character, bright floral aromas, and delicious layers of hop flavor. Josh has always had a soft spot for Heady Topper. And how can you not? It's a world renowned beer that people scour the mountains of Vermont for. Now that The Alchemist has opened their tasting room in Stowe, Vermont, it's a lot easier to find Heady Topper. On our trip to Vermont last summer, we got to try Focal Banger for the first time at a local bar in Waterbury. I was hooked! I didn't want to admit it, but I thought it was better than Heady. Josh however, still believed Heady was the best. Thankfully this summer, The Alchemist tasting room was open and selling mixed cases to-go so we got to bring home Focal as well as lots of Heady.

We decided to do a blind taste test. Not only to see if we could recognize our favorite beers, but to also figure out which was truly our favorite. Sometimes because of the hype a beer gets, it can cloud your judgment on what you really think about it. We started by pouring 3 tasting glasses full of Heady, Focal, and Sip. I went first (as you read in Josh's review above) and I was surprised by the results. I always thought I would pick Sip of Sunshine as my ultimate favorite. When it was Josh's turn, I gave him Sip of Sunshine first and Focal Banger second. Right off the bat he knew Focal right away. It's easier to distinguish because it has better aroma and is more hoppy than the other two. When I gave him Heady he somewhat turned up his nose at it. I was surprised because this is supposed to be his number one IPA. He revisted the three one more time and when it came down to his rating, he chose Focal Banger as number 1, Sip of Sunshine as number 2, and Heady Topper as number 3. The same as me!

Like I said, Focal Banger has great aroma and is super hoppy. It's basically what Heady Topper used to be. I'm not sure if Heady Topper has run its course and people have found beers that are better. But in my opinion, it's not on top anymore. It's still a great IPA. It's the infamous Heady Topper! It paved the way for the "New England Juice Bomb IPA". Maybe this year is just a bad batch? I'm not sure. But I hope in the future I'm not as disappointed by it.

So there you have it guys! Focal Banger wins our blind taste test as one of New England's Best IPAs!

Do you think we were wrong?? Let us know your thoughts!

Until next time...

J+S