Heady Topper is a double India Pale Ale brewed by The Alchemist in Stowe, Vermont. It is unfiltered and contains 8% ABV, with hints of citrus flavors. Unpasteurized, it is kept refrigerated by authorized retailers until point of sale. As of August, 2018, it was rated the fourth best beer in the world by Beer Advocate, and has been described as "a complex web of genius." As of the beginning of 2013, production was 1200 cases a week with plans to expand to 1800 during the following summer. As of 2018, The Alchemist brews 10,000 barrels of Heady Topper per year out of their Waterbury plant. Heady Topper is well known throughout New England, also by people who have never had the opportunity to drink it. It is common for people to travel long distances in an attempt to obtain the beer from retail establishments in Vermont. Most establishments have a limit of two four-packs per customer, including the brewery itself. The beer is sometimes referred to as "The Heady" by regular followers of The Alchemist brewery.