Archive for the 'Three Floyds' category
Three Floyds Pride and Joy
It is not often a Three Floyds beer crosses my path but when it does I take full advantage of it.
The Pride and Joy poured a slightly hazy orange-amber in my pint glass. The beer’s white head provided good striation as the beer receded from my glass, though it was thin. An enjoyable citrus hop note mixed with a light malty sweetness hit my nose. In the mouth the beer was exceptional. Lemon-citrus notes mixed well with a light malt profile and as the beer warmed the beer took on a bit more of a fruit profile in its taste. The finish was a crisp bitterness that was slightly earthy. This whole mix of tastes provided an aftertaste that stayed around for just long enough.
Overall very sessionable and though not complex, interesting enough to keep the drinker involved. A beer I wish I crossed paths with more often. Quiet frankly I would not mind seeing breweries take on the “mild” style of beer more often. I recently learned of a mild style variant called “Victorian Mild” that tops the abv at 13%. The mild style definitely provides enough room for brewer experimentation.
Three Floyds Behemoth Blonde Barleywine
Normally I am not a big barleywine drinker, but when a barleywine from Three Floyds comes my way, I am going to step up to the plate (or glass, which is probably more apt), and give the beer a go.
Poured into a snifter, the beer was a dark-fiery-amber, with a head I completely forgot to take note of. How did I forget to note the head? Because as I sat jotting down the beer’s color, the amazing smell of hop aroma hit me. Mind you I did not have my nose up to the glass or, quite frankly, anywhere near the glass. This smell of citrus-grapefruit aroma grabbed my nostrils, completely distracting me from the task at hand. When I got close enough for a proper inhale, the beer became quite complex. Aromas of sweetness, caramel and brown sugar, and dark fruit, plums and dark cherries, danced with the initial hop wallop of grapefruit.
The first sips of this beer were on the harsh side, due to the bitter hit my mouth experienced. However, as the session progressed the beer smoothed out (or my mouth became numb). This great bitterness kick (just because it is harsh does not mean it is ‘bad’) was matched with a menagerie of flavors. Along with the previously mentioned aromas of caramel, plums, and dark cherries the taste included a sugary-sticky-bun-esque flavoring. Since the beer was quite rich and thick, these flavors left an aftertaste in my mouth for a good period of time. Through out the whole entire session there was one thing missing from the beer. The remotest hint that the beer was 12.5% ABV.
This was one helluva barleywine, and I am sad to see it gone. If you can get your hands on this beer, even if you are not a barleywine drinker, definitely do so. This beer opened my taste buds up to what I have been missing with the barleywine style.
Three Floyds “Alpha King” Pale Ale
Okay, first of all, I want to get this out of the way – I don’t like the label art on this beer. I’m a sucker for label art, but most people think I’m lame about it, so I won’t go into details. But, if I saw this beer on a shelf, I’d shy away from it for this reason.
HOWEVER, in this case, the beer was a gift from Kevin over at KevBrews, so I’m quite happy to give it a taste. But, be warned, this is being drunk immediately after the Bell’s HopSlam, so I surely won’t review it as well as I would have if it had come after a lesser beer.
Anyway, this pours a darker shade of amber than I would generally expect from a pale ale. The aroma is both malty and hoppy with another hint of something that I can’t quite put a name to – anise-based maybe? Not sure, but it ends up being a rather complex aroma. In the mouth, this is a pretty bombastic beer. There are attributes of pale ale, amber ale, and IPA in this beer, if you ask me. There is the malty mustiness of a good pale ale, a light spicy sweetness reminiscent of an amber, and ample citrusy hops akin to an IPA. This beer gambles with being a bit too big for its britches, but I really think it toes the line well and ends up being a tasty big beer. This beer isn’t too huge in alcohol, chiming in at 6% abv, but it is very big on flavor. It had to be to garner a positive review behind something as tasty as Bell’s HopSlam. I’d recommend this highly for a beer snob who needs a good blast to the taste buds but wants to be sober enough to remember it later on.
