574. Triton Fieldhouse Wheat

The cyclo-cross season is upon us. Which means that for the next three months, my Sundays will involve driving to other cities for bike racing. The upside to all that driving? Hitting new breweries in the town de jour of the day. Today is Indianapolis, and Triton Brewing, which is located in a huge-ass building nestled amongst what appears to be the remnants of an old Army base—the buildings in the area certainly all give off that vibe. We tried several of the beers on draft, including Rail Splitter IPA, but I went with the non-traditional beer because, well, I liked it better. The common theme amongst all the beers we tried were that they were cold, clean, and carbonated. Amen to that, brothers.

Fieldhouse Wheat pours a brilliantly clear yellow with a creamy white head; you could see the bright carbonation streaming up the side of the glass in small, tight bubbles. The nose is a mix of bread dough and lemon bitterness, while flavors open with a dry cracker malt character followed by gummy wheatiness and hop bitterness in the middle. In the finish, there is lemon zest and a clean mineral bitterness. The light body is clean with bright carbonation. This beer is in the same vein as Three Floyd’s Gumballhead in regards to American Wheat beers, although this one is cleaner and lighter on the palate. And there’s that word again: clean. Which really sums up all the beers we had at Triton. Still, this beer could easily pass as an ultra-light APA, and it was both very approachable and easy drinking. Nice job, Triton.

From the website: “An American Wheat Ale the way it’s supposed to be. Crisp and refreshing, golden in color with a white head, the Fieldhouse Wheat is moderately hopped with Falconer’s Flight hops for a thoroughly friendly experience.”

ABV: 5.4%
IBU: 25
Hops: Falconer’s Flight

(9/29/2013)

549. Flat 12 Bierworks Nunmoere ABA

Another trip to Indianapolis for cyclo-cross means another trip to Flat 12. This time we packed food in, and spent some time hanging out in the tap room so we could sample more of their beers. Our consensus: Flat 12 beers are clean, dry, and well-attenuated across the board. And also super drinkable. We were going to try the Lacto-Matic Milk Stout and compare, as it seemed like the best candidate to have some residual body, but the keg blew right before we went up to get samples. So it will have to wait until next time. Our last beer from Flat 12 was Half-Cycle IPA, which was delicious.

Nunmoere pours a crystal clear dark chocolate with orange

Run that hill!

highlights; the head is a creamy tan with good retention that re-rouses easily. The nose is a clean mix of pine, herbal, and roast; at first seems like it won’t work, but it quickly starts to grow on you. While clean, it is also surprisingly pungent—Jeff described it as a fig that had been charcoal-roasted to a crisp accompanied by a subtle metallic tang. There is also a touch of roast creaminess amongst the evergreen hop aromas. Flavors start with roasted caramel and chocolate in the front, with pine and evergreen hop flavor helping transition into the bitterness of the middle. There is a subtle biscuit with the caramel as the beer heads into the final third, with resin hop bitterness, chocolate, coffee, and roast the predominant flavors, and a long lingering bitterness—while not especially bright and clean, it is still quite enjoyable. The body is medium, lightly chewy, and rounded—it is uncluttered, but still has a residual maltiness that helps carry the aggressively hopped body, lending support to the roast and bitterness that carries the beer. As well, the charcoal roast and hop bitterness pair especially well in this beer. This is the closest to a well-hopped lighter-bodied stout that we’ve seen in a Black IPA, much more so that Sixpoint’s Diesel—the flavors are brighter and more distinct with an almost aggressive but balanced relationship between the roast and bitterness. Delicious, but not for the faint of heart.

We also tried two of the 12 Beers of Christmas series, the Glazed Ham Porter and the Brandy Walkabout. The Glazed Ham Porter is good, but spiced, which means I am contractually obliged to complain about it. You all know my feelings on spices in beer. I will say that the spices are in balance with the beer, which is tantamount to me saying that I like it. The Brandy Walkabout was interesting: it was their normal Galaxy single hop pale ale aged on brandy-infused oak spirals. The vanilla and oak cut down on the overall hop flavor, and created a more distinctly smooth and creamy mouthfeel. I like the initial hop bite in the Walkabout Pale Ale, but this version does cut down on some of the sweeter malt flavors in the body—honey and caramel—that tend to get in the way. Choosing between the two versions of Walkabout would be hard, though, so I’ll just let my comments stand.

From the Flat 12 website: “Don’t let the color deceive you, this beer is lighter than it looks and packs a big hop punch. Loaded with 5 different American hops, Nunmoere is a complex bland of roasted malts and fragrant hops.”

ABV: 6.5%

IBU: 78

(12/16/2012)

545. Flat 12 Bierwerks Half-Cycle IPA

“If this is half of a double IPA, then they picked the right half.”

Flat 12 Bierwerks is one of the newer breweries in Indianapolis, IN—they’ve been open for almost a year now. We were in town for a cyclo-cross race for Elli, and afterwards decided some beer was in order. Not like that is a shock for anyone. The brewery is located in a slightly industrial area of town—well, at least according to our less-than-perfect understanding of the area, and the description on the website. It is also right across the street from Smoking Goose, although they were closed today. That would have made an awesome event even even more awesome.

Half-Cycle IPA is served in a 16 oz. clear plastic cup. Yes, plastic. While certainly a downside, if plastic is the only way I get to drink this beer, then I’m certainly willing to live with a plastic cup. Color-wise, the beer is a very orange copper with a minimal white head. Besides the clearly present bitterness, aromas are restrained and indistinct: the dominant non-bitter character of the nose was the orange. Just orange, too—none of the other citrus fruits, just orange. There is a touch of light candy sweetness if you really looked for it, and some dank and resin hop aroma, but not much else. As the beer warms, the bitterness drowns out the other aromas. Flavor is centered on hop bitterness as well. There is some bread dough and bread crust in the front, along with the orange from the nose, but hop bitterness quickly swoops in and rolls the rest of the way through into the finish. The initial clean tang of hop bitterness in the middle gives way to resin in the finish; there is a touch of orange that returns in the finish as well, and some lingering mineral bite on the back of the tongue. As with the nose, as the beer warms, the hop bitterness covers over the softer flavors, like the bread dough malt character in the front of the beer. The body is medium and lightly chewy—it is, as Elli noted, just well-rounded enough to hold the bitterness without really getting in the way, giving the beer body and backbone but not really intruding otherwise. The bright carbonation combined with the bitterness contributes to lightening the body on the palate as well. This is not a classic American IPA: there is far more hop bitterness than flavor and aroma, although via the hop volume flavor and aroma does bleed through. The closest equivalent we can think of is Smuttynose IPA, which also focuses on bitterness over flavor and aroma. As well, the lower ABV allows for big hop bitterness without a huge sticky body, certainly a plus when compared to the increasingly monstrous creations that are the current trend in American IPAs. Which is just another way of saying that this is a damn good beer—both of us were impressed not only with this beer, but all the other ones we tried before choosing this one. We also bought a growler to take home, and I’m already looking forward to our next trip to Indianapolis in two weeks so that I can savor a pint of their Black IPA/Cascadian Dark Ale—the sample I had was a delicate balance of roasted malt and hop bitterness.

From the Flat 12 website: “The Half Cycle is so named due to its marriage of single and double IPA characteristics. In baseball parlance, a single and double is half of “the cycle”, and this IPA is a heavy hitter. It’s a single IPA, hopped like a double, with an over-the-top hop character that’s a bit spicy, citrusy, piney, you make the call. Light in color, but not on flavor, Half Cycle is dry hopped with a pound of high alpha American hops in every barrel.”

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: 104.1

We also hit Brugge Brasserie for some dinner; I had the Pooka along with a steak and a mess of French fries. So so delicious.

(12/2/2012)

511. Sun King Osiris Pale Ale

So today was all about the adventure. Which means we threw a hung-over Jeffrey in the backseat, and headed to Indianapolis to check out Sun King Brewing. After all, if you win all of the GABF medals in the world in one year, you’re probably a brewery worth visiting. Especially when you’re only a short two hour drive away.

Visiting the brewery goes like this: on the way into the tasting room, you’re given coupons to sample their beers—four for regular beers, and two for fancy beers. Small samples, certainly, but if they want to dole out the free beer, who I am to stop them? Since it was Saturday, they were also doing tours, so while Jeffrey signed all three of us up, Elli and I started the sampling process. About half way through our samples, we got called for the tour, so after a quick refill, we wandered over to begin the shenanigans. Our tour guide drove the truck during the week, but seemed to be having a good time leading us through the brewery, and putting up with Jeffrey’s questions and both of our desires to poke our heads everywhere. Visiting a brewery becomes a lot more fun when you actually have a sense of the way things work. I did like the pink fermenter that Sun King uses for lagers—so cute! After the tour, we finished our samples, ogled the GABF medals and the small science lab through the window (with yeast slurries on stir plates!), and then got our growlers filled up to take with us. We opted for the Osiris Pale Ale, while who the hell knows what Jeffrey got, since he brought like eight growlers for everyone he knows. Afterwards, to bask in the glow that is Indianapolis, we went to Brugge Brassiere for
lunch and a beer (I had a Harvey, Elli had a Bee’s Knees IPA, and Jeffrey had a sampler), followed by a quick one at Upland’s Tasting Room (the brewery is in Bloomington), a visit to 21st Amendment (beer store, not the brewery—it’s in San Francisco, silly!), and then we hit the road back to Dayton. And, as you can undoubtedly guess, that growler of Osiris became our beer for the day.

Osiris Pale Ale pours a rich, burnished gold—it is clear with a white head that mostly hangs around. In the nose, there is biscuit and caramel malt mixed with pine and resin hop aroma, although the hop character is subdued and comes into play after the malt—the aromatics are subtle and pleasant, performing a delicate dance that offers a pleasant initial encounter with the beer before tasting it. Once in the mouth, flavors start with biscuit and a light breadiness that border on doughiness before the hop flavors—again, pine/evergreen and resin—come into play. The middle features a clean and refreshing bitterness, bright and present, but certainly not overpowering—again, it comes in after the malt flavors. The biscuit returns in the tail-end of the middle and on into the finish; it combines well with the hop bitterness in the finish, creating a clean finish where the bitterness hovers briefly before disappearing. While carbonated, the beer is soft on the palate. There is a slight bite from both the carbonation and the bitterness in the final third of the beer as it turns towards the finish, but again it is subdued and restrained—this beer is a model of balance in both flavor and profile. Osiris is both well-made and approachable; it is an excellent example of an APA, one that would be refreshing and enjoyable all evening long, and certainly worth seeking out. Nice job, Sun King.

ABV: 5.6%
IBU: 50

(2/18/2012)

480. Three Floyds Alpha King

So after the IPA brewday, we headed on up to Indiana for a little vacation time. Which means scoring all the beer we wish we could score regularly. Like Three Floyds Alpha King. I remember the first couple of times I had this beer—at that time, it tasted so so hoppy. Now, I’d consider it a rather moderate and well-balanced version of an American Pale Ale—sure, it’s got some hops in it, but there is less bitterness and enough malt character in the body to balance and round the beer. How’s that for yet another example of the hop tolerance created by American craft brewing? Even though we’re regionally challenged, we’ve still managed to score our fair share of Three Floyds: Moloko Milk Stout, Blackheart IPA 2010, Dark Lord 2010, Rabbid Rabbit, BrooDoo Harvest Ale, Brian Boru, Gumballhead Wheat, Robert the Bruce, Dreadnaught, Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA.

Alpha King pours a hazy orange and copper—probably more copper than orange—with a creamy white head that puts in some work to keep hanging around. Serious work. It does, however, manage to lace up the glass pretty decently. The nose is a mix of biscuit and caramel malt and citrus, herbal, and floral hop aromas. Or in other words, it smells delicious. Tastes delicious too, what with the gentle biscuit and sweet caramel bready flavors in the front and the citrus, floral, and herbal hop flavors in the middle (there is more floral than herbal flavor, hence the lack of parallelism in my two lists—no, I’m not rummy with beer). There is a touch of bitterness to the middle, albeit very light, that lingers nicely through the finish, helping to lighten and clean the overall finish. The turn into the finish has a brief return of the caramel sweetness before the bitterness comes to the front, along with a slight mineral and herbal touch. The body is medium with a chewy, bright mouthfeel; the carbonation helps cleanse the palate in the finish, contributing to the crispness of the beer. All in all, Alpha King is a damn good beer—we both dig on it, and are always happy when we can find it. Like now. So hurry up and get your ass to Ohio, Three Floyds. We love you, but we do get tired of searching you out.

From the bottle: “Alpha King is an American Pale Ale with a bold citrus hop character. We brew all out beers for our own demanding tastes. If you’re unwilling to compromise on your beer, we urge you to try it.”

From the Three Floyds website: “3 Floyd’s flagship beer, Alpha King is a big American Pale Ale that pours a deep amber with a creamy head. This ale is brewed with Centennial, Cascade, and Warrior hops giving it an intense citrus aroma and a crisp hoppy finish.”

ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 66

(5/14/2011)

443. Three Floyds Moloko Milk Stout

We’re punching that Three Floyds ticket again, and I’m pretty sure you can’t blame us. And if you do, well then, you can suck it. That’s right, I’m 12 again, and I have no better come back. Our previous evenings of delight include Blackheart IPA 2010, Dark Lord 2010, Rabbid Rabbit, BrooDoo Harvest Ale, Brian Boru, Gumballhead Wheat, Robert the Bruce, Dreadnaught, Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA. Since the doubling up on Blackheart only counts for a ½, that means we’ve had 10 ½ from Three Floyds. Love the math. And just in case you were wondering, Malcolm McDowell is still creepy after all these years.

Moloko rolls out of the bottle an inky black with a rich brown head that dissipates to a ring rather rapidly, and from there to almost nothing; it also has some garnet highlights. The nose is chocolate mixed with creaminess; there is also a slight sourness, but you’ve gotta work a bit to find it (well, in the nose, not so much the flavors). Opening with creamy milk chocolate and cocoa sweetness, Moloko has a touch of the sourness from the nose in the middle along with an ever so slight trace of roasted and coffee flavors. There is a return of sweetness in the finish, along with a bit of alcohol warmth—Elli calls it slightly cloying, but I’m not sure I agree—and some nice lingering chocolate flavor. Most certainly, however, this is not as roasty as expected, especially after the “deep roasted” comment on the label: the middle is something of an empty vacuum currently, the place where the roasted and bigger flavors should be residing to round the overall beer. The body is medium to heavy, and the mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, and slightly slick on the tongue—the mouthfeel, along with the initial chocolate and cocoa flavors, are the strengths of this beer. There is also a touch of alcohol warmth in the mouthfeel. Nonetheless, this is a good beer—not great, but good. However, filling out the middle would make this a great beer—it has pretty much everything else it needs besides a richer, chewier, thicker middle.

From the bottle: “This Milk Stout is brewed with a portion of Golden Naked oats and lactose milk sugar to give it a rounded and full-bodied mouth feel. With a deep roasted and slightly sweet maltiness.”

From Rate Beer: “Baltic Milk Stout named after the famous milk drinks from A Clockwork Orange.”

Oh, and here’s what the Hopry has to say about Moloko.

ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 30

(12/22/2010)

411. Three Floyds Blackheart English Style IPA

While we’ve already tried this beer once before, the new label art (well, and the fact that we found some more of it) means that we figured the beer was good for another entry. While we’ll not be so bold to just cut and paste the old notes in again, the two beers do share some similarities, although this one has a bit fresher hop flavor across the beer profile. One thing that hasn’t changed—while we’ve got a new label here, there is still a fair amount of the creepy vibe in the label art. As with all things Three Floyds, however, the beer is a delicious treat. Hooray for Three Floyds. Oh, and we’ve previously tried Dark Lord 2010, Rabbid Rabbit, BrooDoo Harvest Ale, Brian Boru, Gumballhead Wheat, Robert the Bruce, Dreadnaught, Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA. Since we’ve hit up Blackheart before, we’ll call this one 9 ½.

Blackheart pours slightly cloudy and is the color of bread crust with a thin ivory head that hangs around and laces the glass decently. The nose is bready with a good dose of spicy resin hop aroma; flavors start dry with bread and biscuit maltiness coupled with some early hop flavors—like with the nose, spicy and resiny—that bleed into the middle, along with a decent amount of bitterness. The resiny and spicy hop flavor runs through the middle and into the end; there is a return of bread crust malt flavor in the finish, but also a good amount of bitterness that lingers on the palate. With the bitterness, there are light oak and acorn flavors that mix with the hops. Blackheart has a creamy but drying mouthfeel with a chewy medium body; there is a bit of alcohol warmth at the finish, particularly as the beer warms, although it is partially masked by the lingering hop bitterness. The carbonation is medium, but does contribute, along with the hops, to some of the dryness in the mouthfeel. This version of Blackheart is quite similar to the last; the main differences are more hop flavor across the profile, and less directly apparent oak flavor, which are probably connected, with the hop flavor covering some of the oak components. Nonetheless, Blackheart is still delicious and enjoyable.

From the label: “This beer is Three Floyds’ U.K. IPA brewed with all English ingredients and aged on toasted oak. An artistic collaboration with our friends Tim Lehi & Jeff Rassier at Blackheart Tattoo in San Francisco. Check it!”

ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 70

(9/8/2010)

360. Three Floyds Dark Lord 2010

“I was hoping it would be like this, but drinkable.”

Another from Three Floyds, making this our ninth beer from Munster, IN, including Rabbid Rabbit, BrooDoo Harvest Ale, Brian Boru, Gumballhead Wheat, Robert the Bruce, Dreadnaught, Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA. And if you don’t know this is a Russian Imperial Stout, you are a sad, sad beer geek. Because, let’s be honest, is anyone else reading this? Actually, the real question is, is anyone reading this? I mean, beside my parents...

Dark Lord 2010 pours the color of used motor oil, although the lighter kind, so that there is a deep brown sheen to it—not that black as tar stuff that my dad used to dump down into mole holes. Yes, my dad did that. But that was in like 1977, when nobody cared about the earth. It is also clear, so that there are some orange highlights around the edges, even with all of the darkness. There is no sign of the patent-pending “reverse cascading head,” although this could be because this particular bottle is still rather young—the head that was there was tan and quickly ringed the glass. The nose is a roasty coffee malt explosion with some creaminess and what comes across as a touch of smoke in the background—like someone let the rauchbier dude in on brew day, and he snuck a bunch of that smoked malt into the brew kettle—and also a bit of alcohol aroma. It also smell kinda young—the aromas are there, and are good, but still run into one another too much rather than running smoothly together. Dark Lord begins with a thick rich molasses, chocolate, and roasted malt flavor in the front before shifting into dark fruit and rum raisin with a smoky burnt coffee backdrop in the middle, which lingers well into the finish and beyond. Sweetness returns in the finish, along with a whole bunch more chocolate, and Dark Lord ends with lingering chocolate and alcohol flavors. The body is heavy, thick, and rich—insert your appropriate terms here indicating massive heaviness—with a chewy mouthfeel that is also sticky and a bit cloying. The carbonation at this point is pretty minimal—maybe it picks up with age, but that “reverse cascading head’ failed to put in an appearance. It does help shift into the final third, but it also fails to lighten the mouthfeel or cut out the stickiness. The alcohol is fairly present, although more prominent towards the end—there is a bit of a lingering burn. An interesting beer, but not one that is really ready to drink—it is not terrible, and tastes very young—it most certainly would benefit from some aging. As it currently stands, while this is a challenging beer, it does not offer enough reward for the effort that currently goes into it. While we understand that this may be heresy to some, so be it. At this point, we’re not sure it lives up to the hype, but then again, as Chuck D always told us, don’t believe the hype.

From the bottle: “Dark Lord is a gargantuan Russian Style Imperial Stout, with a reverse cascading head that starts out billowing the color of burnt oil like the Dark Lord rising from the black primordial beginnings. Its resonant vinous aroma has been described as cherries, sweet malt, molasses, burnt currants, plums, with a port wine alcohol undertow. Mochachino notes buried within. Motor oil consistency, hellishly smooth yet divinely burnt and vinous. The first sip coats your palate with a palatial charred fruit and chocolate blanket. Alcohol burn wiggles its way down your throat with a thick body. Enjoy and thanks for your continuing support.”

From the Three Floyds website: “A demonic Russian Style Imperial Stout, brewed with Intelligensia coffee Mexican vanilla, and Indian sugar this beer defies description, available one day a year in April at the brewery, Dark Lord Day.”

ABV: we were told the 2010 was 15%—who knows?

(6/25/10)

324. Three Floyds Rabbid Rabbit

Another possibly “overly aged” beer from Three Floyds, although like with BrooDoo, since neither of us had tried Rabbid Rabbit before, we figured it was worth the risk. Plus, saisons do age a bit better than fresh hop beers. And by a little bit, we mean a whole bunch. This makes eight from Three Floyds (see BrooDoo for the last seven), and while some may say eight is enough, since we’re talking about beer and not kids, I say those people are full of shit. I will also add that after our most recent experience with these two beers, we might actually learn to hold off when we find an awesome beer selection in a small, rural, out-of-the-way place. We laud the dedication, but not so much the ag-ed beer. Proper aging matters.

Pouring a hazy gold, Rabbid Rabbit has a minimal white head and a spicy, clove-y, and Belgian yeast nose. The beer begins with candy and spicy yeast flavors before giving way to chamomile in the middle, along with some clove flavors that help transition into the end, which includes fruit esters (specifically banana) and more candy sweetness. In the words of Adam Sills, this beer is a bit “too busy” with the flavors—there is a bit too much going on all at once that is not sufficiently married or mixed together, and the beer would benefit from a more judicious use of chamomile. Rabbid Rabbit is medium bodied with medium carbonation; it could stand to be a bit drier in the mouthfeel, as it tastes a bit underattenuated and sweet for a saison. At the same time, it also has something of a Belgian golden ale taste to it, although even as a golden ale, it should still be a bit drier in the overall mouthfeel. Not the best we’ve had from Three Floyds; this one comes together less that their other beers.

Silly rabbit, choking out Smurfs is for kids...

From the bottle: “Rabbid Rabbit is a deep golden, complex, spiced Belgian style ale. Chamomile and rock candy are added to the brewkettle, giving the Rabbit a mysterious and refreshing mouthfeel and flavor. The slight haze in the bottle is from bottle-conditioning, where yeast is added to the bottle for a secondary fermentation. ‘Saison’ is French for season. Enjoy!”

From the Three Floyds website: “This Franco-Belgian style Farmhouse Ale has an effervescent body and a light straw color. Rabbid Rabbit, with it’s light malt body, augmented by spices, is a complex and frothy beverage with a deceptively high alcohol content. March release.”

ABV: 7.4%
IBU: 25

(5/20/2010)

322. Three Floyds BrooDoo Harvest Ale

More from Three Floyds, although this fresh hop beer may actually not be so fresh. Nonetheless, our love of fresh hop beers compels us to try it, no matter that it may no longer be the freshest or the freshmaker (to quote Mentos). Previously on what we’re drinking, we’ve chug-a-lugged Brian Boru, Gumballhead Wheat, Robert the Bruce, Dreadnaught, Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA, making this our seventh beer from Three Floyds. Bring it.

While the “hops for hair” is a good look, the troll is still creepy as hell.

BrooDoo pours a hazy bright copper with small amounts of a white head. The nose is mainly a bready, caramel malt; while there is some spicy hop aromas, they are pretty subdued, hence the above comments about our willingness to risk the not so fresh fresh hop beer. Broodoo starts with caramel and bread malt, which bleeds into the middle as well. There is also a spicy hop bite in the middle, along with a slight metallic taste; the finish brings with a fair amount of grassy hop flavor and some lingering spicy bitterness. Medium-bodied with a lightly chewy mouthfeel, BrooDoo has some light puckering from the residual bitterness. The carbonation is medium with a bit of a crisp bite at the end. Our gamble here didn’t really pay off, although neither of us regret taking a chance on this beer. BrooDoo currently drinks more like a moderate British pale ale, which isn’t surprising considering that it is at least six months past the prime time for fall fresh hops beers. We look forward to trying a fresher bottle of this during the upcoming fall fresh hop season.

From the bottle: “BrooDoo Harvest Ale is a seasonal ale that glorifies American hops. BrooDoo is brewed using fresh green ‘wet’ hops picked right from the vine and put into our beer vats, from vine to brew house in 1 day! BrooDoo also uses the best Anerican [sic] malt money can buy. Enjoy.”

From the Three Floyds website: “This beer is brewed during the hop harvest with a portion of unkilned or ‘wet’ hops fresh off the vine. Apricot in color, Broo Doo’s nose has dominant orange, pine sap and floral notes, balanced by a glazed nut and toffee malt body. This celebration of the hop harvest has intense tropical fruit, citrus and spicy accents that showcase the complexity of the hops we all love. October release.”

October? Awesome!

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: 80

(5/18/2010)

290. Three Floyds Brian Boru Old Irish Red Ale

Since we’re drinking Three Floyds again, I do feel compelled to note that I got my Golden Ticket in the mail recently for Dark Lord Day. Delightful. And sorry to rub it in. This is our sixth beer from Three Floyds; previous victims include Gumballhead, Robert the Bruce, Dreadnaught, Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA. I do also need to note that the figure on the label is about a half step off of being one of the Elysian muscle-bound roid rage dudes (better detail).

Brian Boru pours an Irish Setter red with a thin ivory head and a flat caramel biscuit nose. The flavors begin with the corresponding counterpart to the nose; there is a dry caramel with biscuit and an almost cracker-like flavor that encompasses the front of the beer; the middle is marked by a drop in sweetness and some light roasted flavors followed by a dry ending that has a touch of bitterness. There is a bit of lingering flavor—either hop bitterness or a light roastiness—we’re not completely sure which it is. Brian Boru has a smooth, dry mouthfeel with a bit of creaminess; the carbonation is medium to low, which helps accentuate the dryness of the beer on the palate by not overshadowing or canceling out the malt flavors. Good but not terribly exciting—this is certainly one of the more normal offerings from “It’s Not Normal” Three Floyds.

From the Three Floyds website: “Ireland’s first and last Ard Ri (high king) of the whole Gaelic race, Brian Boru was born in Munster, Ireland around 940. Brian Boru’s mother was killed by Vikings when he was a child. He spent his life uniting the Irish tribes to become the first king of Ireland only to be killed at Clontarf on Good Friday 1014 putting down a rebellion by the king of the province of Leinster. Brian Boru Irish Brand Red Ale is a very rich ale with toffee, caramel, citrus and pineapple notes. Brian Boru is brewed with several malts and Amarillo hops. February release.”

ABV: 5.5%

IBU: 40

(4/16/2010)

258. Three Floyds Gumballhead Wheat Beer

El numero cinco from Three Floyds. Not that we’re keeping track or anything. Prior investments of our time include Robert the Bruce, Dreadnaught, Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA. While we didn’t know it at the time, this beer was purchased illegally—it had been bootlegged into Ohio. Nothing like asking the wrong question in a room full of beer geeks. This particular beer also tastes a slight bit older—it is not as zesty as Gumballheads past.

Gumballhead has a citrusy, grainy, and lightly hoppy nose with a hazy gold color and medium white head. There is not a lot of flavor in the front—we taste small amounts of grassy or grainy malt flavor before moving into a bitter hoppiness mixed with low levels of floral and citrus hop flavor, and finishing slightly spicy with some bitterness and very clean, especially for a wheat beer. As well, there are none of the slightly sour flavors sometimes found in American wheat beers. Gumballhead is medium to light bodied with a crisp and dry mouthfeel and medium carbonation. While somewhat aggressive in the hop profile for a wheat beer, Gumballhead is very drinkable and most certainly enjoyable. As Elli informed me, “if it were fresh and on tap and in the summer time, I would like it at least 10% percent more.” I do love the scientific certainty of that formula. As well, the disgruntled smoking cat of the label is stone cold awesome—easily a Top 10 Best Label contender.

From the bottle: “Red wheat and boatloads of Amarillo hops give this American wheat brew a lemony finish. Slight haze in the bottle is yeast added for bottle-conditioning.”

From the Three Floyds website: “An American Wheat Ale, Gumballhead is named in honor of the underground comic book cat created by Rob Syers. Initially a seasonal summer beer, now brewed year round due to demand. This beer helped redefine American Wheat Beers. Brewed with Amarillo Hops and a generous portion of American red wheat, Gumballhead has a complex hop aroma with notes of grapefruit, lemon zest, marmalade and peach. These flavors combined with low bitterness make Gumballhead a refreshing American Wheat Beer that doesn’t suck.”

ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 28

(3/15/2010)

248. Three Floyds Robert the Bruce

We’re hitting up that sweet sweet Three Floyds again. Can you blame us? Thus far on our long, strange trip, we’ve had Dreadnaught, Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA. Robert the Bruce is a crystal clear root beer color with a thin ivory head. The nose is a combination of brown and roasted caramel malt with some nutty sweetness and low levels of cola and biscuit aroma. It starts with sweet caramelized malt flavor, and moves into a drier middle that is also rich and has a light amount of dark fruit flavor. The finish is even drier, with a touch of graininess or grassiness, but still fairly clean. Robert the Bruce is medium bodied with a clean and dry mouthfeel; carbonation is low to moderate, and there is an overall well-rounded quality to the beer. A well built beer; Robert the Bruce is a very fresh version of a Scottish Ale—the flavors are bright and clean, and while there is malt depth and substance, there is no heaviness in the body or in how they are put together. Good balance across the palate; an excellent and interesting beer.

From the Three Floyds website: “A bold Scottish ale with a complex malty body derived from roasted and crystal malts balanced with just the right combination of hops. This ale pours a deep ruby color, has a sweet malty nose with layered caramel and roasted notes and a full body. Robust yet smooth, Robert The Bruce is a malt lover’s delight.”

ABV: 6.5%

IBU: 30

(3/5/2010)

242. Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA

In our never-ending quest for beer nirvana, we’ve decided to embrace Three Floyds “It’s Not Normal” mantra. Dreadnaught marks our third Three Floyds beer; we’ve previously rolled through Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA. We grabbed this when we were down in Louisville, and we took it over to record night at our friend Jeffery’s and Tracey’s. My one mission for the evening was to make sure that everyone had to listen to my single of 19 by Paul Hardcastle. Mission accomplished. Yes, I bought it when it came out. And I still have it. It is that awesome.

Dreadnaught pours a lightly hazy copper, although it is almost more gold than copper. The head is thin and white, and the nose is dominated by hoppiness—there are citrus, floral, and grassy aromas—with just a touch of malt in the background. The front opens with a soft malt sweetness that has bits of breadiness and biscuit before moving into the big hoppy middle; there are fruity and citrus hop flavors all over the place as well as some citrus fruitiness before the bitterness starts to kick in. Dreadnaught finishes bitter and sweet—there is a nice lingering bitterness mixed with citrus and light grassy flavors than sit well on the tongue. The body is medium and so is the carbonation; while the beer starts soft, the carbonation picks up in the final third, finishing rather bright and sparkly on the mouth. There is also a fair amount of tongue curling in the back of the mouth from the big bitterness, although the bright citrus does minimize it a bit. The bitterness also helps covers over any potential alcohol warmth; a bit did emerge when the beer got warmer, but even then in very minimal amounts. Overall an excellent and very drinkable Imperial IPA—Dreadnaught is smooth enough that it would be hard to peg it as an Imperial without the prior knowledge. We just wish that Three Floyds would hurry up and get that distribution deal going in Ohio so we could drink their beer all the time.

From the Three Floyds website: “A hophead’s dream beer. This Imperial India Pale Ale has an opening salvo of mango, peach and citrus hop aromas that sit atop a pronounced caramel malt backbone. Although Dreadnaught is a strong and intensely hoppy ale, its complex flavor is both smooth and memorable.”

ABV: 9.5%
IBU: 99

(2/27/2010)