Three Floyds Alpha King

12 oz bottle (purchased for only 99 cents a bottle), poured into a lager glass. Appearance is a dark amber color. Little to no head from the pour. Aroma is a typical pale ale smell, full of hops. Taste is much like a typical pale ale, with a bit more hop bite than your average PA. Palate is very smooth, a slight alcohol taste to it, but still smooth, definitely not overpowering. Good beer, nothing special, but a solid 3F staple.

12oz Bottle. Pig barn and Amarillo nose. What’s all that earth doing in there? A nip of alcohol and a cloak of balsam fir. Peculiar. Pours a clear ruddy amber, with a soapy lace in off-white. Flavor develops a rather complex grain profile. There’s toothy oats, chewy bread crust, and some sweet nuttiness. Hops fight back with a fist of resin-filled cones and a bough of pine. Light acerbic quality. Heavily grasses. Hop flavor is rather complex as well. A bit of that FFF soapiness climbs through the hops and malt to scent my nostrils in the alcohol flow. I can’t decide if that’s okay. Medium-bodied. Not as light as I expected, but not too rich or dense. Smack is phenomenal, with a long citrus peel parch. Well-hopped, well-malted, and well-brewed, with a rather interesting recipe. Thanks Sean!

It smells like delicious flowers. It pours a strong golden wonderfulness. It’s hoppy flavor is amazing. It leaves a great flowering taste on my mouth. I am highly impressed with Alpha King’s pale greatness!

Sweet malty body, nice deep amber color. The hops aren’t as pronounced as some other pale ales. A strong example of a pale ale that doesn’t need an overwhelming hop presence.

I picked this up today and while it doesn’t have a date on it, the bottle of Gumballhead beside was dated 2003, so it’s a good chance this is also from that year. The hop aroma has mellowed considerably and a sweet malty backbone is showing itself now. Good head with large bubbles. The hop flavor is exceptionaly well balanced. A truly wonderful APA.