Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter

Brewed by Three Floyds Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Munster, Indiana USA

(22 oz. bottle via trade with BBB63, thanks Mike!) Christmas in July! Pours very very dark brown, color of black coffee. Pour is 95% foam and 5% liquid. Big, tan, foamy head recedes to about 1/8". Sloppy gobs of lacing. Aroma strongly hoppy, mostly pine, also some citrus. Nose also has coffee, chocolate and hint of caramel. Mouthfeel is smooth, lightly oily, full, fairly prickly upfront. Flavor starts with the pine and citrus hops leading to wonderful rich bittersweet chocolate and coffee, finishing with the expected bitterness and black coffee roast. Touch of quick grassiness in finish as well. Pretty nice.

Opaque dark brown with brown head. Huge hop aroma. Juicy citrus. I was surprised by how powerfully the chocolate malts held up under the pressure of the heavy-handed hops. The chocolate and hops are entwined so wonderfully, I don’t care to try for any other aromas/flavors. Read other reviews. A simple premise turned out a magnificent final product.

My 1st Three Floyd’s!!! Dark black, tan head. Very inviting appearance. Very big taste for a porter. Maybe I’ve been deprived to date. Pine (hoppy) aroma along with nuts, toasted notes. Oily palate, italian coffee roast feel, dry, lots of hops. I’ve had weaker Imperial Stouts.

bomber. Aroma: chocolate, citrus, toffee, and a delicious roasty aroma. Also got some hints of nutmeg or cinnamon. Appearance: Voluminous, creamy, light tan head. Beer is black in color with almost no highlights when held to the light. A fantastic looking beer. Flavor: coffee, chocolate, and some malt sweetness at first, and then an intense roasty flavor which almost crosses into a smoky flavor. Bitterness seems to be a combination of hops and the natural bitterness of heavily roasted malt. Detected notes of citrus in the hop finish. Palate: Medium-full bodied. Carbonation seemed a bit high. Slight astringency in the finish. Overall: An excellent porter and another success from 3F.

Bottle. Amazing head that consumes 60% of the glass. Smells of toffee, coffee and alcohol. Deep chocolate flavor. A bit sweet. Likely this would be better on the Winter soltice and not the summer one.

Dark black pour with an initially huge and fizzy brown head. Predominately chocolate with some citrus hops evident. Initially, this beer is a mix of coffee, expresso and, of course, chocolate. Midway you get the tingly hops pretty strong and the finish is more hops with coffee and a bit of alcohol on the back end. Very bitter finish. Perhaps a bit too carbonated, bordering on distracting. I do appreciate the rather nice hopping in this porter... just wish it was a bit smoother. Oddly enough, there is some pine in the aftertaste which seems appropriate. Not so sure it deserves such a high rating.

Poured from a 22 oz. Bomber. Is that the grinch on the label. Nevertheless, an interesting label. Poured into a snifter and it was filled with a large, almost obnoxious head. Typical porter aroma, but you can tell there’s also some hoppiness to this brew. An absolute joy to smell, oh wow! It’s extremely inviting. Having to wait to taste as each pour contributes a massive head, which slowly disappates. As it warms, I just can’t wait to start sipping this. Excellent porter, maybe the best I’ve tried to date.

Growler. One half of one gallon. Poured and consumed the same evening. Pours as blank and black as the time before you were born. Excellent head. You couldn’t see through this if you held it up to the sun. Smells like grapefruit death hops mixed with raw porter chocolate. Wow. Nearly as hoppy as the Alpha King only with a wonderful malt balancing it out. Tastes; mix a perfect IPA with a perfect porter and somehow have them both retain their perfect complexity and not bash into each other and this what you get. The stages are so distinct it’s like you’re taking a sip of one beer and then a sip of another. Big bread, yeast, and grapefruit hops in stage one, hitting you all in a rush. Followed up by earthy roasted chocolate, raw like potting soil or summertime sex, growing into a more processed, candied chocolate, and ending on a big hit of hops.