Three Floyds Alpha Kong

Brewed by Three Floyds Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Munster, Indiana USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle from the cellar originally from Party Liquors (Steger, IL). I’ve been saving this for making the Top 5 @ FFF. Time to go for it. Pours a well hazed orange pour, darker, glowing and a bit murky, a frothy bright white head sits atop, moving towards eggshell yellow. Dies to a film, laces small. Aromas are very complex offering sugary malts, wheat bread, big bubblegum and estery banana, pear, apple, honey, vanilla, more bread, caramel and a touch of brown sugar get more intense. Warming booziness on the nose, light floral hopping is depleted. Initial is heavier bodied, maybe a touch thinned, but it does it good. Warm alcohol mixes with caramel, estery sweet banana, big bubblegum, bread, dough, apple, pear, vanilla, honey, lightly bitter florals aided by hot alcohol, big beer. A thicker body lends this beer a light spiciness. Intense, sweet and hot, the florals have died some but are still perceivable. Toffee, toast, bready malts take hold with lighter spice and huge esters overall. A big beer I feel may have been aided by age.. But still remains cloyingly sweet with a light warming booziness. This must’ve been hot fresh. Good, interesting, but just not my personal thing overall.

Bottle. Pours a clear amber color with a msall off-white head. Has a sweetish malty yeasty spicy aroma with hints of caramel. Sweetish warming malty spicy caramel flavor with some yeasty hints. Has a sweetish malty spicy yeasty finish.

Three Floyds has long been a brewery I’ve had a fascination with. Probably because of the lack of distribution on the east coast and because they have a reputation of delivering a high quality line of products. Alpha Kong should be called a Really Strong Pale Ale considering its 15% ABV! Appearance: Quite orange to copper in appearance with a 2 finger foam head that dissipates rapidly leaving the tiniest swirl. My bottle was very carbonated and produced lush bubbles. Smell: Lots going on in the nose including bubblegum, banana, candied sugar, and alcohol. Taste: Same as smell. Alcohol tinge is a bit strong for my liking but still the flavor is impressive considering its 15% ABV. Candied Sugar and Banana upfront then alcohol warmth dominates. Mouthfeel: Sticky and fuller in body than I expected. What is most surprising to me is how much carbonation the head showed during the pour vs. how little carbonation is in the brew while you drink it. Drinkability: I only gave it a 4.0 because its very drinkable for a 15% ABV brew. Its still a sipper though and I’d say having more than one 22oz bomber in a night would spell out trouble for me. Next time I have this brew I will wait until I can share it amongst guests. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 09-26-2008

(bottle from 2007 or 2008) Too sweet, too alcoholic - but for if you know this one is going to be slow and contemplative, pretty good. Honey caramel doughiness with a present but pleasant alcohol backing. Some banana and bubblegum - but really it hits you with a solid punch of intensity.

22 oz bomber, thanks to jsquire. Dark caramel in color with small amount of off white head. Rich yeasty aroma. Very little carbonation Honey sweetness dominates this belgian strong ale almost to the point of being over the top, with some bready malts. The ABV is well hidden initially but as it warms the alcohol becomes very warming. This is a HUGE belgian, just not my favorite.

Massive thanks to oldstylecubsfan for passing this one along. Pours a hazy caramel brown that shows bright orange in the light, with a small off-white head that doesn’t leave much lacing, just some sticky legs after each sip. The aroma is massively sweet - vanilla, caramel, bananas, booze-soaked plums, caramelized sugar, fruity ester galore. It’s all surrounded by the ever-present alcohol presence. The taste is just as huge, definition of a sipper. It’s got the shockingly sweet molasses and caramel backbone with chewy sugary fruits just exploding on the palate. The finish has a hint of wood but much, much more than a hint of alcohol. The mouthfeel is thick, chewy and, of course, sugary sweet. This is a seriously big beer with tons of flavors (mostly sweet) fighting for attention with the alcohol. I’m not sure I’d peg it at 15%, but it definitely feels higher than 10%. In that respect, it’s fairly drinkable for the ABV, but I wouldn’t recommend chugging this one...or really even drinking the bomber by yourself. Overall, it’s an excellent beer.

14th December 2008. Hazy dark brown beer, no head. Low carbonation. Aroma of malt and port. Sweet start - intense toffee and bubblegum with a little spicy port wine. Dry aniseedy warming finish. Some estery peach and banana tones as well. A complex and very tasty treat!

Bomber- pours a deep hazy orange/copper with a smallish head- lasts a bit. Aroma is citrusy, grassy, tons of thick sweet honey, very sweet toffee, big bready malts, toast, and some alcohol heat. Flavor is fruity- pear and peach, hoppy, earthy grassy orange zest, Belgian phenolics and bit fruity esters- light apple as well- huge honey sweetness, syrupy, bready and doughy pils and pale malts. Alcohol is apparent, but lots going on- not too bad.