Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine

barleywines usually miss me, the permeating alcohol notes of beers like sierra’s bigfoot are just too much. tastes of honey, gardenias, and caramel malt. so well balanced its amazing. job well done knobbies! purchased at the keg, clarksville, indiana.

Bottle@Dr. Bills Poured brown/red with thin head. Citrus sweet aroma...but then you take a sip, and the hops sneak up on you.

2-3-08 bottle shared at tasting.
Ruby amber color with little head and lacing. Smell is decent - caramel sweetness and very little alcohol. Flavor is sweet and balanced but not very outspoken. Alcohol is very well hidden in smell and flavor. Overall, surprisingly drinkable and enjoyable and easy.

Big thanks to BeerZach for sharing this one!
Pours caramel colored with little to no head on it. Smell is malty and caramelly and while balanced somewhat, doesn’t have those billowing fresh hops that many of the Three Floyds beers do. Taste however, is exceptional, and very smooth with creamy caramel, with a hint of pine at the finish. One of the smoothest barley wines I’ve had, and especially for 12%, it’s fantastic. Quite an awesome beer by one of my favorite breweries.

Pours a dark brown color, aroma of hops and malt that smells like raisons, taste of raisons, malt, alcohol, and hops. Three floyds continues to impress me, this is one of the best barleywines i’ve ever had!

Received this bottle of the 2007 vintage in a trade with jpm30. Served in the Mad Elf chalice. Pours a nice rosewood color of a strong iced tea with good clarity. 1 inch head of whispy off-white bubbles. Leaves sporadic lacing on the glass. Aroma is caramel, cherry liqueur, orange blossom and honey sweetness. Fairly light and subtle. The flavor is much bolder and more assertive than the aroma. Starts off with the familiar caramel and orange hop sweetness but tosses in a extra heap of boozy heat. Toss in some run-coated raisins. Finish is dry and bitter orange peel like. Overall, a surprisingly light and smooth body, highlighted with a bit of boozy spice. A solid American style barleywine with a nice a balance between sweetness and hoppiness. For 12.5%, its rather smooth.

2005 pink wax version. Poured a dark amber with a small fizzy off-white head. Rich and sweet aroma of caramel, molasses, strawberry jam and some ruby red grapefruit. Flavor is rich and sweet with notes of molasses and brown sugar, toffee, some light strawberry, some citrus zest, a dash of bitter grapefruit rind. Hops here mostly in the form of a bit of bitter dryness that becomes more apparent towards the finish. Slight alcohol warmth does little to betray the strength of the beer. Contrary to the brewery’s slogan of "It’s not normal," I find this to be a fairly straight-shooting barley wine that is well crafted, to style, and without any noticeable flaws. As a matter of preference, I would have liked a bit more hoppy citrus to go with the hoppy dryness, as I enjoy barley wines that either go all the way as American or English, and at the moment this one seems to be riding the fencepost. However, this is of course exquisitely made. A dangerously drinkable concoction that represents a very intelligent and sophisticated take on the style. Very nice.

Fairly good offering here. As with most 3F, its pretty hoppy, but subdued at the same time. Almost candyish in the taste, as the carmel is very apparent, and there are hints of fruit and pine as well. The malt is the big flavor here.