Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine

Very rich beer with a great aroma of caramel and malty sweetness. Flavor is bold with caramel, toffee, dates and a sweet, bright hoppiness.

Bottle shared with a friend during the Packers/Giants playoff game. Yellow wax (2007). Pours amberish brown. Smells of caramel and malt. Taste is a nice mix of malts and hops, however does not come off as "hoppy." Very nice body and mouthfeel. I didn’t know this was so rare. I had been saving this one since October 23.

bottle complements of toddbates: aroma is dates with carmel and toffee, and lots of it. A very rich aroma. the beer poured amberish brown with a small head that remained around the edges. Flavor is great, lot of toffee, carmel, dates, and a nice balance of hops that provide a slight citrus. Definitely maltier than expected, but in a good way. mouthfeel is carbonated as it should be and slightly sticky. Very good barely wine. wish I had another.

22oz. bomber, 2005 (pink wax), courtesy of CaptainCougar. Pours a very cloudy, thick, deep, red with brown and orange highlights. The yeast that make it into the bottle look like flakes of cork. A head is stirred up - medium in size and tan in color - but quickly subsides to nearly nothing. The aroma is hoppy and malty with tons of caramel. The grassy hops and caramel are primary smells, and dark fruit and alcohol are secondary. There is a slight medicinal quality to its strong alcoholic character. Tertiary smells are a light dustiness and a subtle hint of smoke. The flavor starts quite lovely and complex: thick and malty with lots of toffee and caramel and hints of honey and chocolate. There is also a very firm hop note that is very piney. As the beer goes back towards mid-palate, the bitter hops strengthen - piney and resiny (with a growing astringency that is reminiscent of nail polish). The malt character continues to balance and overcome the hops - loads of caramel and a growing level of chocolate. By mid-tongue, the malt profile gets more and more like fruit-cake. The finish is surprisingly somewhat dry from the bitterness and from a subtle smoke flavor. It finishes quite bittersweet with the astringency lessening, but the warmth/heat of alcohol growing. The back of the throat is quite warm from alcohol after swallowing. The mouthfeel is very full and carbonation is low. It isn’t quite syrupy, but it is thick. Overall, a very interesting barley wine.

2005 vintage (pink wax) - I’ve been looking at this beer on my shelf for awhile now, thinking when would be the best time to enjoy. So NYE was the winning day (well, evening) and it was a fantastic beer. It pours out a dark amber, almost brown color, cloudy with a good sized two finger head. Aroma is catty, some piney and citrusy hops, alcohol, honeyish malts, a touch of old bubblegum and herbaceous. Mouthfeel is full bodied, coating and a touch hot. Flavors bring out notes of pine, chewey caramel, and light tropical fruit. Having a couple of years on this beer seems to really have mellowed many of the flavors and everything meshed together incredibly well. While not as complex as some of my favorite b/w’s, this is still a great beer to enjoy. Put some age on it if you get a chance and you won’t be disappointed.

Yellow wax 2007 batch. Amber brown color, small head. Aroma and tastes of rich, roasty malts, dark fruit, grassy and spicy hops, alcohol, slight smoke and wood. Big hop bitterness, sweetness and malts. Somewhat cloying, harsh, musty, possibly oxidized and medicinal but very compelling and tasty also. A monster of a brew with complexity.

Bottle Shared with 1FastSTi, pink wax: Pours a deep amber color with big carbonation producing tight little bubbles that dissipate somewhat quickly to leave a medium sized head. Big orange grapefruit aroma with some caramel malt present as well. Initial taste of caramel and toffee that is exceptionally balanced by the huge amount of hops that no doubt went into the brewing of this beer. Short fruity finish. Alcohol very well hidden. Yet another world class beer by Three Floyds! Cheers!

2007 Bottle: The beer was dark amber to brown in color and poured a 1/4" head with tight bubbles that dissipated leaving some random lacing. The nose was filled with candied orange rinds, caramel, pine, grapefruit and malt balls. In the mouth it was of medium density, rich and mouth-coating. The beer built into the midpalate and showed the sweet malt from the nose. The finish was lingering and turned dry though kept some sweetness. Overall, an enjoyable beer now that seems like it will age well over the next 3 - 5 years especially if it loses a touch of sweetness.