Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine

Damn. Rating #667 for this beer. 666 would have been sweet. Caught 4 bottles of 07 @ $5 a pop. Had 08 on draft. Nothing in comparison. Bottle better, so rated. Deep hazy ruby amber. Thick, smooth, enduring tan head. Smell is just, wow! Overload of citrus, caramel and fruit in the nose. Taste is big. Sticky. Cherries, berries, citrus, pine, and caramel. Impressive hops year+ after bottling. Warming, but not apparently hot. Almost an oaky edge. 1299 would be reasonable. Just too pricy to indulge. Savor.

Pours dark amber with a small head. Heavy aroma of sweet hops. Tastes very much like Founder’s Devil Dancer. Great beer.

22oz blue wax 2009 bottle purchased at DLD ’09. Pours a clear, amber-orange body with a thin, white head that leaves a good amount of whispy lacing on the surface and the glass. A simple swirl arouses the head easily. Aroma is big on the floral hops with some resins and sweet pines. Lots of caramels and a soft molasses. Big citrus, mostly grapefruit and tangerines, as well as a hint of berry raisin. Extremely hoppy aroma. Flavor is no different. Starts with a soft caramel sweetness before the pines and florals grab the attention. The cool thing about this is that hops don’t attack the palate even though they are pretty intense, but rather walk proudly with their chests thrusting and their egos high. Some more sweet caramels as well as a mixture of fruit join the parade before some molasses, honey, and peppery spicing ends this one all the while being led by a high amount of pines. Finishes very dry and grassy with a slight cloy. Lots of grassy, syrupy bitterness in the aftertaste with a deeper caramel and light alcoholic warmth. Palate is medium bodied and slightly sticky with a touch of carbonation. Overall, this is an extremely hoppy barley wine. I’ve never had anything like it. Personally, I feel that the intense floral and pine flavors take away some of the stylistic qualities that I tend to like in a barley wine, but this is still damn good, especially the aroma. Props to FFF for balancing a "behemoth" like this.

Original review date 10/27/2008... Cloudy, caramel bourbon color. Dry ginger head shows for a few minutes and is off. Lacing is moderate with a few sediment lines. Wow - smells like hoppy French toast! Maple syrup, caramel, salt, vanilla - hops have some subdued citrus and maybe a little grass. Bitterness is profound even though traditional hop elements may be tempered. With warmth hop character becomes more lightly floral absent any perfume. This is a cinder block to the head. Creamy caramel - even a little buttery (diacetyl?) but not offensive. Boozy floral/grass hopy...all in abundance. Stewy and soup with even a little broccoli in there. Crazy. Tight mouth at first. With warmth of course this opens up nicely. Almost salty soup with stew over abundant malt. Boozy to an extent but oh so comfortably warming. Admittedly this is a sentimental favorite - this was the one that started it all - the first uber-hopped barleywine I ever came across, courtesy of the Floyd blokes at the 1999 GABF. Several years later it’s still boozy, heavy and hoppy as all hell...and it works! A great pleasure to savor and contemplate the rare times I get a chance to enjoy this one.

Year-old bottle from hannont - thanks Todd! Purple wax cracked in June 09. Aroma is really mellow, dark, syrupy with notes of brown sugar, cough syrup, roast. Flavor is much the same but I found myself fixated on funky cherries and old, juicy hops that had mellowed into resin. Tastes surprisingly like Arctic Devil but way mellower. Thanks again Todd this was the heat!

2009 bottle from Cracked kettle. Smells of sweet citrusy hops, figs, congac, oak barrels and candy. Taste of grape seeds, malt, citrus. Big body.

2008. Dark reddish amber pour with small white head. Lacing is phenomenal, some wandering legs are present as well. Fruity esters and piney, grapefruit hops dominate the aroma with caramel and toffee malt coming through secondarily. Flavor is primarily sweet malt- caramel toffee, fruit, and molasses. Hop backbone is quite evident with grapefruit notes culminating with a woody almost earthy note. Palate is smooth and soft, finishing fiery in the bottom of the throat. Extremely quaffable and well balanced. A lovely example of the style.

2008 vintage. Red mahogany pour with a small, white bubbly head. Aroma is very nice; caramel, apricot, and plum mix with a nice citrusy hop aspect. Seems to be not too aggressive, more mellow despite the 12% ABV. Flavor definitely conveys more of an American than English barleywine style; rich citrus hop presence combines with the fruity malt character, and the alcohol burn at the end is extraordinary. Immensely smooth in the palate, slides down the throat gracefully. Excellent brew.