Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter

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

Thanks to yem25 and my Summer Secret Santa, I have two bottles on hand to enjoy - well, now there’s only one. The evenings have been unusually warm this summer, and last night was the first cool evening in a while. I decided to break out something dark and rich to celebrate, and this beer did not disappoint. Pours a very dark brown, just about black, with a large and luscious light brown head that lasted through two-thirds of the glass and left a curtain of lace with each sip. Very pleasant aroma of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, and some floral hops. The flavor is equally nice with chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, and a bit of dark fruit. This is followed by some moderate bitterness that lingers for a few seconds beyond the swallow. As the beer warms, the bitterness subsides a bit. An excellent porter!

He he. I got several bottles of this at less than half price in January of 08 because "it would go bad." Yeah, thanks to FFF for hopping that crap out of this stuff, I decided to cellar a few to see how they do. I’m absolutely gaga about the 07 and I can’t wait to get some of the 08. The warmth of this brew balances out the FFF hop obsession making this beer one of the most drinkable in their line-up, IMO. Must have. That’s all I’ll say about this stuff.

big thanks to boltz7555 for the bomber!... the first pour on this sucker is ridiculously huge!... we’re talking one inch of beer and five inches of foam... finally settles to reveal an opaque black shade of reddish brown capped by a hot cocoa colored head. smells really floral... brown sugar, sweet roasty grain, molasses, fruit, cream, wood, herbal/hay/straw and some chocolate. it’s a bit faint but it smells great. flavors abound... coffee, ashy/astringent grain, wood, black cherry, a touch of chocolate, earthy spice, grass and boozy vapors. harsh ashy, sour and astringent finish (i like this!). it burps up pine and grass in the aftertaste. medium body, prickly acidic mouth feel from over carbonation. dryness parches for quite a while... thanks j!

bottle: pours a dark brown medium tan head. aroma is a good floral hop with a nice roast adn deep chcoalte. flavour is a good with some nice chocolate, dark roast adn a very little of the floral hops. great drinking porter

Pours a dark, dark brown out of the bottle that looks black in the glass. The head is a dense three-finger tan that dissipates fairly quickly to a thin coating along the top leaving decent lacing. Smell is mainly burnt coffee and chocolate malts. There is also a definite sweetness as well with vanilla and maybe some oatmeal in the background. Taste picks up where the aroma left off with sweet malts up front but with a burnt coffee kick and some oatmeal smoothness. I also got more chocolate in taste and a hint of hops in the finish with some coffee bitterness as well. Mouthfeel is super smooth with solid carbonation and helps the flavors stick to your mouth. This is one of the better porters I’ve had in a while and it is certainly drinkable. Highly recommended!

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle. This beer pours a dark black thinnish fluid with a light tan head of fluffy tiny bubbles. The aroma is of dark chocolate, dark cherries, with hints of other fruits. The mouthfeel is outstanding due to the great bottle conditioning Floyds does. The carbonation springs to life in the mouth but with a smoothness. The flavor is best described as a spicy porter with dark cherries and bittersweet chocolate.

2 or 3 yr old vintage courtesy of tpd975. Pours dark brown with garnet edges and thin tan head. The aroma is crystal malts then turning dark to burnt malts, a bit of dark chocolate along with some pine hops. The taste feels thin with some highly roasted to burnt malts, sweet malty to caramel-ness and a river of muted pine hops running out in the back. Into the finish the roasty malts and burnt malts linger deep into the after taste.

Bouteille 650ml, courtoisie de Hogtownharry. De couleur noire et opaque. Nez de malt rôti, moyen de café et de chocolat noir, de houblon herbeux aux notes résineuses et florales, léger de chocolat au lait et avec des notes d’épices (cannelle) ainsi que des traces de fruits (cerises noires). Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen et une texture crémeuse et aux notes huileuses. Léger goût de chocolat au lait accompagné de notes fruitées (cerises noires, traces de cassis et de mûres) et épicées (cannelle) ainsi que des traces de fumée de bois lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute rapidement un goût de malt assez rôti (petites notes brûlées), un goût de chocolat noir sucré, des notes de mélasse sucrée ainsi que des traces de sucre brun. Parallèlement, l’on retrouve une amertume asséchante de houblon herbeux aux notes résineuses, terreuses et florales jusqu’en finale (plus résineuse et terreuse en finale) accompagné d’un goût de café noir ainsi que de notes d’alcool. Post-goût long et moyen-sec, plutôt amer de rôti, de café, de houblon herbeux et légèrement résineux, léger de chocolat et avec des notes d’alcool.