Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter

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

Pours blacker than most any porter I’ve seen. The loose to average density tan head head is completely explosive! Pour slowly, or wait a few for it to settle down. the nose is all apiaceous carrotty sort of smells, with roast, sweet malt, fruity, floral hops, and of course, holiday spices, though much more nondescript than most holiday ales (which is a plus here!). The texture is about as creamy as a porter can be, though still slightly watery, reminding me this is a porter, not a stout. A little chewy/sticky/slippery. The flavors are robust as can be. Sweet mollassey roast malt, bitter floral hops, some bittersweet chocolate, subtle cinnamon and alcohol accented hops. The finish is really dry given how sweet this beer is upfront, reminding me of a strong dry stout. Before the after taste goes completely to charcoal, it passes through some chocolatey moments. The alcohol level is quite complimentary to the flavor in this brew. A point or two was knocked off for the price on this brew, but overall, certainly worthy.

A dark beer and a huge fluffy tan head. The major aroma is chocolate malt; its also spicy with just a hint of fruityness too. Its a smooth and creamy beer. The flavour is very roasty with a bitter chocolate finish. Less sweetness in flavour than aroma. This beer smells and tastes great, but it loses a few points overall for being too expensive!!

’04-’05 bomber shared by SuIIy on 4/9/06
Deep cocoa brown colored body, is mostly clear upon settling, with very deep magenta highlights on the edges. Head is light tan colored, fairly rapidly fading to ring and partial cover, with minimal lacing.
The nose throws plenty of burnt, ashen malt notes, a smooth, medium-dry vanilla note in the background and plenty of orange-chocolate that seems rather burly and actually envelopes the roasted notes. Some pine resin notes emerge, mostly dry, bitter, not overly aromatic, while hints of black coffee continue to persist on end. Hops are muted at this point, but still provide large amounts of bitterness, while the chocolate is dry, chalk-like and rather dulling to the nose.
The flavor is at first filled with crunchy, dry, old coffee, quickly adding mildly sweet milk chocolate notes. However, the sweetness does not seem to last long as it begins to get lost in an astringent roastiness that carries with it a mix of dry orange and heavily dry hop-leafiness. A very dry, ashy-chalky note hangs on the palate. Hard bite on the end of dry malts that have no where to go (too filtered, leading to not a comforting or supportive enough texture). That said, the flavor is still very true to an American porter, with plenty of American bittering hops. Overall, however, I just find it too dry, hard and dull. The carbonation is low, however, and the body lightly chewy, though watery on the end upon warming. Alcohol is well-concealed throughout the flavor and aroma.

From bomber. Pours a dark brown with thick coffee head and sticky lacing. Nose is 3F, but a nice balance of orange and chocolate. Flavor has an abundance of chocolate, roasted nuts and a grapefruit dry finish. This combo is fantastic.

Excellent black body which pours very thick, almost syrup-like. Small tan head that dimishes quickly. Heavy aroma that has high accents of sugar and some liquor. Very tangy body, dark coffee accents with some hops. Roasted malt endings.

(22 oz bottle) Deep black with very little dark tan head. Aroma of roast malt and some hops. Flavor is roast malt, coffee, with a lot of hops for a porter. another good beer from 3 Floyds.

06-Mar-06 (22 oz bottle: Obtained 17-Sep-04 in trade with CaptainCougar, thanks Tom!) This is a well-aged bottle, at least 18 months old, and it has been refrigerated the entire time it’s been in my possession. Just last week, I had a sizeable sample from a recent bottle (courtesy of SDbruboy), so that memory is still fresh in my mind. Whereas bright hops were at the forefront of the fresh bottle, here, the hops are expectedly subdued so what I’m sampling this evening is an earthy, roasty, chocolaty, and moderately sweet, yet still wonderfully delicious porter. Moderate-to-strong roasty bitterness stays on the palate the entire session, regardless of how much time elapses between sips. A bit of toasty malt emerges on the palate long after I’ve swallowed, somewhere around 15 to 20 seconds later. And as the beer warms up, the chocolate becomes more pronounced, pulling even with the roast, eventually surpassing it, and a fair amount of smoke has its moments too. Obviously, lots of transitions with this beer and I find the aftertaste to be very pleasant and exceptionally long-lasting, but I’m most enamoured that every sip seems to offer something different. Earthy, roasty aromas abound, but unfortunately the nose just can’t quite match up with the excellence of the flavor. Medium-full bodied, substantial for sure, but not heavy or sticky, but again, as the beer’s temperature increases, so too does the body. Carbonation is light to medium, so coupled with the smooth, rich and creamy mouthfeel, this beer drapes every corner of the mouth in luxury. Deep brown in color, not black, but still dark enough that it’s opaque in my tulip glass. The tulip helps build the head to nearly an inch in height on the pour, and having a tall, light tan head contrasting so vividly with the dark body is very attractive. The head gradually settles to a patchy film surrounded by a wide ring, and lacing is also fairly patchy. If the hops is what makes this porter so special for you, then drink it fresh. But if earthy, roasty, chocolaty, less-hoppy porters is more your speed, this is an exceptional candidate for longer-term aging. I fall into the second group, and have found this aged bottle to be significantly better. Just a wonderfully complex porter, one that filled with transitions, one that seems to continually presents new and exquisite flavors. Possibly the best American porter I’ve ever tasted.

26-Feb-06 (22 oz bottle: Shared by SDbruboy, thanks Cliff!) Quite an unusual porter, but not so surprising for a Three Floyds beer. This is a porter where the hops really works from a position of strength. Plenty of moderately sweet chocolate complemented by the herbal hops, but surprisingly, the bitterness is relatively mild. And it’s not especially roasty either. The nose is grassy, lightly roasty, yeasty and mildly sweet, but there’s a bit of earthiness that doesn’t really show up in the flavor. Medium-full bodied. Very dark brown in color, but ruddy at the edges. Light tan head shows nice retention. I have a bottle at home of this and I look forward to seeing how this compares. (6, 3, 7, 4, 15 = 3.5)

Amazing thick head, the kind of head that stays to shape if you make an indentation in it. Roasty aroma. Flavor is roasted coffee and chocolate with a nice hop backing. A well rounded beer that really fills the palate nicely. A damn good beer as expected from 3F