Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine

Brewed by Three Floyds Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Munster, Indiana USA

5th May 2008. A well balanced beer. Smooth and silky with a wack of malt witha druity undertone. Then floral hops that are dry and fruity but not overly bitter. A real mouthfull.

Pours a clear amber yellow with close to no head. Aroma is hay, alcohol and cherry. Flavor is sugar and alcohol. Body is light syrupy with very light carbonation.

2009 vintage. Reddish copper color with a slight chill hazy. A small off-white head with yellow hues settles rather quickly and leaves some lacings. Plenty of hops in the smell - big notes of grapefruit and small hints of strawberries. Grass, floral notes and a general fruitiness. Sweet malts with a slightly bready character, fudge, nutty aromas and brown sugar. Incredibly well balanced. Great smell. The taste is fantastic. Great balance between sweet malts and fresh hop aromas. Notes of grapefruit, strawberries, mango and cherries blend with pine-needles, floral notes and hop resins. A thick and very pleasant malty backbone with a somewhat toasty character - dark bread, nuts, chocolate and huge amount of sweet caramel. The finish is really bitter and contains fresh hop resins, a hint of tobacco, wood and gentle spices. The bitterness slowly fades away in a really long finish. A sweet taste of alcohol is noticeable, but it’s really integrated with the rest of the flavors. Full body with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. A very good beer. It’s almost unbelievable to think a beer as potent as this one can be so balanced, it’s practically flawless. Rich, powerful and complex, it doesn’t get much better than that. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Wonderful smell, with caramel and hops. Taste is sweeter than I expected, but still a good brew.

Bottled. Aroma has caramel/sugar, lots of american piney hops, fruits and some alcohol. Clear, amber coloured beer with a short, off-white head. The taste is sweet, hopbitter with sugar and caramel malts, dried fruits/raisins. Quite well balanced for this kind of style.

Huge thanks to JW77 for sending me this bright pink abomination of a bottle in a trade. It was the 05 as pictured. Simply magical. Hazy orange copper to brown in the glass. Nose is super sweet, rich, spicy, full, round, and more adjectives. Standouts were caramel and brown sugar. Resilent lace. Taste is creamy caramel, and brown sugar. A distinct bit of spiciness and alcohol. Dark fruit too. One of my favorite barley wine experiences ever. If I could add a .5 to my ratings the score would be higher. Thanks a lot JW77. 09 Bottle tasted alongside the afore mentioned 05. Crystal clear copper with light head and lace. Nose is lightly nutty and creamy. Aroma is similar to the 05, but much, much less. Taste is light and sharp, with an alcohol nose. Not tasting like a rich barley wine. Some crisp lager characteristics melded with a strong ale. It was a disappointment after drinking the artistic 05. Rating score is obviously based on the 05 bottle.

Bottled. Clear amber color, short head. Big aroma of hop, caramel malt, slight alcohol. Bitter taste on a huge caramel malty body, quite thick, bit sweet. Slight sticky palate. Big big barley wine, very enjoyable.

A 2007 bottle with yellow wax, shared with BeerGestapo. It poured a dark hazy amber with a thin head. Swirling it around the snifter left an oily residue on the sides. The smell had notes of nuts, grass, toffee, and a faint hint of citrus. The flavor was toffee, grass, mint, pineapple, and earth. Sweet but at the same time full of hops. It had a thick syrupy body that was just a bit too sticky for my tastes. There was a bit of heat to it but well hidden for 12% abv. A very good barleywine but maybe a bit overrated.