Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine

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

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.

Yellow wax ’07 bottle bought by deftim13. Thanks Tim! Had at PP bottle shop with deftim13, hapjydeuce, denverlogan, Sean, and Ryan. Red amber color. A little bit of oxidation. Sweet. Still good, but past it’s peak. A little better after airing out. I often find this true of oxidized beers. Little hop bitterness. Alcohol well hidden. Need to rerate with a fresh bottle.

Pink-wax ’05 bottle from sdbruboy -- thanks!!!

I’ve been sitting on this one for a while, but rumor has it that it’s peaking, and I’ve only got this one bottle. It pours a glorious thick clear glowing caramel, very little head but enormously viscous. The aroma is sweet and powerful: big caramel, softer hints of orange, a subtle but beautiful mustiness that comes as a bit of a surprise, vanilla syrup. The flavors are powerful, creme brule, muscat, mild citrus rind, citroen, a hit of wood. Warm mouthfeel, hot on the back of the throat, fumes rising up into the sinuses.

This is a first-rate big American barleywine, tasted at what has to be near its prime, two years old, hops mellowing, flavors melding, little oxidation. Beautiful.

2005 Vintage

1/02/2008: Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine is a MASSIVE beer! It pours a thick, cloudy honey-amber color. There is a quickly dissipating ivory head, but there is still lots of carbonation. Tons of orange and citrus hops combine with sweet, rich, caramel malt in the aroma. TONS of rich caramel malt assault the tastebuds and then a nice, even, integrated orangy-citrus bitterness sneaks in before the sugary malt finish. There is a touch of alcohol in through the nose. This full-bodied beer is sticky and creamy on the palate. This beer is doing excellent for 2 (going on 3) years and shows no signs of oxidation. It is really good now, but I bet it will get even better with more and more time! Wow, this is such a big barleywine that will definitely knock you down if you’re not ready for it!

22 fl. oz. pink wax-sealed bottle shared by Tmoney99. Thank you for sharing this vintage bottle with me, Tom. I really appreciate it! Rating #400 for this beer...

Wanted to try this one for a while. Thanks to Ross who broke it out for new years, i got my chance. 2007 bottle. pours out a ncie copper color with a small head. Aroma is big of fruits and malts. Flavor is much the same but with a big boozey finish that took just the slight bit away. overall another great beer from FFF.