Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine

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

Bottle massive thanks to secret santa. Aroma is balanced mix of toffee malts, and peppery citrus hop, biscuity richness. Taste is similar again well balanced and not as hoppy as perhaps expected but a very good barley wine.

2007 yellow wax bottle received in trade with pantanap about 9 months ago. Thanks Kan! I was pretty faded when my friend Taylor convinced me to open this. I kinda was saving it for a special occasion, but then I realized I could probably easily obtain another bottle if I liked it a lot, so why not give it a try. This was a pretty tasty bw. Typical FFF hop character was still very noticeable, and it was balanced well with caramel malts. A big beer, alcohol noted but hidden rather well. Don’t know if I’d seek this out again because of the price, but it is pretty tasty.

Poured from a 2007 vintage, yellow wax 22oz bomber and served in a snifter. This barley wine poured a muddy brown with a decent sized head of yellowish beige foam that faded away into a thin layer of bubbles. Beautiful, thick, heavy lacing coated the entire inside of the glass. The aroma of the beer was made up of heavy notes of sugary sweet caramel, maple syrup, light pineapple, and a faint note of alcohol. Just a wonderfully huge malty aroma! The flavor of the beer consisted of resiny pine, thick caramel, apricot, and brown sugar. The mouthfeel was full-bodied and syrupy with just a bit more carbonation than you would expect in a beer of this viscosity, providing a lush, creamy palate. A thoroughly enjoyable brew. Just as the description states, sit back next to the fire, grab a cigar, and enjoy the weather!

Sampled both the 05 and 06 vintages. Rating the 05 because I liked that one a bit more.

2005 Pink Wax Vintage, courtesy of Ibrew2or3
Pours a dark brown body with a surprisingly hefty head. Light tan in color, fades to a layer of foam and loose bubbles. Nose of sweet tropical fruits, caramel, toffee, pine nuts, fir trees, light hops and figs. Flavor is spot on with the aroma, sweet and lightly spicy, perfectly balanced. Medium to full bodied, heavy and coating on the palate. Long finish, sweet malts and caramel, with a faint hop bitterness. No sense of the ABV really in the aroma or the flavor, very well hidden. Warming but incredibly easy to drink for a 12% beer.

2006 Yellow Wax Vintage, courtesy of Gillard
Slightly lighter in color than the older vintage. Nose is much more heavily hopped, tons more pine and fir, but still with a malt and caramel backbone that is noticeable. All other components are similar. I can see this being just as good as the 05 with similar aging to it.

2007 vintage courtesy of Gillard. Pours hazy copper with lasting tan head. The aroma is nice and hoppy with pine hops and fur tree followed by sweet mildly roasty malts and hints of caramel. The taste starts hoppy and earthy and a tad thin. The hops come off as pine, grassy, resiny and earthy bitterness. Wow, lots of hops. By midway the sweet malts peak in intensity but quickly get overtaken by pine and grassy hop bitterness that run right into the after taste. Darn smooth really but would benefit from several more years of aging.

2005 vintage. It pours a hue darker than the ’06 with an even bolder tan head. The aroma is much more barleywine like with a suitable level of dark fruity esters to break up the once hop dominated nose. I also get a just noticeable caramel note. The taste is richer with a bit more malt caramel notes and dark fruity esters. The hops are still over powering. I think this will be excellent in a couple more years. I now wish I had another bottle.

An American Barley wine is very similar to a Belgian Strong ale or even a Quad. This is a very tasty and strong ale that has tastes of dark fruit, molases, carmel, and just the right amount of Hop finish. A darn good winter brew!

Pink wax bottle, thanks to kramer17801. Pours a slightly hazy dark amber color with a small off-white head. Sweet malty dark fruit aroma with hints of caramel and hops. Sweet malty dark fruit and caramel flavor with some hoppy hints. Warming malty finish with a citrus hoppy aftertaste.

Yellow wax bottle from my secret santa. Cloudy orange with a smallish head. Aroma of caramel, brown sugar and some raisins. The hops must have died back in the aging. I taste a bit of citrus, but not the super-hoppy pine and grapefruit that I read in past reviews. A bit of an alcoholic/medicinal aftertaste when it gets closer to room temperature.