Three Floyds Bourbon Behemoth

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

Another awesome beer by the guys at Three Floyds! Enjoyed several times over during the DLD festivities. Lots and Lots of bourbon in the nose, no carbonation at all, and a dark muddled red brown in color. The flavors were great including of course some alcohol, caramel, sugars, oak and wood. A huge beer for sure that could be an after dinner sipper for an hour or two just to finish one glass...but very enjoyable!

On tap at Three Floyds 4/27/07 - Pours mahogony without much head. Aromas of bourbon, caramel, toffee, cherry, and slight remnants of the hops that were once there. Flavor was surprisingly malty bourbon, caramel, toffee, cherry, oak, and even some vanilla. Big body but a smooth sipper. Some alcohol burn on the finish.

On tap at FFF Brewpub, Pours a deep dark brown with amber hues and a very small creamy off white head. Aroma was up front bourbon, oaky woodiness, vanilla, dark fruits, some caramel and cardboard. Flavor had tons of vanilla, oak and bourbon. Sticky molasses, toasted malts, coffee and cardboard. This one was a sipper. When we asked our server they told us this was the 2006 version that was aged in bourbon. I have yet to have the regular Behemoth but from what I heard it is a big hoppy barley wine so I was surprised with how much the hops had mellowed out and how up front the bourbon was on this one. Really debating as to if this one was too much bourbon, or if the bourbon did this one well. I guess once I have the regular version I’ll be able to make a better call on how the BA did for this beer. At this point the one thing I know for sure is tha the bourbon is all over this like white on rice.

fobab06, from memory, appearance was dark amber with no head. huge bourbon fills the whole goose island restraunt and tasting rooms with this beer. clearly overdone. very hot and unpleasant. i’m not getting any of the qualities i loved about the non-BA version in this thing. why did they leave it in the barrel for so long? perhaps a hop bomb like behemoth isn’t meant for a bourbon barrel, why not just french/american oak. don’t get me wrong i love BA beers but i don’t want the bourbon to take over the beer and it clearly does in this case. this was undrinkable to me.2.4.

1/24/09, on tap at the brewery. pours hazy amber with creamy biege head. very aromatic, bourbon, vanilla, wood, dried dark fruits, citrus and pine. flavors are initally sweet wth caramel and dark fruit notes while the alcohol dries the palate leaving wonderful notes of bourbon, vanilla, tobacco, and citrus. this is surprising very drinkable and one of the best bourbon barleywines made.

Big bourbon nose...which could go either way here. The golden oily pour is still the same as the non-BA version. This has a very big oak and bourbon profile initially...later comes the hop bite, alcohol burm amd caramel notes. I like this version even better than the non-BA...maybe in spite of the fact that it’s wooden characteristics are rather overdone.

Snifter at the brewpub. Brown in color with no head. Smells of bourbon whiskey and not much else. Flavor is just like the aroma, dominated by bourbon. Although drinking these BA beers is giving me a whiskey tooth, I do not enjoy the beer due to the mask of the bourbon. What’s the sense of making a world class beer and then having bourbon overtake all of the aromas and flavors?

Draft goblet at 3Fs. Hmm... deep brown-black in color. A thin head with little lacing. Intoxicating bourbon smell. A nice, thick bourbon taste that demands to be taken in small sips. Deep roasted, but without roasty astringence, Brings up hints of root beer and Jaegermeister, too. I loves me BA’s.

This was awesome. BA BEHEMOTH on tap CHEERS! Smooth as silk and very tasty warm finish and very well done.Now on tap at FFF!