Three Floyds Bourbon Behemoth

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

On tap at Three Floyds. I let it sit on the bar for a while to let it warm up a bit. Smell is incredible. Think a very nice bourbon whiskey smell complimenting a very refined, well melded barleywine. Taste is absolutely amazing. This is one to sip all day. Every sip was velvety smooth and better than the last. This barleywine has transformed into a incredible beer while in the barrel. I could not get enough of this beer. The guys at Three Floyds have taken barrel aging to the highest level. Very glad I had the chance to drink this.

Draft @ DLD 08: I had been dying to try this and somehow it ended up in my hands in the brewpub...so thanks to whomever hooked me up with it. Dark copper in color with a minimal cream head. Dark fruits, caramel, oak/bourbon and some subtle hop tones in the nose...thick and creamy mouth feel. Flavor pretty much fit the the aroma but had a bit more hoppiness that fought its way through the bourbon. Just a massive brew and one that absolutely crushes its base brew in all aspects.

Much darker than its non-barreled batch, with a chestnut-caramel hue. Murky, not muddy, just mystical. A tan galaxy swirls on top of it. Sweet plum juice and brandied figs delve deeply into the glass. Aromatic figgy pudding with concord crème brulee take turns with rhubarb left soggy and baking for hours. Thick, boozy, flavorful beauty. Mulberry glazes Christmas cut out cookies. Thick rhubarb is stuck with concord fig filling and a black cherry saturated graham cracker base. Low and behold the booze that ignites the throat with an equally thrilling, fiery amarillo hop-like presence. The booze actually smoothes out the base beer for thorough complexity. Sticky palate and the epitome of winter warmers. Perhaps the biggest barleywine mouth feel I’ve ever known. Black cherries get seduced by toasted coconuts and balsa batter while blackened boysenberry juice briefly glazes over rhubarb and gets slightly licked by flame. Mince meat, Disarenno and brandy plum butter ease in with the smooth black currant on toasted grahams on the way out. Splendid.

June 3, 2007 DLD 2007 rating: Wow. Amazing. A dark amber with almost no head. The aroma is dominated by skunky hops and bourbon. This is a good beer. The bourbon tries to dominate, but the original flavors of the behemoth are there paired alongside vanilla and oak. The hops are still present, but more subdued due to aging. Not extremely complex, but well crafted and well layered.

Sampled at FoBAB. The color of this was strikingly darker having picked up the barrel’s bourbon or tannins during the aging. A very slight ring of a head dissipated quickly with an aroma that was strong. The beer picked up a slight tang that was an interesting play on the dried fruit and vanilla overtones that are so prevalent in many of these beers. Much rounder and less bitter/acidic than the younger, non-ba Behemoth. A very fine mutation of this fine brew.

FoBAB 2006. The surprise beer of the day, and what a joy it was to sample it. Although Goose Island’s Brandywine was impressive, this was just a bit better. Wonderful looking mahogany pour with hazelnut and honey on the nose, leading into a complex flavor profile ranging from dates to pecans to dried cherries. Nice vanilla and toasty oak finish to leave one salivating until the next sip. It struck me that this one has been sitting for awhile, because the hops were much tamer than I expected. Well done.

On tap at 3F’s the day before DLD. An almost black pour with no head or lace. An aroma of bourbon flavored raisins with a light hint of abv. A flavor large in fruit and a hint of choclate a little sour fruit flavor as well. The BA comes through more in the flavor than the nose. As it warmed the abv really comes through. Excellent mouthfeel and carbonation. A full flavor and palate make this beer complete. A damn fine offering.

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.