Three Floyds Gumballhead

An interesting approach to a wheat beer. Typical american wheat appearance: clear orange-amber in color. The aroma was hoppy and wheat-like. The flavor was hops first and almost an aftertaste level of strength for the wheat base. Mouthfeel was medium bodied and carbonated. Enjoyable and refreshing for the summer days.

Bomber bottle. (First rating 7/4/8/4/10. Bought at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, VA.) Second tasting doesn’t take me by storm like the first one did.<P> The aroma is moderately malty with a note of toasted grain, light cookie and caramel; Hoppy with light notes of herb, lemon, moderate notes of grapefruit, heavy and pungent resin and pine; yeasty with a light note of dough; light miscellaneous notes of black tea.<P> The flavor is moderately sweet, moderately bitter with a long, lightly sweet, moderately bitter finish. Biscuity retros. The body was light, the texture was watery and the carbonation was lively.

25 oz bottle. Yellow-orange with a bubbly white head. Smells like a wheat cleaning product with some fresh pine. Another whiff and its a dead ringer for powdered lemon ice tea mix. Eerie. A wheat beer? Tasty enough but I can’t get past the sweet tea. I wanted to cut this with a Hoeegarden to give it some punch.

Once again, thanks to Eric (tannertavernboys) for bringing me back some tasty 3F from Dark Lord day. Clear and golden with an amber tint. Ring of white head. Citrus hop nose. Caramel malt aromas. Medium and smooth.with a zesty dry finish. Wheaty and grassy. Lively with a sweet citrus note. Leaves a mildly tart, sour flavor in the finish. Slight apple note. Second glass. Nice sized sediment, but still rather clear. More cirtus and floralness in the nose. Honeyish. Delicious. As it warms it opens up and stretches out, broadening the flavor profiles. Dry and more intense yeast note. Hops are bigger and more layered. Hop notes include citrus and a floral spiciness. Notes of fruit and cherries?

22 oz bottle - Pours clear and dark yellow with a 2 finger foamy head... it smells really hoppy with pine and citrus notes. The flavor is just plain bizarre for an American wheat beer. It’s very hoppy, closer to an IPA or an APA. The wheat malt sweetness is very much subdued. The body is a little too thin, but not bad. This beer has lots of good hops flavor, but not much else going on. It finishes dry. Kudos to 3 Floyds for their continued willigness to experiment with styles. edit: I’ve been enjoying this one on draft at JK O’Donnell’s in Ft Wayne, very nice session brew

Ok, I was a little curious as to what this was going to be like. I’m not a fan of lighter/yellow beers, but alas, 3F’s comes through once again and defies what we all know as the American Wheat beer. Upon pouring, you really aren’t that impressed, looks a hair darker than macro. But upon placing your nose deep in the glass, you know that it is MUCH different. Amarillo hops blast you with zesty citrus smells. The aroma, as with most 3F’s brews, is nothing short of outstanding. Stick you nose in the glass long enough and you really can find some maltiness/grain, no really you can, I promise. Once you get past the wonderful aroma and you are ready to drink, you are equally impressed with the spicey wheat and malts. This brew is very well balanced. The aroma would have you believe that this is a hop monster, in fact it is not. It is perfectly balanced lending to an extremely drinkable, delicate treat. The mouth feel is just perfect. It is an extremely thirst quenching brew. I’d rate this beer much higher, but it lacks the complexity that I prefer. However, as far as wheats are concerned, this is the bomb.

Same ol’ stuck-up 3F too much hops no style. The taste and the aroma are both dominated by grapefruit, with only the slighest wheaty finish in the taste. Only slightly hazy pour with very little head. I understand that the American Wheat style is supposed to be less spicy and more hoppy than its german counterpart but 3F blows this so out of proportion it becomes no different than a standard american IPA (or, well, APA, in 3Fs case). The wheat character is so suppressed it is basically unnoticable unless you were looking for it. I know you aren’t supposed to rate to style, and I usually don’t, but this kinda pisses me off, especially since all the reviews below me are gushing about how this is basically such a great IPA. Isn’t the whole purpose behind style percentiles to show people what the best in the style is, so we can actually have scales for styles whether people rate to them or not? Cause I can imagine many being pretty pissed off when they finally get their hands on the #1 American Wheat and find out it really isnt a wheat at all, it’s just a normal ol’ IPA.... *cough cough*

Thanks to TannerTavernBoys for sharing this great beer. Very floral perfume hops on the aroma. Looks slightly hazy golden with a white head that lingers around. Flavor starts briefly with a nice wheat taste.... and that is the only thing that resembles a wheat beer in Gumballhead for me. The wheat is quickly swept to the side by floral hops with a hint of citrus. There is a nice soft carbonation that enhances the flavors. While there are lots of hops here it is soft on the palate and very easy drinking. I’m looking foward to having this one again.