American Pale Ale – The Barley Whine

THREE FLOYDS ZOMBIE DUST

In this review we once again examine a beer from the legendary Three Floyds.

WHY THREE FLOYDS?

Founded in 1996 by Nick Floyd in Munster, Indiana, Three Floyds is the brewery we at The Barley Whine have reviewed more than any other. Rated the top brewery in the world by RateBeer.com five of the last six years, and the recipient of top scores from Beer Advocate and us. Nick and the crew hit the scene with full flavored beers at a time when craft beer was still fetishizing British brown ales and Germanic lagers. Plus he has a strong interest in metal, fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons, and brings the imagery from these places to the branding and marketing of the Three Floyds products. Names like Dark Lord, Alpha King, and of course Zombie Dust form a dark mythos, granting personality to a product line of impressive, even intimidating beers. For all these reasons, most especially for all the super tasty brews, these guys receive a lot of our attention.

THE BEER

From Three Floyds commercial description:

This intensely hopped and gushing undead pale ale will be ones only respite after the zombie apocalypse. Created with our marvelous friends in the comic industry. Art by Tim Seeley

What more can you say? Hopefully something, or the review serves little purpose.

Three Floyds Zombie Dust

TASTING NOTES

Citrus and tropical fruits explode off of the nose as this polluted sunset orange brew pours out. The head forms dense bubbles with good retention and sticky lacing, I’m guessing from the malt. Grapefruit flavor from the hops hits first on the palette, mouth watering and refreshing all at once, and is the dominant note. Weaved in to the citrus blast is a bit of malty bread, and a the gentlest kiss of bitterness to close out. Solid carbonation floats the deliciousness down effortlessly.

CONCLUSION

For anyone who has ever enjoyed a beer with hops, this is a must have. In the upper echelons of Pliny the Younger and Pliny the Elder, Hopslam, and the scrumptious delights coming out of Kern River and Hill Farmstead, Three Floyds Zombie Dust delivers a hugely citrus hopped pale ale with minimal bitterness, and maximum flavor.

10/10

Lagunitas DayTime IPA Review

Lagunitas DayTime A Fractional IPA

Big flavors drive American craft beer geeks. But often, the booze in an Old Ale or Double IPA seriously limits our intake. Putting back a few bottles of the delicious Apocalypse Cow on a Sunday of NFL viewing, can lead to a brutally hungover Monday morning. Presuming the palate fatigue from the all that bitterness didn’t do you in first. And that is a critical factor for hop heads, or anyone that has attempted sampling scores of double IPAs in a row. Bitterness builds on the taste buds, eventually becoming the only discernible element to the beer. The opposite of what people who enjoy craft beer want; a worsening of taste cured only by quitting complex ales for the night.

Thankfully, brewers have taken up the challenge to brew big time hoppy ales, without all the alcohol and bite. Victory, with their Summer Love, a hop-forward ale with only a 5.2 % ABV, has made a lawn mower beer for hop fans. Founders All Day IPA is another light bodied, well hopped brew that will not wear you down.

TASTING NOTES

Now, from the west coast, America’s piny hop capital, comes Lagunitas DayTime IPA stepping into the category. Super dank, pine and citrus nose, this beer exudes the perfume of their standard IPA, even the DIPA Maximus. The taste reveals Lagunitas did not let us down. This limited release beer has a clean, slightly citrus hop profile to match the nose. Massive dry-hopping has done amazing things here. Crisp and bubbly, the body adds to the quaffability of this IPA (really more of an American Pale Ale). Malts are very present here, passing off a biscuity sweetness that nearly blocks out the super subtle hop bite in the aftertaste.

Lagunitas DayTime A Fractional IPA — Lagunitas DayTime IPA

CONCLUSION

Funky nose, balanced big hop taste with almost no lingering bitterness. This beer is a dream to drink. But is it “sessionable” ? Sure, and not only because of the low ABV, but the lack of bitterness in the finish spares the mouth from that build up of acrid flavors that begin to overwhelm the ales that come after the first. Lagunitas has created a masterpiece of an ale, one which you can enjoy from the kickoff of the early game until Costas’ recap of the Sunday Night game. Try this beer now!!!

9.5/10