Three Floyd's Man-O-Awe Review

It appears another Three Floyd's limited offering has trickled into central Indiana... Man-O-Awe, an American pale ale clocking in at 6.0% ABV.

Like a lot of FFF labels there's not much relevant info to be gleaned from the beer description, but it does tell us that the beer is brewed exclusively with Michigan hops. Other than that I'm supposed to be in awe and go listen to some metal whiled drinking this (okay it doesn't say that, but it's implied with any FFF beer).

Well, time to drink the mystery beer.

It pours a deep copper with gold highlights topped with a two finger, off-white head. The aroma is pleasant with melon, tangerine, and bread. The taste is... well interesting to put it nicely. Heavy (sourdough?) bread malt and a dose of floral, musty, perfumey notes. There's some bitterness in there, but all the weirdness going on makes you forget about it. The body is light, bordering on watery, with middling carbonation and a slightly oily mouthfeel; then finishes somewhat dry.

I am in awe... of how bad this beer is. This is the worst Three Floyd's beer I've had and I actually drain poured what was left in the bottle. I don't care for the notes of tangy bread and heavily perfumed hops at all. I really hope this isn't indicative of Michigan hops, because if so, something ain't right. Three Floyd's has a track record of excellence so they're allowed a mulligan every once in awhile... not everything can be Zombie Dusts and Dark Lords. Resist your "Limited FFF Beer!" urge and leave this on the shelf.  0.5/5 (Yeah I think it's that bad)

The Big Guy: Whoa whoa whoa!!! I love ya buddy but you missed the boat on this one. Maybe I'm just a fan of sourdough bread, I don't know. The malts were light but sweet with a little bit of biscuit and bread crust. The hops come in with an awesome mango and melon flavor. Think really subtle tropical fruit flavors hiding just behind the sweetness of the malts and I thought it blended together nicely.

There is a slight resiny, pine flavor and earthy hop quality to the finish that closes it off nicely. I think this is a unique beer and its even better knowing some of the hops came from right here in the Midwest. There was just a bit of bitterness at the end and that's OK. Remember this is only a pale ale, a regular pale ale- not an IPA or a DIPA- just an everyday pale. A lot of us have come to expect intense hops every time we hear that Three Floyd's is making a beer. I was thrilled to see that this one didn't have that heavy handed hop flavor. I even picked up another bottle because I liked it so much. Thanks for leaving that one on the shelf Russ. I give it a 4.

Blackheart: IPA vs APA

Happy national IPA Day! Last night I was hanging out with the Little Lady and decided to pop open one of Three Floyd's Darkheart.

It's been a while since I've had one of these. I remember liking the malty vibe to it but not being a big fan of the hop profile. I picked a few up for a trade that didn't go through, so I figured I may as well give it another chance.

Blackheart is an English Style India Pale Ale that has been aged in toasted oak barrels. According the BJCP style guidelines in an English IPA "The hop flavor should be similar to the aroma (floral, earthy, fruity, and/or slightly grassy)."

English IPAs were made in the 18th century when the British Raj wanted English beer in India. It was created because standard English beers didn't hold up to the sea voyage. The IPA was a functional beer made to stand up to the long trip and the heat on ships from the UK to India.

American's have created our own tasty treat that is technically either an American IPA or an APA depending on what flavors are involved. The BJCP says "Hop flavor is medium to high, and should reflect an American hop character with citrusy, floral, resinous, piney or fruity aspects. Medium-high to very high hop bitterness, although the malt backbone will support the strong hop character and provide the best balance." The American IPA is no longer a functional brew, it's a creative monster of a beer. Brewers that are more like mad scientists have been mixing and matching different strains of hops, while developing new strains, to create some impressively bitter beers.

An APA tends to be more bitter (the focus is on the late hop additions in the brewing process) broader hop varieties to choose from. It also tends to have a bigger malt base with some unique specialty malts. This is a crazy specific distinction, but with so many new brews popping up, it's what we end up with. It seems like more and more brewers aren't making the distinctions. When you go through ratebeer, beer advocate and untapped you can get all sorts of different answers as to what style certain beers are.

The Basics

• English IPA is going to be maltier 
• English IPA is going to be floral and earthy
• American IPA is going to be citrusy and bright
• American IPA is giong to have a light malt base
• APA is going to have different types of hops in weird combinations
• APA is a little less regimented, it is a bit of a brewers choice wildcard 

Although Three Floyds is known for their big citrusy American hop profiles, they knocked Blackheart out of the park. It pours a beautiful orangey yellow with a nice big fluffy cloud of white head. It had a great oak and malty smell with a nice floral hop flavor with a ton of earthiness to round it all out. The beer is sweet, without being too sweet. There's great caramel and oaked flavors upfront.  The hops are citrusy with some great spicy earthiness. There is just a bit of boozy heat on the back end of the brew. Three Floyds proved that the UK style of IPA doesn't have to be only functional. It can be just as big as the American IPAs with their fruity flavor just in a different way. Citrus is replaced by spicy and earthy hops. The malt is ratcheted up in a sweet and delicious way.

All in its an outstanding example of any type of IPA. I give it a solid four and can't wait to drink my last one!

All information came from the 2008 BJCP guidelines

Why Not?

I have been so happy with the Union Brewing Company moving in down the street. Having something so close to home where they really care about quality is excellent. Their Why Not? is a great example of why I've totally fallen for their stuff. It's an American Pale Ale with 6% abv and 34 IBUs, which is way lower than I expect from an APA, but works out great for someone who isn't a huge hop head. Just goes to show that an APA, IPA, and AIPA are all totally different things and you shouldn't judge a beer by it's style.

This beer came off the beer engine a mild orangish color. There was a wonderful cloud of head floating on the top of the beer. I love watching the cloudy suds slowly form when you are drinking off the cask. The lacing goes on forever when the beer comes off the cask. It had a sweet bready smell with a hint of citrus.

On the first cool taste, it is sweet and bready. There's a tangy hop vibe but nothing crazy bitter or with an unpleasant astringency. It was a big hit of caramel flavor mixed in with some tropical citrus fruits. The mix of flavors goes so well together and keeps it balanced. The beer itself has a light, light mouth feel. I have totally fallen in love with the smooth carbonation of the cask ale. All of this combines to make it a sweet, delicious easy drinking brew. There is a great balance of malt and hops. It is a sweet and tasty apa that I could totally drink every day of the week.

I give it a 4

PDG vs. DFG IPA

Creations:

"Pritty Damn Good" PDG IPA
"Damn Fuck'in Good" DFG IPA

Style:
American Imperial IPA
American Double Imperial IPA

Masterminds: Bier Brewery
Location: Indianapolis,IN

PDG
ABV:  6%
IBU:  45
SRM: 7.6

DFG <to be updated>
ABV:  9.2% ?
IBU:  --
SRM: --

So this large man in a tight suit walks into a chateaux...

Hops:  Heavily dosed with American Hop varieties

Drinkability: "But these speakers go all the way to eleven...!"

Awards:  Someone please correct me... seriously... either of these haven't received an award yet?!

DFG
Serve cold, right out of the Bier Hydroflask (this thing has saved my beer more than once!) for a hoppy floral nose that just screams "I'm tha Jugga-naught BITCH!" with hints of citrus fruits and pine that just overwhelm the senses!

Pours a dark gold which swirls with pimp cane delight with a frothy head.  You better watch yourself when transporting it in the Hydroflask, Growler or Bullet!  This stuff is effervescence/carbonation on steroids!  My bullet distended and warped, my growler almost shattered, my Hydroflask could barely contain the AWSOMENESS!  It must be the metal plating... NO CHARLES YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY! (Juggernaut reference, anyone?)

So much hop forward when drinking this.  Citrus fruit notes (like all of them) with berry and sweet toffee malt.  It's intense, yet balanced.  Friends who hate "Too much hop forward" were commenting on how much they liked the balance and almost drank my poor Hydroflask dry.  /sadpanda

Left the mouth with a bitter hop finish that just sat there like a fat kid with cake.  I would have drank this stuff all night if I had more of it...  Damn you 1 Growler Limit!  Like one of my friends likes to say about his favorite beers "It's like Angels Dancing on your Tongue!"

O-Dawg:
PDG *3.5 <- doesn't go to eleven...

DFG *4.0 heads

*add half head when serving fresh off the tap.  Yes Bier does pint nights and they are DELICIOUS!

Postmortem DFG:
First time I snagged this was for a friends graduation party. Now, now! I know what you are thinking, but this was a master's degree in business! No, seriously! The Big-Guy's wife did Penn State's MBA program full time AND work full time! I think this was the first time I saw her cut loose in 2 years!

Needless to say this beer hit the spot and was a crowd pleaser. I still can't believe I snagged it on a Friday. Bier in the past has tapped this on Saturday afternoons and nothing is left at the end of shift. If you can't snag the DFG, you can try out its little brother PDF IPA.

Postmortem PDG:
Sooo I was in the mood for some more DFG but alas it was not to be! After killing a growler of the little brother the impressions that stuck out the most:
-not as robust a flavor as DFG
No seriously, that's about it. 

If I had to pick an everyday IPA that was not a limited release (such as DFG or Full cycle IPA from Flat 12) this would be it. Friends who hate my hop head tendencies love this beer more than me due to its balance of hop/malt and absence of too bitter a finish and not to intense hop floral nose.

Union Suit APA

Brugge is one of my favorite places to eat in Broadripple. I have been going there since well before I could drink, but my appreciation has grown since I started drinking

I went out with the Prof and my wife the other night and tried their Union Suit APA. Normally whenever I go to Brugge, I get one of their Belgian beers. I decided to try something I hadn't had from them before.

It poured out a nice orange color. It was a bit cloudy with a nice bright white head that persisted throughout my pint. It smelled overwhelmingly like citrus and pine. It had a tart flavor that continued from start to finish of this APA. There was a slight malt taste with caramel undertones in the middle, but it was quickly quieted down by another fist full of hops.

It finished with, you guessed it, a strong hoppy flavor. It reminded me of lemon zest. This give it a bitter aftertaste that lingered a little while after your last sip.

I am not always the best guy to go after some of these hoppy beers, but this one was lacking a lot of balance. It was an ok drink, but I probably wouldn't pick it over their some of their awesome Belgian beers.

I give it a 2

Dry Hopped APA

We had a great time doing the tour and checking into Schlafly Bottleworks. I heard that they made a great APA and so I decided to sit out on their great patio and give one a try. It did not disappoint. An APA is an American version of the European IPA. Normally made with American hops that tend to have more of the citrus or piney scents than their European cousins.

The Dry Hopped APA is 5.9% abv with 50 IBUs. This came out with a great looking clearish golden color with about a half inch of snow white head. (as you can see in this picture I am a bad blogger and did not take the picture before I started drinking)  The beer had some serious citrus and pine scents coming off of it and not surprisingly, that was the flavor that I got the most of. It was light and crisp. Good for a summer day. The finish was a little bit more bitter than I was looking for. Now I know this is an APA and a dry hopped one at that, but still too much hops can make me a sad sad man.

Good for something so hoppy, I give this a 2.5