Welcome one and all! I have brought a two part holiday review for your delight. I have still seen both on shelves and highly recommend them. Liquor World on Preston Highway had them as recent as yesterday. Without further ado, let's dive in:
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus
This is labeled a Christmas Porter, though it has more in common with a Black IPA. The nose is diverse and pungent with a variety of aromas. Grass, white chocolate, milk chocolate, fudge, and red grapefruit were immediately apparent. Then I got lighter notes of lemon zest, black pepper, and burnt toast. It certainly started off with a bang. The rest of the beer is solid and good but not exceptional. It starts out with a hint of bitterness accompanied by flavors of grass, black pepper, lemon pith, and chocolate milk. Those flavors would have been phenomenal, however they seemed a bit watered down. The finish lightened up a bit with flavors of burnt toast and dark chocolate. This was certainly a great beer, but previous years have been better.
Mike's Rating - 9.25/10
Stone Enjoy By 12/26/14
I sampled this one on Christmas Day and was a bit worried it wouldn't hold up. However, to my immense surprise and satisfaction, it not only held up well but was exceptional. The nose starts out with strong aromas of lemon zest, pine, lavender, and other floral notes. Lighter hints of green onions and raspberries also crop up. The taste starts out exceptionally bitter with a smack of fresh pine and lemon zest. It also had a bit of herbal funk to it. The finish had the bitterness lingering and included flavors of lemon pith, toast, and perfume. This beer remained exceptionally hoppy even after the date started to creep ever closer. It makes me wonder how good it was fresh off the bottling line.
Mike's Rating - 9.75/10
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