Unique beer check-in #800, and it’s a beaut
Three Floyds’ highly coveted Alpha King Pale Ale.
I hit unique check-in #800 on Untappd last night, and I’m not sure it could’ve been a better one: a bottle of Three Floyds’ Alpha King Pale Ale, the fifth-highest-rated pale ale in the world. I found the aroma and taste profiles to be very similar to Zombie Dust, though I thought Alpha King tasted slightly more acidic/alcoholic — a little surprising considering Zombie Dust is 6.4% ABV while AK is 6.0% — whereas the balance between the malt and hops is in such perfect flavorfully delicious harmony in Zombie Dust that you barely realize the elixir you’re drinking has alcohol in it.
That all said, Alpha King was incredible in it’s own right, and another reminder that Three Floyds is simply doing it better than everyone else right now.
Previously: 700 club [August 29, 2012]
[...] Like Zombie Dust, Heady Topper not only managed to meet the hype as the number-two double IPA in the world, I think it may have even exceeded it. Upon cracking open my first-ever can — which brewmaster/owner John Kimmich implores you to drink directly from in a lengthy screed printed on the side — I was sucker-punched by what was perhaps the most flavorful hop bomb I’ve ever had the pleasure of imbibing. The bountiful floral and citric aromas that are the hallmark of any great IPA/DIPA instantly overwhelm the senses, and after you’ve had the first sip it is impossible to resist drinking the rest of the can as quickly as possible. This is an outrageously smooth and eminently drinkable double IPA with almost no lingering bitterness, a massive hoppy taste and expertly produced malt backbone that doesn’t really come through in the flavor profile but helps balance the bitterness and alcohol content. Kimmich won’t say which hops he uses, but I have to imagine some sort of combination and/or proprietary blend of several of the classic DIPA hops — Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Columbus, Chinook, Simcoe, Amarillo — are the stars of the show. The closest thing I can think of off the top of my head that I’ve drank recently that had a similar flavor profile was Stone’s outstanding, fresh-as-hell Enjoy By 9.21.2012 double IPA. Share this:EmailPrintFacebookTwitterLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. Tagged with: Beer Advocate, Beer Trade, Craft Beer, DIPA, Double IPA, Fayston, Heady Topper, Imperial Stout, Lawson's Finest, Lawson's FInest Lquids, Maple Imperial Stout, Pliny the Elder, Stone Enjoy By IPA, The Alchemist, Vermont, Waterbury [...]
[...] try three of the most sought-after non-imperial brews in the land: Three Floyds’ Zombie Dust, Alpha King and now Gumballhead. Gumballhead is categorized as an American Pale Wheat Ale — once again, [...]
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[...] so hard for this single-hopped paean to Citra that I arranged a trade for an entire case of it) Alpha King, Gumballhead, Dreadnaught, Apocalypse Cow and Arctic Panzer Wolf; Two-Hearted Ale; and Heady [...]
[...] other item of business before we get to the photos — having now enjoyed each of Zombie Dust, Alpha King and Gumballhead on tap (previously had only had them bottled), I can comfortably say that these [...]