Three Floyds Gumballhead

Brewed By: Three Floyds Brewing Company in Munster, Indiana 
Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack purchased at Three Floyds in Munster, Indiana; 2013
Style/ABV: American Wheat Ale, 5.6%/4.5%/5.0%?????
Reported IBUs: 35

If you don't feel the magic in the air tonight, you are DOING IT WRONG. About Three Floyds:

Today we go to Munster, Indiana, where Three Floyds has been brewing beer since 1996. The brewery was founded by brothers Nick and Simon, and their father Mike Floyd - hence, the name, Three Floyds. The first brewery was originally located in Hammond, Indiana. Eventually Three Floyds outgrew their original location, and moved to Munster, Indiana. After moving to Munster, and seeing an increased demand for their beer, Three Floyds began to bottle their beer. Since 2000, the brewery has continued to grow. And in 2005, the brewery opened its first brewpub. The brewery is probably most famous for their Dark Lord Stout. If you haven't heard of it, Google "Dark Lord Day." And then weep at the beer you probably will never be able to drink.

The Gumballhead is one of those "American Wheat Ale" beers. I'm actually a big fan of this style, and this is one of my favorite beers. Full disclaimer: this is the next best thing to session after Zombie Dust. Buy this by the 6-pack and there's your Friday night. The bottle states: "Red Wheat and boatloads of Amarillo hops give this American wheat brew a lemony finish. Slight haze in the bottle is yeast added for bottle-conditioning." How badass is that? This beer is named in honor of the underground comic book cat created by Rob Syers. The artwork is badass. Drink this fresh because DEM HOPS.

Three Floyds Gumballhead

This pours a sexy, slightly hazy, golden yellow color. I kicked up two finger's of thin, soapy, white head. The head sticks around (thanks, Wheat!), and this beer has a ton of streams of carbonation rising upwards. In bright light, the beer takes on a beautiful dark-golden/yellow color, with a finger of off-white head that won't die. There's nice lacing already forming; the carbonation is still streaming. This is a good looking beer.

Again...crack this open fresh. The aroma on this beer is out of this world. At 35 IBUs, it really isn't even cheating. I'm sure they dry hop this, but damn. You get blasted with huge grapefruit, mild hop spice, lemon, pine, and a hint of grass. The nose is bright, vibrant, and lively. There's a touch of pleasant astringency, rye, bubble gum, and a dash of ice tea/tea leaves. 

The taste is a wonderful follow-through. You pick up on the wheat, and there's a dash of bread/biscuit/honey snap in this. This initially opens with big bright hops, including grapefruit, strawberry, grass, pineapple, peach, and lemon. There's some rye and hop spice in the mix, and some light/pleasant astringent bitterness ala a typical American Pale Ale. 

This has a light to medium-light mouthfeel, with great palate depth and great complexity -- I mean, for the style. This is light, drinkable, and refreshing. But not at the cost of good flavor or aromas. Even if this is clocking in at 5.6%, this is STUPID drinkable. You could easily kill 6-12 of these over the course of a Saturday afternoon, or Friday night, or Monday evening, or your lunch break on work, or whenever....

Rating: Divine Brew 

This is a straight up decent to strong Divine Brew. This is a great summer beer, a great session beer...and it's cheap, and drinkable, and vibrant, and blah blah blah. It's not Zombie Dust, no. But that will do, Pig, that will do. Food pairings? Bar food, barbecue, pizza, fast food, salads. You could even go with a light pasta dish, I think. Again, this is a great beer to kill by the 6er on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Random Thought: My biggest regret this year was not making an effort to get tickets to the giant clusterfuck that is Dark Lord Day. Next year, I swear.