Brewed By:
Three Floyds Brewing Company in Munster, Indiana
Surly Brewing in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Real Ale Brewing Company in Blanco, Texas
Three Floyds Brewing Company in Munster, Indiana
Surly Brewing in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Real Ale Brewing Company in Blanco, Texas
Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Sheridan 'L' Longue in Chicago, IL; 2014
Style/ABV: Imperial Black Ale/IPA, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: 90
Tonight's beer is a collaboration between three breweries. I guess we can give props where props are due. About Three Floyds:
Reported IBUs: 90
Tonight's beer is a collaboration between three breweries. I guess we can give props where props are due. 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.
About Surly Brewing:
The Surly Brewing company is a brewery based out of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The brewery was founded in 2005 by long time homebrewer Omar Ansari with the help of Todd Haug (Minneapolis's Rock Bottom Brewery). For more info, check out the brewery's about page.
About The Real Ale Brewing Company:
This one pours into an opaque black body; it's not quite as inky-thick as an Imperial Stout, but it's not a slouch either. The beer kicks up three fingers of tan/khaki head, and as the head drops off your are left with massive webs of lacing. Head retention is nice too.
As soon as you crack this one open, you get blasted with intense hop kick. I was getting huge pineapple, guava, tropical fruits, and GIANT, DANK, resinous pine. It's like a stoned tropical fruit party, something that Three Floyds could be the creators of. Along with all the hops are huge layers of dark, rich malts. I'm getting big coffee, toffee, dark fruits, and some underlying roasty/chocolate.
This is fantastically bitter and hoppy, with huge underlying roast complexity. Up front is a wash of citrus, resinous pine, dank, guava, pineapple, and dark tropical fruits. The mids give way to crashes of pine against huge roast, and then the bitterness kicks in, with coffee and roast. The back end really dials up the coffee, with some lingering coffee/dark chocolate, resinous pine, and some toffee. Finishes sticky and dry.
This is full-bodied -- impressive stuff -- really. It kind of drinks like a Stout, despite being an Imperial Black IPA. Palate depth is outstanding, and the complexity is really good as well. At 9.0% or whatever this is, this is pretty drinkable. I'm digging this. Up front are huge hops, pine, guava, tropical fruit; the mids hit coffee, chocolate, roast, toffee, more hops; the back end is bitter with bitter coffee, dark chocolate, and a dry finish. This is a heavy hitter. Impressive.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a heavy hitter, that's for sure. It's also a really solid Imperial Black IPA, with a nice balance of intense hops and big malty goodness. There's a lot of guava, tropical fruits, pine, dank hops, and big roasty/coffee/chocolate goodness to be had with this beer. You can pair this beer with big burgers, steaks, strong cheeses, chocolate cakes, or even something spicy...I don't know about wings, but maybe a nice mole sauce. Good stuff, would recommend, especially at around ~$10 a pop.
Random Thought: My only gripe about having four local sports games on during a Friday night is that the night flies by. Damn.
The Real Ale Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Blanco, TX that was founded in 1996 by Philip & Diane Conner and their son, Charles. The family set up shop in a basement of an antiques store in the Blanco town square. They originally brewed three beers: a Full Moon Pale Rye Ale, Rio Blanco Pale Ale, and a Brewhouse Brown Ale. In 1998, the brewery was taken over by homebrewer and UT graduate Brad Farbstein. Construction for an expansion began in 2005, and went live in 2006. For more info, check out the brewery's website.The Blakkr is described as a huge, Double Black IPA. Real Ale Brewing describes this as having "subtle dark malt and toffee character," which "quickly yields to the citrus and tropical notes provided by a staggering amount of hops."
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| Three Floyds / Surly / Real Ale - Blakkr |
This one pours into an opaque black body; it's not quite as inky-thick as an Imperial Stout, but it's not a slouch either. The beer kicks up three fingers of tan/khaki head, and as the head drops off your are left with massive webs of lacing. Head retention is nice too.
As soon as you crack this one open, you get blasted with intense hop kick. I was getting huge pineapple, guava, tropical fruits, and GIANT, DANK, resinous pine. It's like a stoned tropical fruit party, something that Three Floyds could be the creators of. Along with all the hops are huge layers of dark, rich malts. I'm getting big coffee, toffee, dark fruits, and some underlying roasty/chocolate.
This is fantastically bitter and hoppy, with huge underlying roast complexity. Up front is a wash of citrus, resinous pine, dank, guava, pineapple, and dark tropical fruits. The mids give way to crashes of pine against huge roast, and then the bitterness kicks in, with coffee and roast. The back end really dials up the coffee, with some lingering coffee/dark chocolate, resinous pine, and some toffee. Finishes sticky and dry.
This is full-bodied -- impressive stuff -- really. It kind of drinks like a Stout, despite being an Imperial Black IPA. Palate depth is outstanding, and the complexity is really good as well. At 9.0% or whatever this is, this is pretty drinkable. I'm digging this. Up front are huge hops, pine, guava, tropical fruit; the mids hit coffee, chocolate, roast, toffee, more hops; the back end is bitter with bitter coffee, dark chocolate, and a dry finish. This is a heavy hitter. Impressive.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a heavy hitter, that's for sure. It's also a really solid Imperial Black IPA, with a nice balance of intense hops and big malty goodness. There's a lot of guava, tropical fruits, pine, dank hops, and big roasty/coffee/chocolate goodness to be had with this beer. You can pair this beer with big burgers, steaks, strong cheeses, chocolate cakes, or even something spicy...I don't know about wings, but maybe a nice mole sauce. Good stuff, would recommend, especially at around ~$10 a pop.
Random Thought: My only gripe about having four local sports games on during a Friday night is that the night flies by. Damn.
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