Going way, way back, I was skeptical of all 3F beers originally, due to the higher than average price-point. It wasn't until I finally got a taste of Alpha King that my opinion changed, and I was confident in their quality to pay a little more. I kept AK in bottles at the Blue Nile back in 2000, and in late 2001 put a keg of it on tap. Back then, I began my experiments in beer lists with the bottled stuff first, and didn't alter the tap line-up as much, which is the opposite of what I, and the craft beer bar world in general, do today. I went through one 1/2 barrel of Alpha King fairly quickly on the one line I was changing around, and when it was done, it was time for Summit Oktoberfest.
The next summer, 2002, some time in June, it occurred to me to remove another beer from our line and perhaps beef up the craft selection, make Alpha King a regular offering. Too late, it turned out. The beers we were getting had been contract brewed by August Schell, and they had ceased that operation. As a result of this, the distributor stopped carrying Three Floyds products. In that same phone conversation with my All Saints Distributing rep (hi, Corey!), I was informed that there was one last 3F keg remaining that I could claim as my own. But there were problems with it, and they were as follows: 1. It was a beer that had never been sold here before in bottles, so the chances that anyone had heard of it were slim. 2. It was a barley-wine, which isn't an easy sell, especially in June. 3. At this point, our menu listed all beers on one page, with the top 1/3 devoted to tap, and only one singled out for a lengthy description. On this menu, we chose Bell's Oberon for this feature, and the Three Floyds beer was merely listed as "Behemoth Barleywine"...$4.
Let's unpack that for a minute. This keg was a mere $100 for a half-barrel, which is utterly unheard of. It's what you should pay for a craft pale ale back then, not a barley-wine. That's about 1/2 what you'd pay today. Also, I did not start serving Belgian beers on tap until later that year, and had no experience at that time with higher ABV beers on tap. I had very limited specialty glassware. So, we were doing pints of this 10% ABV barleywine for a mere $4. Eleven years ago, I enjoyed a pint of this a night after work until the keg finally kicked. Ah, those were the days...
About four years later, I finally found a bottle of the stuff, and wrote these notes, from April, 2006, 7 years ago:
Bomber poured into squat Belgian snifter, ...dark mahogany/ burgundy blend fills the glass, out wafts the aroma, and I know I'll be spanked but good!
Little head here, though, it appears for a moment and disappears quickly.
Aroma screams brandy, cherries, hints of bourbon, port wine, licks of leather, spicy and slick...molasses, dark rum, brown sugar..liking it...
Now to taste: the Behemoth floods the mouth with fierce flavor and coats every inch with deliciousness, spreading tendrils of delight through every crack in the palate. And a thunder thuds above, as alcohol creeps along as well...boom, boom...hear his steps as he clods along the corridors of the brain...flavors detected in the nose reassert themselves on the tongue...l the slick sugary darkness, the caramel-y sweetness, the thick, resonant malt, the powerful potency. An aptly named brew, and it appears to be quite stronger than the last time I had it, on tap, nearly 4 years ago. It was 10% then, and a killer diller at that. Guess that envelope had to be pushed, eh, Floyd, Floyd, and Floyd?
Huge body, immense mouthfeel, long, slightly bitter, thick and resiny finish. A hell of a barleywine. But I want it in little bottles, not these monster servings. And I want it available in my home state, again. And I want a million dollars, and a pony, and a Rock'em, Sock'em robots, and Mommy and Daddy to get back together, and world peace, and no hunger, and, and, and...
Boom, boom, boom, I've barely gotten into it, and it's knocking at my frontal lobes...we're coming i-in...hide the ki-ids...here I am, wishing I'd saved this for a get-together with friends, and continue drinking it solo, and hoping I don't wake up wanting to kill myself tomorrow morning...afternoon...?
I really, really like this, but it's a serious sipper of a brew, one that should accompany a long evening with the works of Wordsworth at hand, Old Dog Tray at one's feet, a roaring fire beside, attired in a comfortable robe...you know the scene...
I'm drooling over the intense flavors as much as the goons on the label, but not drooling over Miss Behemoth as they are...I just don't find three chins very sexy.
(Also, confused by the name...nothing "blonde" about this beauty!)
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