Alpha Klaus Christmas (Xmas) Porter
3 Floyds Brewing Co.

Alpha Klaus Christmas (Xmas) PorterAlpha Klaus Christmas (Xmas) Porter
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From:
3 Floyds Brewing Co.
 
Indiana, United States
Style:
American Porter
Ranked #30
ABV:
6%
Score:
92
Ranked #5,701
Avg:
4.11 | pDev: 9.98%
Reviews:
845
Ratings:
2,482
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 21, 2024
Added:
Dec 06, 2002
Wants:
  279
Gots:
  449
Alpha King’s festive cousin. A big American Christmas Porter brewed with English chocolate malt, Mexican sugar and of course, tons of strange American hops. Cheers!

38 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by marvin213:
Photo of marvin213
Reviewed by marvin213 from North Carolina

4.41/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The liquid looks pretty normal: black, little bit of head...that's basically it. Swirling the glass does produce impressive lacing (particularly for a porter), but I was going +0.5 on the cool Three Floyds bottle (and cap) anyways.

This beer's nose is indeed exceptional, unlike any other Christmas concoction I've tried. The chocolate is background at best (more apparent, I suppose, in the black appearance), the hops are there via lacing (again, appearance), but the smell is sweetly unique. Based on the label's description, I guess it's the Mexican sugar. It probably wouldn't smell like this all by itself, but kudos to FFF for such a treat. While novel in its aroma, it still seems seasonal--I'm sensing brown sugar...and (maybe) some ginger; regardless, it's alluring like sweet Christmas cookies!

This brew oozes character. The English chocolate malts are indeed like a medium on which the sugar and American hops dance a jig. It actually tastes like equal parts of each ingredient. Though unlike a dessert beer--all congnacy and strong--it's like dessert IN a beer: hopped-up sugar and chocolate. There's a bitterness in the aftertaste that dulls this effect but, undoubtedly, it's among the neatest beers I've come across.

Aside from that bittering, it's like a cookie fresh out the oven. It must be the hops that make the sugar tingle; meanwhile, the chocolate coats cheeks. I expect something like this is trial-and-error (I mean, really, how do folks come up with stuff like this?), but this feels like a well-designed beer.

As with most unique tastes, you don't want to overdo it. It's novel enough to share with Christmas party strangers, and good enough for me to pursue each and every year. Alongside Gumballhead, this beer puts fits Three Floyds on the frontier of craft brewing.
Dec 27, 2009
More User Ratings:
Photo of NCSapiens
Reviewed by NCSapiens from Indiana

4.23/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Really innovative and good beer. They added tons of hops to a porter base, and the chocolate malt and sugar rounds things out. Drinks somewhere between a black IPA and a dessert porter.
Feb 21, 2024
 
Rated: 3.59 by loch8534 from Illinois

Jan 28, 2024
Photo of Truegent2004
Rated by Truegent2004 from Minnesota

3.26/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
I had it on tap at Milwaukee Burger Company. Long story short....it's basically a dark IPA, and I hate IPA's.
Jan 28, 2024
Photo of MHL81
Reviewed by MHL81 from Illinois

4.12/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 oz bottle poured into a pint shaker. Didn't notice the strange hops. Sweet on the lips. Overall a decent porter, but not much Christmas connection other than the Klaus name and the Krampus-like label figure.
Jan 21, 2024
 
Rated: 4.83 by soxfanben from Illinois

Jan 21, 2024
 
Rated: 3.83 by Rktect1 from Illinois

Jan 20, 2024
Photo of Darkmagus82
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

4.03/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a dark brown color with a small head of tan foam. The head fades rather fast leaving a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is strong of a rich chocolate smell mixed with big smells of molasses and brown sugar. A nice roasted malt and a rather sizable char smell are there as well. Notes of some earthy smalls and a bit of wood and nut round it all out, creating a rather dark and roasty smell overall.
Taste – The taste starts out with a with a nice roasty and toasted malt flavor mixed with some brown sugar and chocolate. The sweet is lighter then anticipated from the nose, but is still moderate in intensity. Right up front, there is also a sizable coffee and nut taste, with the former getting a bit stronger as the taste advances. Flavors of a herbal and pine hop develop along the way, and with some cola flavors and a touch of smoke, one is left with a moderately hoppy and dark roasty taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel- The body of the beer is on the thicker and more dense side with a lower carbonation level. For the rich dark tastes and the moderate hop and sweet the feel is nice, keeping it slightly slower in drinkability and accentuating the rich flavors nicely.
Overall – A rather nice robust porter. Certainly one I will go back to in the future.
Jan 19, 2024
Photo of LifesAnesthesia
Reviewed by LifesAnesthesia from Virginia

4.43/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
L - deep brown, nearly black with a creamy tan head that dissipates somewhat quickly, leaving behind a thin cal and a good amount of lack g
S - Roasted dark malts, chocolate, slight hops. This is a great smelling beer
T - follows the nose: roasted and toasted dark malt up front and throughout intermixed well with bakers chocolate, slight burnt sugar and caramel
F - medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth and soft
O - a really solid porter
Jan 08, 2024
Photo of BeerAndGasMasks
Reviewed by BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia

3.87/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From the bottle, it pours a very dark brown color with a nice light brown head that slowly reduces. Lacing. The nose gets roasted malts and dark fruit. The mouth follows with a modest burnt taste coming through at the end. Medium bodied overall as well.
Jan 06, 2024
 
Rated: 4.82 by PaMike from Pennsylvania

Dec 29, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by eluvah from New York

Dec 29, 2023
Photo of Gatch
Reviewed by Gatch from Massachusetts

4.27/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Small pour at First Draft in Chicago. Didn’t know this beer existed until seeing it in stores around Chicago today and happened to see it on this draft list. Really seems to be a Black IPA based on the hop presence. But rich and roasty with plenty of Porter character to toe the line.
Dec 23, 2023
Photo of Valdez_Mescalito
Reviewed by Valdez_Mescalito from Michigan

4.3/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
October-December 2023 Seasonal Release - 6 pack
12 oz. bottle dated 09-28-23 - 7.3% ABV / 67 IBU
Brewed and bottled in Munster, IN
Poured into a Bell's branded nonic pint glass

Look - Pours a dense and fluffy tan-colored head that clings to the glass. Pitch black appearance.
Smell - Getting aromas of sweet chocolate, dark chocolate, roasted malt, dark fruit, caramel, white grapes.
Taste - The taste follows the nose, but it's more muted. There's a small amount of bitterness in the aftertaste.
Feel - Medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel and finishes dry.
Overall - The sweetness and bitterness are balanced well, and it's easy to drink despite the higher ABV.
Dec 22, 2023
 
Rated: 3.61 by emptyglassagain from Massachusetts

Dec 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by avisong from Virginia

Dec 10, 2023
Photo of Mdog
Reviewed by Mdog from Minnesota

4.02/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Black, good head.

Smell: Dark roast, almost burnt smell.

Taste: Heavy roasted malt, high percentage dark chocolate throughout, bitter hoppy finish.

Overall: Really hoppy and really roasty porter, low sweetness. Reminds me of some years of Surly Darkness, when they amp up the hops, but not quite as heavy as that one. Good price (2023), only $12 for a 6 pack.
Dec 09, 2023
Photo of wmeckley44
Reviewed by wmeckley44 from Tennessee

4.39/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Weird combination of a lot of roasted malt with a good amount of carbonation and a lighter body, plus a very hoppy back end. To me, it's more of a chilled out, drinkable black ipa with all the hop character. The roasted malt flavor is less bitter coffee and more less sweetened chocolate which is fun. Definitely not in the same category as barrel aged and dessert porters, this one is lighter and refreshing while still having an interesting flavor and evolution.
Dec 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.45 by RoyalKaiju from Kentucky

Dec 03, 2023
Photo of GStone899
Reviewed by GStone899 from Minnesota

4.07/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
You can call it a Christmas porter if you want. Not much anything Christmas about it but that doesn't make it any less delicious. Smell is what gets you first with the Mexican sugar and strange American hops. Taste is good and bold without being overly sweet. Nice chocolate malts with dark chocolate undertones. Pretty balanced for a porter with chocolate. I like the invention by 3 Floyd's here - it's a different porter, not the best porter you've ever had but it's different in a good way. And not so different as to make it bad. They tried something to a type of beer that would be super easy to make the same type of boring porter but they didn't and it's a nice style and taste. Try it.
Dec 03, 2023
Alpha Klaus Christmas (Xmas) Porter from 3 Floyds Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 2482 ratings