Special Hoperations (Three Floyds)
Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon

 

 

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a copper color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of citrus, resin. Taste is dank, resin, light citrus, fairly bitter. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer, but a collaboration from these two fine brewers raised my expectations, and they were not met.

 

 

 

$ 11.00 (Including tax)/6-pack of 12 oz bottles ($ 0.153/oz). Purchased 4/13/20 at Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. Reviewed 4/15/20
Stamped on bottle neck in yellow ink “BOTTLED ON 02/06/20”. On room temperature shelf at store. Stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 45 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale gold (SRM 4), clear.
Body – Deep gold (SRM 6), clear. When held to direct light, same.
Head – Large (Maximum 5.5 cm, aggressive center pour), off white, frothy, average retention, diminishing to a jagged seven to seventeen mm crown and a thin complete rocky cap. Irregular pieces of foam remain on the sides of the glass.
Lacing – Good. Raggedy bands of small to medium bubbles connected by multiple columns. See also above.
Aroma – 4 – Moderate bright citrus, oniony dankness, and a hint of earthiness, no malt, no yeastiness. This quickly fades but not completely away.
Flavor – 4.5 – Very smooth and moderately bitter, follows the nose. Good showcase for my two favorite hops, Citra and Warrior. No malt, no yeast. No alcohol (7.5 % ABV as marked on the label) taste or aroma. No diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide. Aftertaste is slightly bitter and spicy.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, watery, medium carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.5 Overall, this is a good IPA, typical of Fat Head’s and better (IMHO) than anything 3 Floyds ever made. Price is very reasonable and the label, while lacking some information (hops and malt bill), is fairly simple and uncluttered.

I got a bottle of this beer off the single shelf from my local Giant Eagle store. It poured a clear golden with no head and no lace. The scent had citrus peel notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with fresh citrus hop and subtle spice appeal. The mouthfeel was medium in body with good carbonation. Overall it's a solid beer.

Live review.
Poured from the 12 ounce bottle that my brother Pete gave me as a part of a 6 pack of "extras" that he had a while ago into a clean, clear glass. Thanks Pete!

"Bottled on 01/06/20" stamped on the neck of the bottle.

A: appearance is good, nice fluffy white head over a copper tinged yellow translucent body.

S: Nice, solid hops in the smell, citrusy presence. I would say better than average, better that "good" in that it draws me in.

T: Good, solid IPA taste. Lingering hops citrusy bitterness for about one minute after last sips.

M: mouthfeel is on the thin side but there is that lingering syrupy goodness that allows the citrus hops to linger in the taste. Very good example of a VERY popular style.

D: Drinkability is very good indeed. Overall this is a very solidly made beer.

Fat Head's and Three Floyds are two of my favorite breweries (both are in my top 10) so I am not surprised that this beer is a winner.

It may all be starting to gel at this point. I just finished up with a couple of 3 Floyds bottles (gasp!) as part of my concerted effort to perhaps eradicate the bottle portion of my backlog. I did this with an eye to my next segue into yet another brewery horizontal. This will be the first of three Fat Head's bottles and naturally, it is a collaboration with Three Floyds.

From the Bottle: "3 Floyds/Fat Head's Brewery Special Hoperations Collaboration Brew India Pale Ale"; "We're in this together!"; "75 IBU"; "We put our heads together with our friends at 3 Floyds Brewing Co. and collaborated on this great West Coast style IPA. We hope you enjoy this hoppy tribute to veterans everywhere."; "Partial Proceeds Benefit: Honor Flight Network"; "Chill out man, have a beer! [undersigned] Matt * Chris * Glenn".

I had so much to prepare for the mise en scène for the accompanying photo that it may be one of my proudest! The Friendly Greek Bottle Shop held a Fat Head's night a while back & their rep brought all sorts of cool stuff, including buttons/pins/badges, glassware, stickers - all of it! I seized on the opportunity to utilize all of it before Pop!ping open the cap to begin the C-Line Pour. It foamed up beautifully to form two-plus fingers of foamy, soapy, rocky, tawny head with moderate retention. Color was a gorgeous Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity & I was once again joined in the studio by The Gelt Gang of Croesus, Mammon & Midas, all anxious for a taste of this gem! Nose smelled like someone had emptied a bag of the dank that seems to be in EVERY Facebook pic while people are in quarantine! 8=O It was fresh, too, very resinous with a minty/eucalyptus quality. My hophead mouth wasn't just watering, it was in spigot mode! 8=O Mouthfeel was big, full & creamy, like a dollop had been scooped into my mouth & onto my tongue! 8=O It felt like I was having an AIIPA instead of simply an AIPA. The taste was simply phenomenal - grassy, peppery, resinous, dank & all with a fresh/wet hop quality! 8=O I may have just died & gone to Hophead Heaven. This is what I think about when I am at work, thinking about beer & wondering if beer thinks about me during the day when I'm not at home. 8=O My jaw suddenly acquired a slackness as drool ran across my lips & down my chin. They should have handed out bibs that night! My lolling tongue had to be shoved back into my mouth so that I would not wedge it between the uplifted glass & my teeth. I reveled in each & every sip, utterly thankful for the opportunity to try this one. Finish was beautifully dry, not gasping, but definitely hoppy & bitter & not ashamed of any of it. There used to be a Rating caveat that read "All-5s should be rare" & this was a rare gem that I would go into battle (special hoperations) to defend my score. YMMV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Massive foamy head that lasts a while. The beer is clear golden yellow in color with plenty of visible carbonation. Moderate lacing on the sides of the glass. Tropical fruit aroma. Feels smooth and viscous in the mouth. Taste is balanced on the front end but quite hoppy in the finish and aftertaste. Brightly carbonated with a dry crisp finish. Overall a very drinkable beer. The more of these I drink the more I like it!

 

The color after an aggressive pour reminds me of the color of sunshine when it has tinges of gold before it shifts to that magenta color when true twilight sets in. There’s the smallest amount possible of hop haze under a soapy off-white head that provides some lacing. Gorgeous beer.

The nose is Sergeant Dank hop aromas - that almost oniony aroma you get from Mosaic hops, bright juicy oranges that you get from Citra hops, earthy notes like you find with Simcoe hops. And what’s the hop bill? Warrior, Simcoe, Citra, Simcoe & Citra Lupulin powder & Mosaic Leaf. Bingo!

The Citra and Mosaic hops are the the dominant participants in the flavor profile (full disclosure - probably because I’m so partial to those varietals), with waves of ripe oranges and an almost garlicky flavor. This is my flavor sweet spot in an IPA, so I’m pretty much in heaven.

The mouthfeel is full and very dry, per the West Coast-style referenced on the bottle. If this collab beer from two of my favorite breweries was regularly available, it would always be in my beer fridge. World-class, IMHO.