Return of the Ancients
3 Floyds Brewing Co.

Return of the AncientsReturn of the Ancients
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
3 Floyds Brewing Co.
 
Indiana, United States
Style:
Irish Red Ale
Ranked #2
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
90
Ranked #9,131
Avg:
4.03 | pDev: 11.17%
Reviews:
498
Ratings:
1,072
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sunday at 10:44 PM
Added:
Mar 14, 2004
Wants:
  196
Gots:
  70
Originally known as Brian Boru.

A rich and full-bodied Irish-style Red Ale featuring our typical heavy-handed approach to hops, Return of the Ancients arises anew with new and old-world hops showcasing notes of citrus, stone and tropical fruits, backed by a firm malt body. The King is dead. Long live the King.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Hobo:
Photo of Hobo
Rated by Hobo from Kentucky

4/5  rDev -0.7%

May 06, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.11 by RoyalKaiju from Kentucky

Sunday at 10:44 PM
Photo of MutuelsMark
Reviewed by MutuelsMark from Kentucky

4.09/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Cooper in color with an off white head. Nose is very zest like. Lots of hops in the nose. Taste is same, hops and citrusy. Nice bitterness on backend.
Sunday at 10:42 PM
Photo of FRANKHAZE
Rated by FRANKHAZE from Florida

3.49/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Mild brew, great mouthfeel
Mar 07, 2024
 
Rated: 3.79 by Iggy88 from Ohio

Mar 01, 2024
 
Rated: 4 by dd53grif from Michigan

Feb 18, 2024
Photo of fuzzywarren
Reviewed by fuzzywarren from Ohio

3.45/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Something of a miss for 3F. Nice looking. The nose is more hoppy than malty. Taste was not malty enough. But also not bitter which is what I think Floyd’s was going for. Ended up with malt backed up by grapefruit. Nice mouthful. Doubt that I would revisit this one.
Feb 11, 2024
Photo of Darkmagus82
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

3.89/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a dark amber-red color with a big head of off-white foam. The head has a decent level of retention, fading and leaving some spider-web lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is heavy of a heavy caramel and toasted malt smell mixed with a good showing of harvest fruits of apple and pear. Along with these smells comes a decent showing of a pine and herbal hop as smell as well as a little bit of apricot and plum.
Taste – The taste begins with a roasty and toasty bready flavor paired with a decent showing of pine and herbal hop. There is a moderate caramel sweetness and a bit of orange and apricot, all of which dwindle a bit as the taste advances. Some grainy tastes and a big showing of grapefruit work their way onto the scene, in the end leaving on with a toasted and pretty decently hopped-up amber taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium in thickness and creaminess with a moderate carbonation level. For the mix of toast, hop, and lighter sweetness the feel is pretty good and makes for a nice sipper.
Overall - A good amber/red ale. Well hopped, a bit more then normal, but for 3 floyds, makes sense. Still balanced and easy drinking. One to certainly give a try.
Feb 09, 2024
Photo of JDUBWA412
Rated by JDUBWA412

5/5  rDev +24.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
very flavorful
Jan 31, 2024
 
Rated: 4.46 by MacStinson from Michigan

Jan 28, 2024
Photo of lastmango
Reviewed by lastmango from Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
L - Poured a hazy red copper with a two-finger frothy off-white head that dissipated slowly. Heavy lacing.

S - Light caramel, citrus and grass nose.

T - Taste follows the nose with a little more oomph. Light-medium hop bitterness on the finish. Lovely lingering aftertaste.

F - Moderate - thin feel and smooth.

O - Although I am not a big fan of red ales, this brew is very good, and I would buy it again!
Jan 17, 2024
Photo of cyclonece09
Reviewed by cyclonece09 from Wisconsin

4.16/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from on tap into a pint glass. Pours deep red with a small white head. Smells of citrus and caramelized malt with slight grassiness. Tastes of caramelized grain with citrus, grassiness, and a little fresh fruit. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.
Jan 15, 2024
 
Rated: 4.12 by Can_if_you_can from Minnesota

Dec 27, 2023
Photo of dirkdigles
Reviewed by dirkdigles from Illinois

1.23/5  rDev -69.5%
look: 4 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1
This is not an Irish Red Ale.

This is not an Irish Red Ale!

This is basically a Red IPA. It should not be ranked #1 in Irish Red Ale because it is NOT an Irish Red Ale.

As a beer it's fine. But come on. A bunch of hops does not equal a good beer. Why is this ranked high? Do the reviewers know what an Irish Red Ale should taste like? Should it taste like a hop bomb?

BA States: "Irish red ale is known for its unique malty taste and is on the lower side of the bitterness and alcohol content scales. If you love American craft beer, the Irish red ale beer remains a great style for beer lovers to seek out and appreciate."

You can't even detect the malt in Brian Boru. It's highly bitter and highly hoppy. Gross if you're looking for an actual Irish Red Ale.

I love 3 Floyds but there's a problem with the rating system on BA if this is #1 in this category.
Oct 13, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by Taenim from Maine

Aug 25, 2022
Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice reddish orange. Opaque. White head that quickly disappears. Looks great. The nose is grapefruit, hops, wheat, grass, and caramel. Really interesting mix. Very inviting - can't wait to taste it.

The taste is really intense. Citrus peel is front and center. Pine needles, grass, leather, malts, a bit of toffee, and a peppery spice on the back end. Mouthfeel is fairly light and dry. Aftertaste is fairly bitter.
Aug 21, 2022
Photo of defunksta
Reviewed by defunksta from Wisconsin

3.88/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours a somewhat dark, dusky, amber, slight orange color with a large light tan head. SRM of 16. (4.00)

Aroma: Moderate aromas upfront of resinous orange citrus, and peach. Intense caramel and toasted sweetness. Pine mixes in as well. Ultimately sweet. Mostly caramel in the aroma. (4.00)

Flavor: The flavor follows with more caramel mixed with resinous orange citrus. An earthy pine bitterness follows. Sweet caramel malt finishes off the end. Some complex resinous fruit mixed with malt sweetness. Also some stonefruit here possibly. (3.75+)

Feel: Medium to heavier bodied. Moderate carbonation. Leans sweet, some pine bitterness lingers off the tongue. (3.75)

Overall: Certainly a hoppy Irish red as other have mentioned. Maintans the Irish Red malt profile, while giving a nice hop presence to provide a resinous and piney flavor addition. Actually reminds me quite a bit of Bells' Two Hearted or Founders' Centennial IPA. Yes that hoppy. Slightly more malty though. Enjoyable, certainly (Rating: 3.88+)
Aug 03, 2022
 
Rated: 3.57 by selekt0r

Aug 01, 2022
Photo of Bouleboubier
Reviewed by Bouleboubier from New Jersey

2.69/5  rDev -33.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
(12 oz bottle, bottled on 02-10-22 4399; purchased single off shelf at Shangy's this week... poured into my Belhaven pub pint)

L: brilliantly-clear, garnet-colored liquid; orange-tinged tan foam holding steady... poured clear until the last 2 oz brought with it a fuzzy tuft of sediment, dispersed speckled throughout the glass... the cap remains till the end, lacing a little

S: pine, roasted barley, pineapple rind, grapefruit pith, hint of rosemary?, toasty caramelized (bbq'd?) malt... sweaty, dirty wool... the lack of a distinct, firm malt-forward scent is a let down, though it smells great for what it is

T: malty at it's core, but not nearly as sweet as the aromas suggested, but definitely as toasty and roasty... after a minute, the hops, which were pungent and woody-bitter at the start, begin to show more dried citrus rind and borderline dried apricot and papaya-like (but very faint) notes... too aggressively hoppy to be an Irish Red, sorry; but it's also not quite an American amber as it's too dry for that... that piney, wintergreen hop bitterness just won't go away

F: light-bodied, but with a subtle roundness which may be attributed to hop resins creating a subtly oily texture... its feel is essentially pleasing, though a bit too cut dry... the pungent bitterness and cooling ethanol pretty much snuff out the ability to sensualize any malty depth and contour

O: don't get me wrong, this is a fine beer, and something I would drink at a bar just hanging out... but, please, what a lame ploy to spin this as an Irish Red, which it simply is not - as a Red IPA, I'd give it a 4.25 at best, not quite the quality of a HopDevil... kind of reminds me of the 'Kolsch' I had at Lagunitas back in 2013... yawn, moving on... (1968)
Jul 31, 2022
Return of the Ancients from 3 Floyds Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 1072 ratings