Alpha King
3 Floyds Brewing Co.

This is my first experience with Alpha King, hot off the heels of my first can of Zombie Dust last night, and I'm pretty excited to give it a shot. This beer is a strong APA (one might call it an "Extra Pale Ale" if one is so inclined) featuring Centennial, Cascade, and Warrior hops, and I am close to the two-thousandth person to write a review for it, so I'll just dispense with the introductions and get right into the write-up.

The pour here is a hazy dark-ish amber (for an APA, anyway) with a huge head of slightly-off-white foam that leaves behind some superb lace and great legs. Excellent surface coverage, which, when combined with the semi-hazy body, gives off this "intense" appearance that strikes a chord with me. It doesn't much like many APAs I've ever had, but I think I appreciate that.

The nose here is pretty damn aggressive with some candied grapefruit, strong pine resin, and spicy notes all vying for attention alongside a deep maltiness that feels like it'll come across very balanced. I pick up a slight hit of ethanol, too, and I think I enjoy that this doesn't seem super dry-hopped or "juicy" or anything. It's just coming across to me as an immediately-satisfying, "extra" hoppy ale. Some spruce, caramel, biscuity malts, and light hints of mango/pineapple tropicalness.

First sip is strong maltiness backed up by a wash of resinous hops lingering like a sticky veneer on the palate, bringing out some surprising flavors of overripe mango to match the citrusy bent of the Cascade. Light floral flavors and a bit of subtle spice layer in as the beer opens up, and this complexity really starts to get nice once this exits fridge temperatures and gets closer to room temp. Like a lot of "darker" hoppy pales (looking at you, Furious and Nugget Nectar), this one exists in a weird space between "hoppy" and "malty" as we currently think of them with regards to American ales. It's like a miniature barleywine in a lot of ways, I guess, and that brings with it some interesting implications. Would this be "better" with some more dry-hopping, maybe with some "newer" hop varietals? What about tweaking the recipe so there's less dark-leaning malt? Who knows? I think I like this more than Zombie Dust, though, even though they're completely different beers in the "same style." Yikes. Anyway, the feel here is nice and slick, comfortingly warming and rather soft, all things considered. The carbonation isn't aggressive, the hop combo feels nice and balanced, and everything about it seems high quality to me. Maybe a bit underrated here, or maybe I just prefer this kinda thing.

 

 

A: crystal clear; bronze in color; 1+ finger finely pored ivory head that receded to a thin cap; OK lacing;

S: earthy first, then distinctly lemon;

T: nicely balanced; caramel sweetness alongside lemon and orange; long lasting mild to moderate bitterness at the end;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; dry finish;

O: really nice balance; great example of the style;

 

Copenhagen 25/8 2020. 47,3 cl can from Mikkeller web-shop. Drawing of quite aggressive and very green King on the can. Very Alpha - and not very pleasant.

Pours slightly unclear amber with a big off-white head. Stable. Settles eventually as thin layer of foam struggling to cover the surface of the beer. Substantial lacing.

Aroma is medium intense with a sweet malty odor mingling with citrus fruits. Sweet biscuits and caramel. Stone fruit and pineapple. Lime and unripe gooseberries.

Light carbonation. Medium thick, soft, smooth texture with a very light tingling to it.

Flavor is intense with a medium sweetness followed by a stronger citric bitterness. Aftertaste is citric and bitter. Lingers for a while. Dry finish.

Sweet biscuits meets a solid pile of hops. Nice and dry one.

Bottle poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery pint glass

A: Pours rich copper amber with a frothy khaki head that slowly settles to a firm layer and laces nicely.

S: Toasty bready malt, resinous, herbal, citrus zest, stone fruit, and stone toffee and burnt sugar sweetness.

T: Resinous, herbal, strong toasty bready malt, citrus zest, grapefruit and lemon, underlying stone fruit, plum, apricot, and peach, rounded out with toffee and burnt sugar sweetness.

M: A little on the fuller side of medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: This is one of those beers that I never knew if/when I'd get a chance to try, until I lucked into some in a Las Vegas Total Wine, just inside my self imposed freshness window.
Absolute time capsule of a beer, packing a strong hop bite and dare I say an even stronger malt backbone. You could be forgiven for calling it a hoppy amber by today's standards. Would definitely hit even better on a crisp fall day than a hot summer afternoon like today. Hopefully I get a chance to try it even fresher, but for now it's nice to pay my respects to an OG.

 

 

An amazing Pale Ale that started 3 Floyds back in 1996. Pronounced citrus hoppiness and slight caramel sweetness make this beer a true treat!

Tap at Roscoe's in Portland. Colour....clear deep amber with a huge white head. Nose....candied grapefruit, apricot fruit leather and Cotlets. Palate...full and and robust with a beautiful balance between piney hops and citrus fruit flavours. There's light bodied cigar leaf on the mid palate and a long, dry, tightly bitter finish.

 

 

 

Great pale ale. Perfectly balanced. Pine resin and caramel malt in aroma. Hoppy taste with a strong malty backbone. Clasic beer that is true to its roots.

 

 

 

Not my favorite but still a decent choice.