Live A Rich Life - Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub

Reaper16

Alabama

4.1/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

served on-tap @ Three Floyds Brewery into a tulip glass

Pours a bronzed, burnt umber color – the sort of dark orange that is fairly typical of the double IPA style. Two fingers of sterling white head, all tight and small-bubbled, sit high and lace well. It’s a good looking double IPA.

I hope you like mangoes, tangerines, and ruby red grapefruit. If you’re ordering this beer, I assume you do. This beer brings the tropicality in spades. To be honest, this doesn’t smell or taste too dissimilar from Three Floyds Dreadnaught in terms of hop profile. The difference is that Shark Pants has a yeast strain from our friends at De Struise Brouwers, making this, in theory, a Belgian Double IPA. But really, the yeast strain doesn’t really shine. There’s some clovey flavor, but it is masked somewhat by the piney side of the beer’s hop character. Is this a tremendous Belgian Double IPA? Nope. It is a good American Double IPA? Yup.

Shark Pants is, like Dreadnaught, on the medium-bodied side of the double IPA mouthfeel continuum. Soft carbonation helps to amplify the tropical fruit flavors. Overall, this is good stuff. It’s AS good as Dreadnaught in the abstract, but I am forced to dock it half-points in a few areas for not reaching its Belgian-yeast potential.

Serving type: on-tap

06-30-2011 22:20:27 | More by Reaper16

DAllspaw

Indiana

4.4/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at brewpub.

Pours a very hazy light orange, with solid 1.5 inch head and great lacing. Perfect beer for a tulip glass.

Fruit in the smell, but also a bit of biscuity malt. A bit of hops as you would expect from FFF, but certainly not overwhelming.

Taste is where the yeast comes through, hard to put my finger on it but not quite familiar. A bit of hops in the finish and a nice aftertaste, not too bitter or crushing by any measure.

Very solid beer, would love to have again.

Serving type: on-tap

06-29-2011 00:18:44 | More by DAllspaw

Duffman929

Illinois

4.22/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at fff. $8 for a snifter.

Appearance is golden and had a nice frothy top. Very good look.

Smell is of citrus and has that Belgian flair.

The amount of hops this has is masked well and the taste is very light for the ibu. There is an aftertaste that has a great finish.

The light citrus feel is very refreshing and is something that I really enjoyed.

Overall, a too drinkable beer that I would love to have a few bottles of. Alas, only available on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

06-27-2011 01:24:05 | More by Duffman929

aasher

Indiana

3.68/5  rDev -15%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This beer pours a nice muddled copper in color with light cloudiness. It arrived with a one finger off white head which dissipated within a minute or so. It smells like an imperial version of Alpha King. It smells of light and resinous piny hops with a solid malt backbone. It tastes of sweet and resinous hops and there is little to no Belgian characteristics. Where's the yeast? It drinks medium in body and drinks decently for the abv. Its not what I wanted but its solid. The artwork is legendary, which is why they should bottle it!

Serving type: on-tap

06-26-2011 17:31:07 | More by aasher

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the brewpub, served in a snifter at $8.00. The beer is an orange copper color, slightly hazed, with about 1 finger of froth on top, loads of lacing. A bright citrus aroma, seems massively loaded with hops, behind which it's tough to detect Belgian yeast products.

The Belgian character is more noticeable in the flavor, at least in the aftertaste. A nice lasting fruity taste that matches the hoppy onslaught in a satisfying way. Bitterness seems more pronounced the further I go through the glass.

Very nice, a fantastic Belgian IPA, but I still prefer the house versions of American IPAs.

Serving type: on-tap

06-24-2011 17:23:14 | More by TurdFurgison

AgentZero

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Beautiful orange, clear beer what yellows on the edges. Some nice stick on the sides.

S - A lot of tropical fruit sweetness with a caramel malt backbone. Some nice hops on the end.

T - Lots of tropical fruit from the hops and a decent light caramel backbone. The yeast comes through on the end but it is not too stong. This really seems more like an American IPA than a Belgian one, which works fine for me.

M - Medium bodied with some active carbonation.

O - I really enjoyed this beer, particularly for the style. Would easily drink this again.

Serving type: on-tap

06-19-2011 19:04:51 | More by AgentZero

brew3crew

Ohio

4.65/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at fff on father's day
a- hazy golden orange with a head that sticks around for a while
S-great fruity smell. I literally cannot get enough of it
T- this sets the standard for Belgian Ipas. So flavorful and complex. I want to take all of it home with me.
M-nice sweetness upfront with a bitterness that sits on the tounge.
O-great beer. They set the bar here

Serving type: on-tap

06-19-2011 18:09:16 | More by brew3crew

yeahnatenelson

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Imbibed at the FFF Brewpub 06/05/2011.

Appearance -- Pours a peach skin orange with a finger of frothy white head. Good color, I like it.

Smell -- Lots of juicy citrus hops and tropical fruits in classic FFF style, caramel malt, leafy vegetal hops, and a modicum of bubblegum and earthy Belgian yeast aroma.

Taste -- Juicy tropical fruitiness in abundance, along with bubblegum and clove, caramel malt, and a hint of (fermentation-derived?) spiciness. Finish is leafy hop bitterness, tropical fruit skin, and yeast.

Mouthfeel -- Medium-light in body with milder carb. Feels fine, albeit a bit thin.

Overall -- Tasty, but not a massive departure from the other DIPA's in the FFF ouvre. Absolutely worth trying, though.

Serving type: on-tap

06-19-2011 01:31:20 | More by yeahnatenelson

MasterSki

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at the source. Served in a tulip.

A - Two fingers of off-white foam that has great retention and eventually settles to a thick cap and large swathes of glass-coating lace. Hazed dark golden body.

S - A mix of peppery Belgian yeast, citrus, and pine. Citrus character is more lemony than the typical American grapefruit/orange. As it warms some light burnt sugar malt character emerges to tie things together. Reminds me a little of Ale Asylum Bedlam.

T - Big citrus and lots of residual bitterness. In the background there's yeast, and a light toasted malt character. There's also a faint hint of astringency that was unexpected, but it never gets too intrusive. I suppose that may be a result of the ungodly number of IBUs.

M - Medium body, soft creamy texture. Carbonation is moderate and pleasant, and the beer finishes exceptionally dry with lots of residual hop oils and resins.

D - I seem to have encountered two awesome Belgian (D)IPAs after a long dry spell. I think brewers (at least in the Midwest) are finally realizing the potential for Belgain yeast and malt backbones combined with American hops (and not just early in the boil). If this comes out in bottles I'll certainly buy one or two.

Serving type: on-tap

06-17-2011 19:25:41 | More by MasterSki

Wadsey

Indiana

4.03/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Shark Pants

Served in tulip at Three Floyds on June 13, 2011. 

A: Pours mostly clear pale amber with no obvious effervescence. White head collapses quickly, but leaves sticky sheets of lacing on sides of tulip. 

S: Juicy, fresh, pungent hops. Overripe peaches, nectarines, sweet tarts. A little spiciness. Malts? Forget about it! Palate, prepare for utter destruction. 

T: Some sweet, steely caramel malts on front end of palate. Unsurprisingly, fruity/hoppy notes strike quickly and hard, reminding me of a triple IPA (think Double Crooked Tree), something I've described previously as hop detergent or hop liqueur. Not as bitter as I expected, but make no mistake, this bad boy is hop-forward.  Some spiciness and earthy notes, too. 

M: Medium-heavy body and medium carbonation. Super creamy. Bubbles fill mouth. 

O: I'm stunned this is only 8.5 abv. It is a leviathan of a beer. Little beers that drink like bigger beers always rate well for me, but this is almost too much. Still, really well done, although drinkability is definitely below average. 

Serving type: on-tap

06-14-2011 02:40:32 | More by Wadsey

htomsirveaux

Texas

4.22/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tried at Floyds, 11 Jun 2011. Served in a ~10 oz. Snifter.

Small creamy off white head. Slightly hazy golden brown in color. Yeasty orangey aroma, perfumey. Starts yeasty sweet with a lot of citrus and orange. Some pineapple notes. Medium body, alcohol is slightly warming. Yeasty, orangey finish and aftertaste.

Alcohol seems a bit hidden in this.

Serving type: on-tap

06-13-2011 02:18:46 | More by htomsirveaux

JaphyRyder

Indiana

4.72/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A - Deep orange/gold color with a sticky, half finger-head. Very beautiful!

S - Citrusy, sweet IPA aroma. Nothing overpowering. Subtlety seems to be 3F's thing when it comes to smell.

T - A sweet, citrusy front, with a slightly bitter, hoppy back. Went down smooth with it's fruitiness, tingled with its hoppiness, and confused with it's hidden yeast, in that order.

M - Great carbonation for an IPA, a bit foamy at first, a bit oily after it went down. The monsters of Munster did it again!

O - Perfection. An explosion of tastes without being overwhelming.

I've tried this once on tap out of a snifter and then found it again at a local's only brew fest. Please believe that I wore out my welcome at their tasting tent!

Serving type: on-tap

06-12-2011 21:51:31 | More by JaphyRyder

Scrumtralecent

Illinois

4.58/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

On tap at the Three Floyds brewpub, poured into a tulip.

A - Dark cloudy orange in color with a white head. Head sticks to the side as it dissipates.

S - Has the might as well be trademarked 3 Floyds hop profile. Sweetness comes along for the ride as well and gives a nice ipa smell. Little light in the nose though, nothing that will overpower.

T - Taste however is really amazing. Hops hit you front and center with a dry aftertaste coming through, but keeping some citrus of the hops. Makes a very drinkable ipa. As it warms, little funk comes out from that yeast. For an 8.7% ipa this has an amazing taste that makes it very drinkable. Many great flavors both sweet, citrus, bitter, and funky in this.

M - Little bitter at first and then smooths out to a nice little taste film along the cheeks. Nice coating ipa.

O - Delicious beer. Well balanced and packed with flavor. Could drink plenty of this beer for sure.

Serving type: on-tap

06-12-2011 01:43:30 | More by Scrumtralecent

Treebs

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Three Floyds. Poured into snifter.

A: Pours a hazy copper with orange hues around the edges. Wonderful white head that leaves a moderate pace leaving a great webbing on the way down.

S: Incredible hops it you in the face and then they are drawn out by the yeast. Sweet fruits play with your nose in this as well.

T: Amazing citrus hops that blend in with the yeast to give a it a smooth creamy middle, then the bitter hop smash I was looking bites you in the end and lingers.

M: Medium bodied. Very smooth and creamy with a nice lingering bitterness on the palate.

O: I really enjoyed this collaboration. The yeast added a wonderful creaminess that really smoothed this out. Will def. buy bottles whenever they start doing that.

Serving type: on-tap

06-11-2011 13:34:46 | More by Treebs

Sean9689

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Brewpub. Poured into snifter.

A - Pours a mirky dark golden color, white head, sticky lacing, thin cap and collar.

S - Bitter hops, a fruity sweetness, grapefruit, tangerines, pineapple. The nose gushes fruit juice and isn't overly hoppy. Urbain's yeast strain def adds another dimension to this Belgian DIPA. No real sign of the almost 9% alcohol here at all.

T - Nice dose of bitter hops, tangerines, pineapple, slight yeast note/funk/banana. Huge straight forward bitterness on the finish that stays with you until your next sip.

M - Light to medium, frothy smooth carbonation, oily bitter finish.

O - I really love what they did with this one. The hops, fruit notes, and Urbain's yeast really makes something to enjoy. Very easy to drink and def a treat being able to try this. Best of all, proceeds from this beer goes to a former FFF employee who recently passed away. Cheers to FFF and Urbain!

Serving type: on-tap

06-09-2011 16:58:16 | More by Sean9689

whitemomba

Virginia

4.72/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap @FFF poured into a snifter.

A - Nice hazy golden/orange color. Nice amount of head. Lacing sticks around for a little bit.

S - Very citrusy. Smells very good.

T - Wow. Seriously one of the best beers i have had. Nice amount of sweetness up front (pineapple,citrus, banana) followed by the perfect amount of bitterness. Lots of bready yeast come through on the end. Pretty complex.

M - Very long finish. Dont expect to taste anything after this one. Nice carbonation. Slightly syrupy.

O - Fantastic beer. Almost hard to explain how good this is. I had two of them and then followed it up with a dreadnaught. The dreadnaught is 100 IBU's but it actually tasted bland after the shark pants. This beer really is a hop explosion. Try it if you can. It is worth it.

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2011 04:52:02 | More by whitemomba

alleykatking

Indiana

4.38/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had this on tap the other day at FFF while there with betsona. Also, got two high fives from yeahnatenelson while we were there. Good day overall!

A- Came to me a golden orange color with a light amber middle to the center of the beer. Half figner white head shows poor retention. Nice block lace and light streaks on the sides of the glass with each sip.

S- Big citrus upfront from the hops with pineapple to me shining through. Light yeasty undertone show a little belgian banana and clove combo. Bready caramel malts in the very end with a light almost plastic scent. Citrus hops once again in the ending with medium alcohol aroma.

T- Citrus hops in the front of the aroma now dominate the palate with a strong pineapple like flavor. Belgian yeast comes through next with light over ripe banana and hints of muted clove. This never takes over the primary flavor of the hops at any given taste. Hints of light bready malts toward the middle with the belgian yeast standing out as well. This quickly gets crushed by another wave of citrus hops. Ending of the beer calms down a little bit with over ripe banana and bubblegum combo in the ending. Hint of hops in the very ending. Clean crisp alcohol taste in the final part of the beer.

M- Medium mouthfeel. Carbonation is good for the style. Pineapple, hints of caramel malt, and light banana are left on the palate. Aftertaste is over ripe banana and pineapple with a light sweet alcohol layering over it. Very balanced for the beer and for who brewed it I thought. No off flavors at all while I was drinking this beer. Medium alcohol drying on the palate while sipping this beer.

O- This beer to me was very good. After having a couple snifters of this I must say these two need to do many many more brews together. The flavors were settle and while the hops dominated everything they didn't go too out of their way in making this a palate crushing beer. The alcohol was present only toward the ending and did a good job at not over drying the palate. Will be looking forward to trying this in a bottle if they ever bottle it.

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2011 01:25:46 | More by alleykatking

karst

Missouri

4.6/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Recommended. Tried a sniffer $8 @ 3F pub on way home from judging @ Chicago Sam Adams Longshot. Your going to want to try anything else on the menu before this. A 60+ IBU IPA will taste like they left out the hops following this.

As an experienced beer judge you look for balance that fits the style guide. When a beer pushes the limits you often find hops, alcohol, malts or yeast character standing out but detracting from the overall flavor and drinkability of the beer.
NOT HERE. Similar to other 3F monsters it still achieves a desirable balance of big hop flavor (dry hopped with the hop haze to prove it - a gold orange saison hue with a handsome white head that keeps you waiting a bit as higher carbonation sustains the head and keeps the cap in place til the glass sits empty with some residual lace.)

The blend of American citrusy hops plays perfectly with the Belgian yeast character that is either buried by the massive hop flavor of Amarillo, Cascade and hints of that citra twange that can suggest cat pee. Overall the yeast's phenolics are blended into the hop flavor. A big ABV is not apparent until you get into a second glass and you feel the Duval like kick as this Shark kicks you in the pants and takes away your legs.

A finish that nears perfection and allows the full effect of the massive bitterness. Hop burst brewing technique is likely as I find no harshness from this hop bomb.

Remember the line from Jaw's "we're gonna need a bigger boat"? This packs a growler (not available in a growler) of hops into a 8 oz sniffer.

A must try 3F Belgian ale.

Serving type: on-tap

06-07-2011 19:44:02 | More by karst

MrMcGibblets

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: deep gold/bronze w/orange highlights. Nice off white head and lacing. Served in snifter @ fff.
S: citrus and tropical fruit and spicy belgian yeast. More going on but I don't wanna start making shit up.
T: medium sweet slightly toffeeish/caramelly malts are washed out by a prominent spicy, sharp bitterness. Long complex finish w/lingering drying hops.
M: medium bodied, well carbed.
O: a nice take on the style...try it.

Serving type: on-tap

06-04-2011 19:59:50 | More by MrMcGibblets

AleWatcher

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On tap @ FFF
From the menu;
A collaboration / dedication ale brewed with our friend Urbain from De Struisse, this intense Belgian-style double IPA was fermented with Urbain's special yeast and then an amazing amount of hops were added. This beer was brewed in loving memory of of a former employee, Rich Shepard, who recently passed away, a portion of the proceeds from this beer will go to his family.
Try this beer and enjoy the Rich life.
100+ IBU. 8.7% ABV. $8 snifter.

I must say that for being over 100 IBU, this beer is not nearly as bitter as I expected. It is surprisingly well-balanced and tasty-- even so far as to say the beer is very hoppy... But it isn't as bitter as I had expected.
I don't know if it's the yeast that does it or what, but this thing is exceptionally drinkable. It has to be one of my favorite Belgian IPAs! I love how dry it is! Anyway...
Pours a burnt gold, bordering on being orange, but not quite entirely unlike orange (figure that one out!). White head of two fingers rests proudly upon the glowing body and stakes its claim to the crown for quite a while-- impressive is a good word for it. The lacing is minimal, but some strands of wispy suds cling.

Smells of standard FFF hop protocol-- Amarillo? Cascade? Perhaps citra? Yep, yep, and probably yep. The yeast seems to add a little bubblegum note that reminds me of gumballhead in an odd way. It works, pretty nicely.

The taste has a light dry malt up front: it certainly wasn't intended to be the main attraction here-- the hops come in with all the usual suspects, including; citrusy grapefruit, orange peel, pineapple, and deliciousness. The yeast helps the finish to be dry, and there is only a light bitterness (compared to other offerings here!). I have to assume that is partly due to the yeast.
The flavor profile works incredibly well. Me likey.

The body is medium, with a good sturdy feel to it, thanks in part to the carbonation level, which seems a little lower than normal up front, but higher than normal towards the finish. It is a perfect compliment to the style-bending beer itself.

Overall-- this is quite delicious. I'm having another.
Get down here and try it-- it is currently "no growlers" and might not be bottled...

Serving type: on-tap

06-03-2011 01:30:13 | More by AleWatcher