After trying an Alpha King, TF’s American Pale Ale that I got as an extra in a trade a while back, and reviewing the Double IPA, Dreadnaught shortly thereafter, I knew I had to get my hands on some more.  I was introduced to the Gumballhead, after hearing a lot about the beer, and the bad ass cat that adorns the label (brazenly stolen and pasted above), at the Ommegang “Belgium Comes to Cooperstown” event, where Gumballhead was flowing from the tap and was easily one of the more popular beers there, amongst many greats.

So of course, having sampled the sweet nectar of these two session brews, I quickly arranged a trade with an amazing dude who lives in Chicago that likes Captain Lawrence beers as much as I like Three Floyd’s beers,  — and the rest is history.  Delicious, delicious, history.  I recieved one six pack of each which I was careful to share as generously as I could, although many of the 12 became quick out of the bottle brews while brewing, right after work, or at band practice.  Awesome.

Alpha King is an indredibly floral and delicious Pale Ale that keeps it balanced while pushing one of the headiest hop aromas I’ve ever experienced.  There’s really solid malt in this beer, a sweet and almost bready base that supports the awesome bitterness and insanely complex nose.  Lots of citrus, a little bit of pine, well shit I can’t even accurately describe it — the smell is amazing and must be experienced.  A low alcohol session beer that is so flavorful and balanced that you can’t believe it.  Obviously I’m not saying very much that’s original or even insightful about this beer — I tend to lose my words when I’m so in love with a beer.  This is Life Is Beautiful — just drink it, don’t ask questions.

Gumballhead is an American wheat beer that pours a beautiful clear golden color and has the perfect amount of yeasty smells to keep it authentic.  There is a formidable hop presence to this beer as well, which gives, with its bitterness and slight hop aroma, a nice American Craft twist on the classic wheat beer.  Out of the bottle or into any kind of glass this beer will completely satisfy you and amaze you with how deep the flavors can get.  I prefer this one on the colder side, as when it warms up it becomes a bit too much with the nose kicking you in the face (hm?) but for real, you can’t go wrong here.  Grab as many of these as you can and drink them fresh like they want to be drank.  And if you can get this on tap, I officially hate you!

Three Floyd’s is one of those breweries which is legendary in NYC for a variety of reasons — Dark Lord, their Imperial Stout, is said to be one of the best American examples of the style, very ageable and very delicious. Their hoppy beers are also quite well regarded, and additionally, you can’t get any of them here. The Dreadnaught DIPA was part of a trade I conducted and I was very excited to get my hands on this, one of my favorite current styles of beer. Alternating between overwhelming hoppy beers and overwhelming yeasty and sour beers is messing my head up, but I’m enjoying the challenge. I’m quite sure you pity me.

Dreadnaught is pretty much everything I look for in a DIPA. It pours a gorgeous almost orange color with a fluffy head and is one of those DIPAs that just stinks right out of the bottle. Enormous hop character on the nose runs the gamut from Piney to Citrusy and back again, hitting all the notes right on time. Ever since downing a Southern Tier Unearthly a few weeks back, I have been paying close attention to the body of these huge beers, and Dreadnaught does skirt the syrupy line a bit too hard for me. If it was thinned out a bit, it would be more drinkable, but hey, what can ya do. Massive alcohol (9.5% ABV) is pretty well masked, but does drink pretty hot by the end of the bottle. All told, this is a pretty drinkable DIPA which balances the malt well enough to not make it hard to drink, but keeps the Hops forward. I have a few other FFF beers in my fridge (still haven’t scored a Dark Lord — any volunteers?) that I look forward to jamming on as this was a very successful and immensely enjoyable brew. Don’t let the punning ruin it for you.