3 Flyods "Barbarian" IPA

It seems like Three Floyds skews heavily average. That said, these guys seem like they're swinging for the fences every time they put together beer, and I can appreciate that kind of stubbornness. I mean, they just put their head down and move forward in an attempt to get to the best beer. They don't always make it, but they're trying. At least they have some skill the back it up. Time for a hazy IPA.

This is, indeed, a very hazy beer. The center of the beer is downright orange and it is so thick that only diffuse light manages to get through. The white head is pretty, and it settles down to a very pleasingly smooth cap across the top of the beer with a little bit of lacing on the sides. The aroma is citrus and tropical fruits, and they may as well have name this a juicy IPA for the smell of it. The malt seems to be more of the biscuit variety, and it is generally being overpowered by those hops.

First sip is a very pleasant sensation. Overall, it is sweet, but it certainly has an amount of bitterness lingering underneath. The fruits are all there, but the dryness toward the back-end explains to me why this isn't considered a juicy IPA. Instead, I'm going to go ahead and say that they correctly named it a hazy IPA. So, for sipping, this will be just fine.

Tip-in is tangerine, orange, and grapefruit with a caress from carbonation. The middle evolves into a much greater intensity of carbonation as fruit pits fill the center of the mouth and rinds head to the outsides. The finish hits with the biscuit malt as bitterness tries to overcome it before the dryness takes over and inexplicably leads to a rather sweet trail off.

Bottom Line: Sip it.

2.75/5