3 Floyds "People Power High Tea" Ale

Another brewery that is pretty solidly average, but they manage to inspire (potentially unwarranted) confidence in their capabilities and a desire to see what comes next. For a brewer like Bearded Iris, what comes next is usually another juice-colored IPA that has a little something wrong with it and a little something spectacular about it. Let's spill some tea.

The pale yellow beverage has a tinge of copper and orange to it. The head is quite a bit more than I expected, as I originally thought this might just be a tea of some kind that had "ale" shoved on at the end. It simmers down to a somewhat patchy (yet complete) cap on the beer with a tiny little bit of lacing. The aroma is actually pretty nice - a black tea scent with floral hops just coming through.

First sip is very nice, but it's kind of hard to describe. It tastes like carbonated tea with an infusion of flowers through the hops and a backbone of grains and toffee. It's more tea than I would ever have expected in an ale, but it's more beer than any tea should ever have. The result is a nice and mellow mix of shy flavors and thirst quenching.

Tip-in is moderate carbonation burn with black tea and flowers. The middle is drenched in a thickening malt while carbonation dazzles the whole mouth. The finish is where the tea comes right back and overpowers everything else before a vaguely alcoholic and floral trail off.

Bottom Line: It's different and not half bad.

2.75/5