3 Floyds "Arctic Panzer Wolf" Double IPA

Dang, yo! That is one kick ass name. Three Floyd's is pretty good at coming up with names for their beers as well as artwork for their cans, so I shouldn't be surprised that the name and artwork for this beer are particularly entertaining. I noticed the 9% ABV almost immediately after grabbing this beer, and I wonder how much of an impact that can have on the experience of trying to taste it.

I absolutely forgot how dark some of these double IPAs can get. This is almost copper in color, and it is murky as heck. The head is strong, and it dissipates to an uneven, rocky, and incomplete covering on top of the beer with a very strong ring around the sides and the lacing I drone on about. The aroma is citrus fruits; mainly apricot. The can't actually says that there's white peach in here as a scent, and I have no idea how to tell the difference between two peach types.

First sip almost tricked me into believing that this is going to be a sweet beer with how thick and rich the beginning of the beverage is. I'm quickly disabused of that notion as the bitterness and pine clamp down at the end, and I'm left questioning what I should list for flavors aside from those two sensations. Yes, there still tangerine, and I think I got peach (but I'm not going to say white peach) but the sudden wash back and forth between sweetness and bitterness was too much for my discerning palate.

Tip-in is sweet fruits and marmalade with a carbonation hiss. The middle suddenly introduces bitterness to replace the sweetness while peach and apricot now mix with pine and the carbonation hisses louder. The finish is an abrupt drop of all fruits in favor of pine and bitterness with the carbonation hiss disappearing almost entirely before bitterness is the only thing left for the trail off.

Bottom Line: A bit too aggressive on an average night, but it's an interesting one off.

2.5/5