Alpha Klaus is an American Poter from Three Floyds Brewing. While other holiday beers usually feature spices, Alpha Klaus only features Mexican cane sugar as an adjunct. The beer comes in at 6% Alcohol By Volume, and is released in November.
From the Three Floyds website:
Alpha Klaus is Alpha King’s festive cousin. A big American Christmas Porter brewed with English chocolate malt, Mexican sugar and of course, tons of strange American hops. Cheers! November release.
APPEARANCE
The beer is very dark and it looks thick, much like a stout. The head was huge, light brown, and has tiny bubbles which makes it look like a big fluffy pillow. The lacing was pretty high throughout the session, and overall this beer is an absolutely gorgeous porter.
SMELL
Tons of chocolate in this guy. It’s a nice sweet and milky chocolate smell, and is followed by slight coffee smell. There is a nice American citrus hop smell that’s to be expected with a Three Floyds beer. There is also some very lovely roasted malt character, making this beer smell sweet yet balanced.
TASTE
Chocolate is the number one flavor in this beer. It starts off as a nice milky taste, then finishes as a bitter dark chocolate. There’s some nice coffee notes on the tongue, as well as some lovely citrus hops. I don’t taste any Mexican sugar, but I’m assuming that it fermented out which contributes to the dryness of the beer. This is a really nice tasting porter. It’s on the sweeter side, but it’s in no way cloying and it remarkably balanced.
MOUTHFEEL
Alpha Klaus is very drinkable. It starts off with a nice medium body, but finishes dry, slightly bitter, and crisp. It’s not as nearly as thick as it looks, but the small bubbles make for a nice creamy mouthfeel.
OVERALL
This is a fantastic porter! It’s a nice balance between bitter and sweetness, and it would work well as an after-dinner beer. The citrus hops are a welcomed element, and they don’t overpower at all – this is a very nice “festive cousin” to Alpha King!
Cheers.
SCORE: ★★★★ 4/5
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