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| Three Floyds' Brewing's Logo - credit to brewingsomefun.com |
When I got home for Christmas, I immediately set to the web to track down any possible information on the infamous ZD. I navigated to Three Floyds' facebook page, only to be blindsided by the heartrending declaration that the brewery had run out of ZD not five hours ago. Hope fading, I called every beer store in the area that had ever received a shipment of the stuff. The answer was the same, each time: "Sorry, we're out." The last call on the list was the worst: "Oh, man, wish you'd been here 15 minutes ago - we sold our last sixer." I sat back, defeated - my white whale was evading me.
Christmas came and went - quite pleasantly - and I found myself with a few extra days back home in Chicago. The morning of December 27, I decided that I couldn't stand to have come so close without scoring any of the Three Floyds brews that I'd so built up in my imagination. I called up two of my best friends who were home for the holidays too (Tobi and Iram) and we jumped in one of their hatchbacks to head down I-95 towards Munster. The ride was fraught with anticipation. What awaited us at our destination?
As we pulled into the grey industrial park that Google Maps had directed us to, I started craning my neck out the window for any clue as to which building contained the El Dorado of beer nerd-dom. All of the sudden, I saw some poor fellow straining to load several cardboard cases of beer into his trunk. The label was clear from almost 15 yards out: Zombie Dust.
I turned to Tobi. He looked back to me like a Night Stalker pilot from the 160th SOAR, green-lighting his passengers to fast rope into the fray. Lacking the military training, fitness, and gear to actually execute this simile literally, I instead opened the car door while the vehicle was still rolling, bolting out at a dead sprint across the parking lot. It was so close, and I wasn't going to miss out on it after all this.
Tobi elected to purchase a six-pack of Zombie Dust, and a bomber (22oz) of Rye da Tiger, their winter seasonal Imperial IPA, while Iram picked up a six-pack of Alpha King, their other top-flight Pale Ale. We crammed the massive haul into the trunk of the car, all of us nearly giddy with the excitement of our score:
The drive home felt three times longer than the drive there. The only mitigating factor that kept us from losing our minds from anticipation was the sheer euphoria that we'd managed to not only make the pilgrimage to the best brewery on earth, but also to walk away with a nigh-unto legendary assortment of their brews. Upon arriving home, we laid out the spoils, alongside the many other brews that we'd gotten for one another for Christmas. The result was an almost nose-bleed inducing spread:
After all of the build-up, it wouldn't have seemed right to start with anything other than Zombie Dust (6.4% ABV). Consistently ranked as the single best example of the Pale Ale style, Zombie Dust regularly reduces reviewers to hyperbole as they vainly attempt to articulate its staggeringly impressive excellence. I cracked open the first three bottles, and poured one for each of us.
It shone there in the glass, a gorgeous orange-y gold color with a slight amber cast. Getting within two feet of the glass exposed you to an almost ridiculously robust and variegated hop aroma that morphed across the whole of the citrus and tropical fruit spectra. The first sip revealed a clear but not overly bitter hoppiness that bled smoothly into a kaleidoscope of grapefruit peel, lemon oil, cut grass, and honeyed grapefruit. The beautiful ballet continued into an eerily well-calibrated malt balance, yin and yan intertwining themselves perfectly. This was one wickedly drinkable beer, each sip resetting the palate with its coordinated composition. At several points through my first one, I wondered aloud how I could ever drink merely good beer again after tasting beer perfection. By the time I got to my second, I had cemented my firm choice for my absolute favorite beer on earth. Zombie Dust had been everything I'd ever dreamed it would be, and more. Overall, a perfect 5/5, making it the only beer besides Russian River's Pliny the Elder to earn that honor (N.B. - At regular intervals through January and early February, I critically re-evaluated Zombie Dust at least four more times. Each time, the Citra hopping got more impressive, suggesting an even wider spectrum of tropical fruit and citrus aromas, and the devastatingly good balance just kept flooring me. I can happily confirm that the first tasting wasn't a fluke - Zombie Dust really is the absolute finest beer that I've ever had.)
As if Zombie Dust wasn't enough for the evening, Tobi cracked open his Rye da Tiger (8.6% ABV) for us all to taste. After having Zombie Dust, I was primed for at least mild disappointment, even if this was an Imperial IPA from a brewery with some of the top Imperial IPAs on the market. Needless to say, my concerns were entirely misplaced. This one was a juicy, citrus-hop flavor fueled monster. Just waves of seriously luscious and strong hops rounding out into an almost absurdly elegant malted close. I could hardly believe my luck - how could I be blessed with two such amazing tasting experience in one night? While I'm guilty of now taking religious tasting notes for this one (Zombie Dust was too busy holding my attention), the fact that I even had to think for a second if this was as good as Zombie Dust is very notable. Overall, a 4.75/5, placing it in third for Imperial IPAs that I've had, trailing only Pliny the Elder and Heady Topper.
Obviously, I'm open to a re-evaluation for this one come next December (Rye's release month) in order to take more thorough tasting notes and compare Rye to Surly Abrasive and Bell's Hopslam, two world class Imperial IPAs that I've evaluated recently that are in the same echelon of quality. The fact that Rye notches in a quarter point higher than those two may be a result of (1) the freshness, as Rye would have been at its peak hoppiness having been bottled within 2-3 weeks of me drinking it, and (2) the halo effect around the entire Three Floyds day experience, as the surrounding variables of the adventure that my friends and I shared and the challenge of getting those pints in front of us combined to influence my perceptions, and ergo, my tasting experience. Would Rye flat out beat Abrasive and Hopslam in a side-by-side, assuming equal freshness? I couldn't tell you now, but I sure will if I ever have them all in the same place.
Rounding out the brews for the night was Alpha King (6.66% ABV, third decimal point by 3Fs decree, not mine). I felt bad for Alpha King - having enjoyed two titanic brews before hand, including one of the same style (Pale Ale), it had a tall order in front of itself to stand out. It asserted itself ably - though again, I did not take the time to record detailed tasting notes for this last beer of my night. Round, well-articulate citrus hoppiness opened, with a more robust, caramelly malt appearing on the back of the sip. With each taste, I was measuring it up against the Zombie Dusts that I'd just had, marking it down at every opportunity. Clearly, this wasn't fair to the brew, which is world-class. Rye da Tiger surprised by somehow beating impossible expectations. Alpha King couldn't move out from under the cast of Zombie Dust's shadow, as it's hops to malt balance just couldn't compare to its brother-in-style. Overall, still an excellent beer that I'd drink any time, but not quite the masterpiece that Zombie Dust is: 4.25/5 (UPDATE - my new appraisal of Alpha King was not as flattering, resulting in a downgrade from 4.25/5 to 3.75/5; you can read the new review in this post).
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Throughout this entire evening of beer tasting, we joked around, had some great laughs about our pilgrimage, and just generally enjoyed each other's company. With Three Floyds as a backdrop, we had had a day together for the ages. I can't wait to go back with them to Munster this summer, to see what other magic the gentlemen at Three Floyds have brewed up.
Helpful Info:
Three Floyds Brewery and Brewpub is located at 9750 Indiana Parkway in Munster, IN, 46321. For more information on hours, phone numbers, and tours, click here. The tap list for the brewpub is updated frequently; you can find it here.
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