Alpha Kong

Tim (tkoepp) sent me this bottle a while back. Every beer I'd had prior to this from Three Floyds I have really enjoyed. The BSDA style is also one of my favorites, so needless to say I've really been looking forward to trying this, even before I ever had a bottle in my possession.



Style – Belgian Strong Dark Ale
ABV - 15%
Brewed In – Munster, IN
Availability – Rotating Release

Alpha Kong is a Belgian Style Strong ale. It’s deep golden in color, and intense drinking experience. As the beer warms, aromas of golden caramel, spiced toffee and candy notes evolve. Kong has an assertive body with hints of clove, dried fruits and a very warming finish. Enjoy.
-from label

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Appearance
Poured a unique, clear auburn color with a stark white, 1 finger head. The head dissipated immediately and left no lacing.

Smell
The nose was completely dominated by sweet, caramel malts. None of the dark fruit you expect in a BSDA was present. There was also a strong alcohol smell.

Taste
The flavor wasn’t offensive by any means, but lacked any real complexity. Just as with the aroma, the flavor was totally dominated by caramel malts. I was surprised to find that as strong as the alcohol smell was, there was not alcohol taste at all. I talked myself into maybe tasting a hint of dates, but I think this was more just me expecting the typical Belgian yeast fruit esters. The sweetness of the malts was perfect, but unfortunately there was nothing else to pair with it and enhance it.

Feel
The body of this felt very thin in my mouth. No coating to speak of, and therefore no residual flavors. Carbonation was pretty much non-existent, which didn’t work for this particular brew (see, I don’t only like flat beer Rob! )

Verdict
This is the first beer from Three Floyds that I’ve had that I didn’t absolutely love. I wonder if they had a bad batch perhaps, because I’ve noticed the last couple reviews on BA are very similar to mine? Even though I was underwhelmed by this particular bottle, I want to thank Tim again for the excellent box ‘o beer he sent, none of which I had ever had before and most of which were very good. :thumbs:

Nice review man, BSDA is one of my favorite styles so its too bad you didn't enjoy this one. I have heard a few people say they love it and others mention how they didn't really care for it at all. I wonder if it is a batch issue or maybe they just made a thin beer that couldn't stand up to that enormous ABV without becoming thin and one dimensional?

EDIT TO ADD: We will have to give it a another shot come April!

denverdog said:

I wonder if it is a batch issue or maybe they just made a thin beer that couldn't stand up to that enormous ABV without becoming thin and one dimensional?

EDIT TO ADD: We will have to give it a another shot come April!

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I wondered the same thing, but the only way I could make sense of all the rave reviews it gets is that I might have gotten a bad batch. Either that or I have an awful palate, which is also very possible. :blush:

And yes, we'll definitely revisit it in April.

Nice review Bus.

You guys are correct, this is one of those beers you love or hate... The high alcohol content is a little much to what I am used to but I do enjoy it occasionally.

*edit to add... Glad you enjoyed the box-o-beer Justin

To truly enjoy this beer you need to have it on TAP and drunk out of a snifter. Letting the beer breathe really lets the taste of caramel and strong alcohol content blend nicely to give it a great taste and finish.
One of my favorite sextuples.

alexgtp said:

One of my favorite sextuples.

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:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I actually thought about using the snifter, but decided to go with the goblet instead. I don't think the snifter would have really done much to change my opinion though, but to each his own.