Three Floyds Fantabulous Resplendence (X Anniversary Ale)
Our small, well respected brewery is based on creating uncompromising artisinal ales of unusual character, which is what this, our 10th anniversary ale, is. Strong, hoppy, unique and delicious, defying definition. Enjoy, and thanks to all who have supported us through these 10 years.
Art done by Chris Berg a Dutch artist living in Chicago check him out at around the Coyote art fest Chicago
Art done by Chris Berg a Dutch artist living in Chicago check him out at around the Coyote art fest Chicago
3.8
353 reviews
Munster, United States
Community reviews
Got to try this recently thanks to, "hannont". Colour... golden-amber with no head at all. Nose... toffee and milk. Palate... frothy, very malty, sweet, dry, oaky, loads of dark toffee and bitter on the soft palate before its lengthy finish.
22 ounce bottle courtesy of alexsdad06. Thanks! Pours a slightly hazy amber color with a medium head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma is full of toffee and nougat notes. Some nuts, malt extract and leafy, herbal hops. Taste is bitter, leafy hops. Very bitter. Caramel and toffee as well. Medium-full bodied.
Bottle: Fiery orange in color, thick haze, moderate sized head, moderate to thin off-white head, spotty lacing. Semi-sweet candied citrus peel on the nose. Definite alcohol and hop aspects as well. Hop oriented on the tongue. Assertive citrus peel, a little sharp, somewhat sweet. Has a fusel alcohol presense to it. Hot, but not burning. Certainly alcoholic. Could use some time. Very citrus peel and hop oriented. Decent malt base, but could stand to be a touch thicker based on its hop/alcoholic bite. Body and mouthfeel are moderate to full. Slight tobacco leaves on the backside. Decent little Strong Ale. Not so hot now that its undrinkable, but give it a few more months and I bet it will mellow even more. I think this one has been out for a while, so yeah, perhaps even a few more months. Thanks to kmweaver and Sprinkle for the bottles! Decent American Strong Ale. Think semi-sweet candied citrus peel and hops, and that will sum this one up very well.
Let me 1st say, when this beer was released, FRESH in bottle without any age, it was quite possibly my FAVORITE beer. Would have got a perfect score from me. Mainly because of HUGELY IMPRESSIVE fresh hop bite and flavor. I’ve had 4 total. 2 fresh. Brought 1 to 09 Surly Darkness tasting table. My last I had just indulged in a few weeks ago. All gone now. I will have to look for my original rating. Barrel X wasn’t very comparable. XI was a disappointment after X. And 3F bartender, around anticipation, said Apocalypse Cow was brewed in place of XII. Review is for last bottle I had, rating grades from memory. (I usually dislike that statement. Sorry!)
[(A)] Smells of pine, caramel, toffee, malty sweetness, slight booze. Some earthy qualities.
[(A)] This is bad ass bottle art. Awesome integration of 3F "characters" in a "last-supper" type of setting. That counts. Pour is oily looking orange/amber. Great sticky white lacing, and nearly invisible specs of suspended sediment.
[(F)] Caramel, toffee, earthy greens, tropical fruit/citrus, piney hops, malt. Kind of pushes DIPA, but not quite a barleywine.
[(P)] Still a respectable hop bite. A warming brew. Thin, not much carbonation. Nice feel in the mouth. Drinkable. But share this one @ this point.
[(O)] Again. This beer was astonishing fresh. It is still holding up quite well, but has definitely passed its prime. Non-offensive or skunky. I am surprised I had the restraint to keep from cracking it all this time. Still holds a soft spot, memories of good times, and the beginnings of my microbrew infatuation. I’ll never forget this. Can’t really PRAY for 3F to do something BIG for XIII if they do it. Or XIIV? What don’t they do big? They should’ve just named Panzer or A.Cow # XII. Would’ve fit right in the series. F’n hipsters.
22 oz. bottle shared by Eyedrinkale. Pours a hazy golden brown with an off-white head. Very pleasant aroma of oak, vanilla and a bit of orange. The flavor is equally enjoyable with sweet malt, oak, vanilla and orange. Medium bitterness at the finish. Very nice beer.
2008? Bottle - Thanks to Toby! - Pours out hazy amber with a small white head...aroma is incredibly hoppy for the age on this bottle, citrus and pine resin, nicely balanced with some caramel and a little heat...flavour is similar, a punch to the face still with massive grapefruit peel and brown sugar malt, finish is warming, and the hops linger long enough to keep enjoying...this bottle has some serious legs...
Bomber thanks to Toby at his kickass tasting. Pours a cloudy orange with a medium white head. The aroma is pretty balanced with loads of sweet malts and a powerful suggestion of hoppy goodness. A strong hoppy flavor dominates, this beer is not exactly fresh but the hops really stand out with citrus and pine bursts. A strong malt component of sweet caramel and biscuit. Awesome. Very tasty.
This was a double IPA in my opinion. It was similar tasting to Dreadnaught in my opinion. The color was a clear orange with a decent head given the ABV. The smell was tropical fruits and sugary sweetness. The taste was more tropical fruits and some alcohol prickliness. This was a good beer but unfortunately not worth $10 per bottle. Three Floyds really knows how to push beers for a lot of money since there are many west coast beers that kick their asses for less money.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 07-24-2007 15:52:43
Pours amber with a thin ring of white bubbles. Smells of spice, some sweet malt, caramel, toffee, cognac. Tastes of perfumy hops, spicy, some dry malt, floral some spicy elements on the finish. I wish I had more of this one.
From the Bottle at Tom’s Ultimate Glasgow Tasting, Blackfriars 01/12/2007
Very hoppy and spicy aromas. Amber golden coloured and hoppy with a crisp and bitter slightly dry warming finish.
22oz bomber poured a snifter.
This one pours a hazy and bright reddish orange, underneath a decent sized white head that leaves some decent lacing and keeps a collar for a while. The haze clears up after a few minutes as it warms.
The aroma is surprisingly hoppy and I certainly wasn’t expecting a bottle of this age to retain the massive citrus hops, with grapefruit and oranges really coming through. There is also lots of caramel malts and some pine as well. It’s smells kinda like a cross between a malty triple IPA or a really hoppy barleywine.
The taste is much like the aroma and has an initial citrus hop kick that has definitely held up well. There is a sizable caramel malt backbone that lends a strong sweetness to the taste, but the hops come back with a vengeance leaving a bitter sticky finish that favors pine more than citrus. There is more than slightly noticeable alcohol burn.
The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied and very sticky and tingly on the palate. Carbonation is there but fairly soft.
This is a tough beer to categorize and I’m fairly amazed at how well the hops have held up, as they still seem to be the dominant factor in the smell and taste. Very tasty, though the drinkability is limited a bit by the abrasive bitter combined with the strong alcohol presence.
Bottle from Matt, thanks! Pours a nice orangish color with no real head to speak of. Initial aroma is of citrus hops but that quickly gives way to a good dose of malt and brown sugar notes. Flavor is hoppy and fruity with a good malt backbone. The elements combine harmoniously in this one. Finish is nice and bitter and lingers well.
22oz bottle. Bitter hop aroma, mostly pine and citrus, there is also an aroma of the roasted malt base. Deep amber with a medium off white head. The hop bitterness comes through first then blending with the sweet malt base, touches of alcohol as well. There is a nice long bitter finish. I enjoyed this beer a lot, the artwork on the label was impressive too.
22 oz bottle from Wilmer Liquors (New Lenox, IL). Still available there too. I had this on tap back when it was around (Summer 2007), but decided it was time to grab this and give it an official rate. Pours a deep murky rusty hue, some red and orangey amber that turns darker, pushing a decent white head that dies to a film and clings to the sides of the glass a bit. Aromas are fairly strong, pushing piney hops, citrus and grapefruit, a pugent alcohol feel, and some underlying malt sweetness. Initial tends to mirror this, fairly strong in the alcohol department, the hops haven’t died from what I remember, but then again the alcohol might add to the pine and hotness of this brew, that pushes some sweet malt, fruit, citrus, and pine largely. A bit thick, but full of flavors from caramel malts and piney and citrusy hops. FFF did this big, and it is quite evident, as the strength and hops prevail, but the brew is still sweet. Bitterness and booze remain on the palate and aftertaste. Interesting, strong. Different from most ASAs.. and I largely dislike ASAs.. so this isn’t bad.
Bomber, courtesy of dchmela. Pour copper with an off-white head. Citrus hops over a firm malt backbone, a touch earthy spice/ Rich caramel malts, citris with a nice smooth bitterness, a touch of rye? a little spicy. Med-low carbonation, a little heavy, however doesn’t comes across very boozy.
Pours a very deep red/orange color with a robust white head that dissipated quickly. Aroma is heavy and lingering...lots of citrusy hops, a bit of pine, and a load of alcohol. Flavor is heavily hopped...resinous pine flavors dominated with some light citrus hops in the background and a decent dose of malt to keep everything somewhat in check (this is FFF afterall). Fairly heavy level of booze in here as well. Palate was chewy and I found it a bit cumbersome to drink at times, but not to the level of being offensive. Good offering, if not overpriced (where have I said that before)
22oz bottle. Pours a murky glowing orange color with a 2 finger off white head. Nose was quite sweet and fruity with some floral hops leaking through. Flavor was also quite sweet with a light hop bitterness in the finish. I though this tasted very similar to an aged IIPA.
Picked this up the other day at Star Liquor here in Madison: poured a cloudy orange colour with an initially big white head. However it quickly dissipates into a more modest white head. Aroma is hoppy, a little bit of alcohol and pine. Tatse is very nice, enticing with hops, some chewiness and apple and grapefruit notes. A real nice brew overall."
22 oz. bottle. Pours a clear amber color with a small off white head. The pine hit as soon as the cap came off. Other notes of citrus and caramel malts are there but secondary to the pine. The flavor has a bit more balance between the pine hops and some caramel malt, but this still leans toward the hops. Mouthfeel is more assertive than most, but this is enjoyable to drink. This is one beer I will revisit soon now that it has some age.
22 oz. bottle. Clear, golden color with a smallish, white head. Aroma of honey, caramel, and citrus hops. Flavor is a nice treat. Tons of floral hops balanced with caramel malts. Tons of warming alcohol. Finish is bitter hops.
Bottle courtesy of retorp. Pours a hazy butterscotch color with a thin white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of honey, caramel, butterscotch, toasted grains and light floral hops. Flavor is sweet and floral with a higher hop profile, sweet spice, notes of citrus, grapefruit, caramel and toffee. Generally medium body with a pleasing sweet floral hop finish.
courtesy of retorp.
Pours cloudy amber, still with light golden lacing.
Aroma caramel malts loaded with grains.
Taste has a thick mouthfeel of grains. Light hops and citrus with caramel malts.
Drinks easy, thick on palate, a fine strong ale and another geart offering by 3FFF
Bottle courtesy of IBrew2or3. Pours a hazy brown/gold with aroma of caramel, spice, and some pine. Flavor is sweet caramel, sweet malt, piney spices, and lots of mellow hoppiness in the finish. Very enjoyable, and not nearly as floral as the XI.
Poured orange and cloudy with a fizzy/frohty off-white head. Strong aroma of citrus pine and earth. Flavor follows, sharply bitter grapefruit rind, lots of dry alcohol, some earthniess. Feels simply like a decent yet non-memorable double IPA, though I do enjoy the FFF signature citrus hops.
Sampled at PP Strong Ale Festival. Amber pour with thin white head. Aroma of caramel with fruits, some citrus, and a hint of bourbon. Sweet but hoppy flavor full of malts, caramel, and citrus fruits. Sweet aftertaste with a smooth finish of bourbon and wood. All in all, it is a pretty killer beer.
Aromas of tangerine, a little spice, some pine, and malt. Tasted like a hopped up barley wine with great fruit flavors, a little bit of chocolate. Sticky and wonderful.
On tap at the San diego Strong Ale Fest 08. Pour is a hazy gold/ orange with creamy white head. Nice lacing. Bitter hops, citrus, caramel malt, pine needles, oak, and hints of tropical fruit. This was an excellent brew. I highly enjoyed it.
Bottle courtesy of tpd975. Pours a hazy golden with a one finger off-white head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of sweet malt, citrus hops, a hint of pine, light fruit, and a touch of caramel. Taste is citrus hops, sweet malt, pine hops, caramel, and tropical fruit. Medium mouthfeel with a moderate to strong amount of bitterness and well hidden alcohol. A damn fine brew
Thanks Hopdog. A very good and very drinkable hoppy beer that is soft of the palate and yet offers an orange led fruitiness. Excellent example of style. Alcohol not in taste but certainly in knockout punch. Great with meaty supper.
Bottle from Secret Santa. Orange color. Grapefruit, red berries, flowery oily hops and chalk in the aroma. Malty sweet flavor with an ointment mouthfeel. Firm flowery oily hops with grapefruit and berries. But all the fruit and hops don’t bury the alcohol. Therefore an alcoholic and quite hopbitter finish. A big but still likeable beer.