When pouring this beer, all I see is a pitch black liquid with a off white/slightly tan head. Not much of a head on the beer, but looks fine for a porter.
When I take a whiff of this beer, I get a huge layer of spicy/resiny hops that eventually fade to the background which let a roasty/chocolate nose shine through. The balance of the roasty/hoppy smell is great. I really enjoy the beer, and you will too if you're a hophead. I think the beer would be fairly solid without the hoppiness, but I don't think it'd be as special.
After taking a few sips I can mostly taste a piney/citrus flavour that is slightly upfront, but the malty sweetness is there in the background. I get some roasted notes and some black patent notes, but the flavour in this is almost entirely spicy/resiny hops. If I didn't know it was 'supposed to be a porter' I'd call this a weak Black IPA. The more I drink the beer, the more roastiness and black patent but it's very subtle. I don't get any chocolate that I got in the nose, but that's okay. I bet if you let this beer age about 5 months it'd be a fantastic beer for people that don't love hops as much as me.
The more I taste this beer, the more I see that Three Floyds really know how to hop a beer. They do it enough to have a great balance and superb flavour. Alpha Klaus is really no different.
The mouthfeel is thing and carbonated. The spiciness coupled with the acidic carbonation really help the overall sensation of the beer. I'd say this has everything you'd expect from a porter. Aqueous mouthfeel but full flavoured. It's like a stout, but I could drink as many as my alcohol tolerance would let me.
Rating: A
Right on. I didn't realize that Three Floyds reached all the way to Madison.
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