Three Floyd’s Brewing Company- Brian Boru: The King of Red Ales!

So I first tried this ale about a month ago on tap at The Fountainhead and fell in love instantly. Like many of Three Floyd’s smaller batch brews it can be extremely hard to find. I know a few of the beaten path stores in Chicago and low and behold one of my stash stores had two bottles. Naturally, I bought both bottles and ran home to review one…

Brian Boru pours amber with a hint of bloody orange tint. The carbonation level is perfect with small, tightly packed bubbles dancing in the glass that rapidly float into a khaki colored foam bed. Brian Boru has a light scent with hints of roasted malts and cream. It also boasts the signature scent of Three Floyds proprietary yeast that was a sweet and slight citrus scent. This beer is the girl you wish you could have taken to prom but she was way out your league.  

Three Floyd’s has something special here. Brian Boru is ridiculously and criminally smooth. It has a citrusy side with a roasted malt hint and a touch of dry hops. This beer has a crisp and amazing finish that compels you to keep raising your glass. Brian Boru is really the sum of all its amazing parts. How a beer can be light and dense at the same time is a mystery that is beyond my pay grade. All I know is that this beer is best red ale I have every tasted. I’m still not a pleading sycophant slurping up every meager dropping that Three Floyd betroths upon the dirty masses, however; Brain Boru has taken me one step closer to, maybe, buying a T-shirt. FIND THIS BEER!

P.S. The whole process of Dark Lord Days is the biggest bunch of bullshit ever and that beer is more overrated than Radiohead.

ABV: 5.5%

Consumed: Sensory Glass

Verdict: Buy a Keg!

Three Floyds Brewing Company- Brian Boru: Legendary Doesn’t Begin To Describe It

It’s been about a year since I walked through the door of Finnegan’s Irish Pub in Plainfield, IL.  I walked in for a beer as a customer and a year later I’ve have an extended family that I love and adore.  One of the things I have had to hear about for the last year was Brian Boru.  Most of the Uber Craft Beer nerds that either work at or frequent Finnegan’s have been telling me the tale of Brian Boru and its legendary status as an epic seasonal offering from Three Floyds Brewing Company out of Munster, IN.  Brian Boru is an Irish Red Ale and I have to be honest, aside from IPAs and Pale Ales, Red Ales/Irish Reds are one of my favorite styles.  The problem with Red Ales/Irish Reds is that there are very few that I actually love.  Two of which are Lagunitas’ Lucky 13 and Grand Tetons’ Pursuit of Hoppiness, these are amazing examples of what red ales should be, IMO.  I’m hoping that Brian Boru will live up to the hype and provide me with an EPIC Irish Red adventure; Brian Boru is poured and ready.

Three Floyds Brewing Company classifies this brew as an Irish Red Ale and their website describes Brian Boru as, “Ireland’s first and last Ard Ri (high king) of the whole Gaelic race, Brian Boru was born in Munster, Ireland around 940. Brian Boru’s mother was killed by Vikings when he was a child. He spent his life uniting the Irish tribes to become the first king of Ireland only to be killed at Clontarf on Good Friday 1014 putting down a rebellion by the king of the province of Leinster. Brian Boru Irish Brand Red Ale is a very rich ale with toffee, caramel, citrus and pineapple notes. Brian Boru is brewed with several malts and Amarillo hops.” 

Brian Boru pours a medium copper with a 1” cream colored head.  The aroma is citrusy hops, caramel malts and a toasty/bready smell that is delightful.

Thank God for being able to trust family, Brian Boru is epic!  This is not only an amazing brew but may be one of the best Craft Beers I’ve ever had and will for a fact be in the running for my Greatest Beer Of 2011.  This was well worth the wait and it looks like I’m gonna have to stock up so that I can enjoy it throughout the year.  Brian Boru starts with a pleasant caramel malt sweetness that induces a euphoric sensation in your taste buds and then a tingle of citrus hoppiness does an Irish jig across your tongue then finishes off with a semi sweet malt taste that has a hint of toastiness while finishing crisp.  Perfection!  This is a Craft Beer experience that needs to be experienced by all.  Brian Boru being called legendary doesn’t even begin to describe it…

ABV:  5.5%

Consumed: Nonic Pint Glass

Verdict: Buy A Keg