Pride and Joy - Three Floyds Brewing

So, I think it's somewhat rare to find a brewery that will provide you with solid beers with each effort they make. Three Floyds definitely fits into this category. I've already reviewed Gumballhead and Robert the Bruce, and would like to get hold of some more Alpha King so I can throw that one on here as well. For now, this is the first of three successive reviews of Three Floyds Beers. Pride and Joy is a "mild ale" and, not unlike the late great Stevie Ray Vaughn's song (which shares its namesake), I am expecting great things.

Vitals:

Name: Pride and Joy

Style: American Pale Ale

IBU: 30

ABV: 5.0%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Riley's Wines of the World

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a brilliant dark orange/copper color; a finger of ever-so-slightly off-white head. Decent retention, with nice lacing and a good cap. Lots lots lots of carbonation bubbles racing up through the beer - looks delicious.

Smell: Citrus hops dominate here and mingle with orange and grapefruit. There is a sweet pale malt smell to it as well, but by far the citrus wins the day on the smell. This beer has a great smell to it IMHO.

Taste: The malt sweetness is fleeting, but delicious nonetheless. This beer is what you'd call "hop forward" meaning the hop flavor and bitter bite rolls over the sweetness earlier in the taste. You get the grapefruit with the citrus hops at the bite but the orange smell seems muted in the taste. You actually end up with a piney hop finish that lingers. Not as balanced as FFF's beers usually are but it is still solid.

Mouthfeel: Light and refreshing; highly carbonated that tickles your tongue as many FFF's beers do. Bit of a dry finish, which is a little more accentuated than usual for the style, but is still good.

Overall Grade: B+

Comments: Very good beer; definitely the best APA I've had as far as being a SESSION beer goes (see my post on Session Beers for more). I'd recommend this to anyone who likes hops; you truly cannot go wrong with any FFF's beer in my experience. Two more FFF's reviews to come in short order!

Cheers,

Hurls