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Beer Reviews

Gumballhead

Other reviews for this beer:
Eddie Glick		read it ›

Three Floyds Brewing Co.
Munster, IN
USA
http://threefloyds.com/

Style: American Wheat

Jill’s Rating:
   (Recommended)


Comments:
Say you’ve heard that Three Floyds is tops according to a major Midwest craft beer web site. Say you like wheat beer. Say you find yourself at Three Floyds one summer evening, and you’re hankering for a hefe just to cool off. OK, so Gumballhead is an American wheat, but that’s also a fine style. You order one and try not to drool in anticipation.

Your beer arrives with a boatload of promise. A gorgeous citrus scent wafts from your glass as you take a sip of beautiful straw colored liquid. Then you get smacked with a boatload of hops you never expected, and you try not to spit it out.

Gumballhead doesn’t suck—it is a decent beer that’s interesting because it’s unlike any other American wheat you’ll taste. Why? Because they stuffed a bunch of Amarillo hops in it. Oh, the hops give it the nice scent and a decent citrus finish, but their constant zing takes away from what I consider to be a mellow beer style, hence the reason it gets three mugs from me instead of four. Every sip is, “Oh, this is pretty hoppy.” Or, “Hmmmm … not bad, but I wish it wasn’t so hoppy.”

However, this seems to be typical of Three Floyds’ offerings. They take a recipe, add hops, add more hops, and then just for good measure, throw in a few extra hops. Is this great craft? Or is this just a gimmick that works for a subset of craft beer fans? Hopefully I’ll be proven wrong, but I would like to see FFF get away from the crutch of hops.

Reviewed by Jill Jaracz on August 22, 2007.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

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