Rating: 7/7

2017 Rue D’Floyd Collaboration by Three/3 Floyds and The Bruery is a 14.4% ABV Imperial Porter aged in Bourbon Barrels with Cherries and Vanilla Beans Added.

Label:
A Collaboration with our friends at the Bruery. An invigorating ale aged in Bourbon barrels with Cherries and Vanilla Beans Added.

==Introduction==

I finally got my hands on the Three Floyds edition of one of my all time rare favorites, the Rue D’Floyd. A collaboration from the unthinkable coming together to create something out of this world. The original from the Bruery is the one I got a chance to try in 2014 and finally again in 2017. It was a beer that many loved but people thought it would have a problem aging. Even so, The beer proved to last the times. I cannot say the same about the Floyd D’rue since that one was not rereleased since 2014. Nevertheless, I never got a chance to try Three Floyds version of the same beer. In this iteration, it looks like they dropped the coffee and that is why Dark Matter is not involved. Will this still stand the test like the one I had from the Bruery? Well, let’s find out and take a crazy journey into the unknown.

Aromas:
Lots of dark fruits, port wine, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, roasted barley, hazelnut nectar, vanilla, bourbon, oak, banana sudae, Chambord Raspberries, sweetened condensed milk, roasted barley notes, coffee notes, burnt sugar, oatmeal cookies, almond, fruit cake, chocolate turtles, funky grape notes, tobacco and leather.

Flavors:
Super rich tart cherries, dark cherries, tart wine must, dark fruit currants, raisins, blue berries, raspberries, pomegranate, bourbon, marshmallows, nutella, hazelnut nectar, rocky road ice cream, toasted coconut, burnt sugar, molasses, marzipan, mazapan, walnuts, prailines, cherry cordials, pecan pie, port wine, wine grapes, Chambord Raspberries, sweetened condensed milk, roasted barley notes, coffee notes, tiramasu, Khalua coffee liqueur hints, vanilla, dulce de leche caramel, fudge chocolate, cherry chocolate cake, mocha, banana cream pie, Banana sundae, cinnamon, crème brulee, white chocolate, oatmeal, tobacco, leather, rye bread, chocolate turtles, chocolate mousse and cherry cheese cake.

Aftertaste:
Finishing with Dark cherries, oak, bourbon, dark chocolate, cherry cordials, raspberries, tart wine grapes, Nutella, vanilla, caramel, mocha, pecan pie and banana split cherry sundae. No alcohol here or anywhere despite the ABV. Pitch black and abysmal body. Very smooth, mildly chewey, velvety, creamy and syrupy mouthfeel. Sipping drinkability and definitely meant to be enjoyed.

Overall:
This beer reminds me of the Perennial and Fremont Barrel aged Unicorn tears but if you made it slightly more tart. I cannot say if the tart was due to its aging or if this really was what they were going for. So why did I give it a 7? Cuz fuck it that’s why! No but seriously, this semi sweet semi tart complexity gives this beer some crazy appealingness to it. For those that enjoy the various spectrum of beers should definitely have this one too. Especially the Bruery one!

Anime Corner:
Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim VS. The World and welcoming back, Haruko Haruhara from Fooly Cooly/FLCL were brought in this pairing because they are 2 sides of the same coin. So Ramona’s aesthetics similarly complements Haruko’s and since I used Haruko for the Bruery version, Ramona is the Three Floyds version. East Meets West essentially, Manga Vs. Comics, Ying and Yang so to speak. 2 versions of the same beer created by both brewers. In this iteration though, the aspect of Ramona having so many girlfriends and having some personal issues reflect that of Haruko’s very animated and out there personality. Just like this beer is the tart, the other is more sweet, both insane in the head and who wouldn’t want to hook up with these babes. However, they are dangerous as fuck! 

Bruery Version: https://animebeers.com/2017/01/16/2017-rue-dfloyd-collaboration-between-3three-floyds-dark-matter-coffee-and-the-bruery/