# Is Three Floyds Brewing Company vastly overrated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373 "2015-11-12T14:51:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/1 "2015-11-12T14:51:03Z")
There were no good specials yesterday at my usual after work bar so I decided to try Three Floyds Gumballhead. My reaction: Meh. Better than a Budweiser but I can’t understand the cult like adoration of this craft brewer. Maybe I’ll give the Alpha King or one of their IPAs a shot, but based on what I’ve seen so far, it seems like they’re vastly overrated by hipsters. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/2 "2015-11-12T14:57:23Z")
They’re highly rated on both [Beer Advocate](http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/) and [Ratemybeer](http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/three-floyds-brewing-company/231/). [Gumballhead.](http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/9478/) has a 4.2 on 1,481 reviews Did you notice it’s a wheat beer? (Correction:wheat ale)Not really the same as Bud. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/3 "2015-11-12T14:57:54Z")
I guess it’s all a matter of personal preference. I love Gumball Head - really enjoy the grapefruit, citrus notes and I find it really smooth. They recently released Amber Smash Ale (I think?) and that’s the next one I’ll be trying. To answer OP’s question : no, they’re not over rated and IMHO way above something like Budweiser. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/4 "2015-11-12T15:23:26Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > They’re highly rated on both [Beer Advocate](http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/) and [Ratemybeer](http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/three-floyds-brewing-company/231/). > [Gumballhead.](http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/9478/) has a 4.2 on 1,481 reviews > > Did you notice it’s a wheat beer? (Correction:wheat ale)Not really the same as Bud. I did, I thought it would be a better version of 312, it wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/5 "2015-11-12T15:34:36Z")
They are vastly over-rated. But then, every craft brewery is over-rated except the ones I like. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/6 "2015-11-12T15:59:19Z")
I LOVE Three Floyds: Gumballhead is a great hoppy wheat, and Zombie Dust and Alpha King are both amazing. Even the Robert the Bruce (which some people seem not to care much about for some reason) and some of the one-offs I’ve had over the years. That said: they may be a little bit overrated. That _always_ happens when there’s scarcity. Anything that’s exotic or a little bit hard to find is going to skew the perception upward a bit because people, even if it’s subconsciously, will just ascribe a higher value to something they’ve had to go to some lengths to get. Three Floyd’s happens to be just big enough to be able to get fairly heavy distro in Chicago, and close enough to attract a lot of people to the brewpub for pub-only releases to cultivate a culture of rarity around a few of their beers (and then there’s Dark Lord Day). You simply can’t get it outside of Chicago or Munster without going there yourself or trading someone for it. They’re in an interesting spot, and I think I’ve read a few times that they’re intentionally avoiding expansion…(aside from the potential difficulty of actually being able to acquire enough hops to make significantly more of these beers) they seem to know that if they follow others down that path, they too would lose a lot of the cachet of cult following: like, say, Avery, Dogfish Head, Founder’s (to an extent), Goose Island (for sure), etc. If Gumballhead were available in every supermarket across half the country, would anyone care? Sure, lots of people would buy it, but their expectations (and thus, the hype) would lower by quite a bit. Ballast Point is supposed to start distributing soon in my city. Once that happens I expect to never hear anything about Grapefruit Sculpin ever again. It happens time and again. Finally starting to happen with GI Bourbon County Stout – already hearing grumbles from people essentially about how they’re making too much of it (specifically BCBS Rare, which a lot of stores supposedly will be getting multiple cases of to sell at ~$30 a bottle; “not too ‘rare’ but they’re still pricing it like it is, \”). Whatever, those beers have been way overrated for a long time, in my opinion, just due to scarcity and hype. GI was bought, now the scarcity is going away, and the backlash begins. I’ll stop now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/7 "2015-11-12T17:31:21Z")
Not in my opinion. They were one of the first in the midwest to embrace west-coast/PNW levels of hoppiness, and their beers are technical masterpieces with remarkable consistency. As far as Gumballhead, I don’t think there’s another beer like it anywhere. Saying it is “better than a Budweiser” is damning with faint praise, indeed. I’ll also note that when I worked in the craft beer industry I had the opportunity to speak with Nick Floyd several times and he is a great guy. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/8 "2015-11-12T17:38:20Z")
No, they’re really good. Top three or four Midwest breweries for me, and the first time I had Dreadnaught about a decade and change ago, I was hooked. And, if you like hops, they’re number one in my books in the Midwest, if not the US for me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/9 "2015-11-12T17:47:38Z")
And, yes, Nick Floyd is a great guy. I think the Dark Lord is a wee bit over-rated, but it’s a hyped up Willy Wonka-type fest at Dark Lord day and great fun the day I went. And the beer really is awesome, although not my favorite imperial russian stout (I prefer Goose Island’s version of that style, and the one time I had Leinenkugel’s Big Eddy version, which I believe **August West** worked on or at least was working with them at the time, a little bit better from my memory. But the Dark Lords change significantly from year to year. At my wedding afterparty in 2011, I broke open five Dark Lords from 2007 through 2011 and had a bit of a vertical tasting, and it was interesting to see the different flavors in each, plus there is also the effect of age. I remember getting Dark Lord back before Dark Lord day and the hype, where you could just pull up to the back of the loading dock at the brewery in Muenster and buy how ever many you wanted. The first year–was it 2004?—was a funny one, as about a quarter of the bottle was sediment/sludge. They fixed that by the next year.) It’s easy (and, IMHO, lazy) to dismiss something trendy and popular as “hipster,” but these guys have been brewing fantastic beers for over a decade, and I haven’t noticed them slip in quality at all over the years. They’ve just become more difficult to find when it comes to the popular brews like Gumballhead. There were years where that beer was readily available, and then it seemed like it disappeared from Chicago-area shelves for awhile (or were just really difficult to find.) It seems lately they’ve become a little easier to get a hold of, but just over a half decade ago, it seemed like I could find it at any decent craft beer store without a problem. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/10 "2015-11-12T18:19:22Z")
Great beers, but I don’t think deserving of the cult-like adoration. I’m a big IPA fan and finally got to try Zombie Dust and Dreadnaught this year, and I was really looking forward to it based on their almost mythical status. And they were…good solid beers. I’d be happy drinking them anytime. But neither would be worth a lot of extra effort to track down. I’d put [Short’s](https://www.shortsbrewing.com/) and [Founders](http://foundersbrewing.com/) above them in the Midwest. And they all pale in comparison to some of the IPAs I can get in Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/11 "2015-11-12T18:49:22Z")
Three Floyds makes two of my favorite beers, Alpha King and Space Station Middle Finger. I will admit that I didn’t get all of the fuss over Zombie Dust (which is an APA/IPA like the other two mentioned). ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/12 "2015-11-12T23:30:15Z")
> [@RogueRacer](#): > > I will admit that I didn’t get all of the fuss over Zombie Dust (which is an APA/IPA like the other two mentioned). I live in Indianapolis, so we get semi-frequent sightings of Zombie Dust. I think it’s an excellent APA/IPA that doesn’t go overboard on the hops. A friend got me a case for my birthday - I still need to do a side-by-side between it and Boulevard’s Single-Wide, my favorite IPA. > [@August\_West](#): > > As far as Gumballhead, I don’t think there’s another beer like it anywhere. Boulevard’s 80-Acre is very close, but with not nearly as many citrus notes in it. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/13 "2015-11-12T23:54:17Z")
Here’s a list of my current favorites. I’m thinking I’ll try Alpha King next time: Stone IPA Langunitas IPA Langunitas Little Sumpin Goose Island Green Line Great Lakes Burning River Half Acre Daisy Cutter ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/14 "2015-11-13T01:18:16Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Here’s a list of my current favorites. I’m thinking I’ll try Alpha King next time: > > Stone IPA > Langunitas IPA > Langunitas Little Sumpin > Goose Island Green Line > Great Lakes Burning River > Half Acre Daisy Cutter Yeah, if you like those, Alpha King should be up your alley, but also give Zombie Dust a shot, and if you like imperial IPAs, Dreadnaught. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/15 "2015-11-13T02:53:40Z")
Nothing will match the letdown I felt when I tried Coors in 1981. I tried Gumball Head a few years ago and liked, but there are plenty of beers readily available in the DC area that I like more. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/16 "2015-11-13T04:16:11Z")
I think Zombie Dust is a little overrated and Dark Lord is obscenely overrated. But then Alpha King might be my favorite beer ever. They’re an extremely good brewery, but so others so I wouldn’t expect to be blown away if you already drink good beer. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/17 "2015-11-13T04:53:25Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Here’s a list of my current favorites. I’m thinking I’ll try Alpha King next time: > > Stone IPA > Langunitas IPA > Langunitas Little Sumpin > Goose Island Green Line > Great Lakes Burning River > Half Acre Daisy Cutter I was really surprised that someone in Chicago was buying Lagunitas beer. I didn’t think that they had that big a distribution. But now I find out that they have a Chicago brewery also. We live in glorious beer times. There are so many really good breweries in every city with more than 200,000 people that the ones that manage to get buzz are almost by definition over rated. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/18 "2015-11-13T05:03:25Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > I was really surprised that someone in Chicago was buying Lagunitas beer. I didn’t think that they had that big a distribution. But now I find out that they have a Chicago brewery also. Even well before they opened up here, Lagunitas was fairly common in Chicago. I remember them being in the market for at least five or six years. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-three-floyds-brewing-company-vastly-overrated/737373/19 "2015-11-13T16:38:44Z")
Wow, great memory you’ve got there **pulykamell**! The Big Eddy RIS was the last beer I worked on at Leinie’s. **Troutman** I don’t think of Founders and 3 Floyds as being in the same category. They’re both very good but I think of Founders as being much more traditional in their approach.