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Three Floyds Alpha King
Where Spotted: Pizzeria Paradiso, 3282 M St. NW
Price: $6.50/12 oz., draft or bottle
Inebriation Without Representation: D.C. citizens get the shaft often, from middling sports teams to middling weather. But for a few weeks each year Pizzeria Paradiso treats us to sudsy offerings from Hammond, Ind.’s Three Floyds. Bar manager Greg Jasgur flies out and drives back a U-Haul full of beer, making his restaurant the only place you’ll find Floyd’s on tap east of the Hoosier state.
Floyd for thought: Though his keg collection is dwindling, Jasgur’s bottles of Three Floyds will last awhile longer, he says. Alpha King is the beer to try for hopheads. The amped-up pale ale is essentially a big and balanced IPA, one of the most sought-after in the country. Three Floyds likes to sandbag its beers; its Pride and Joy “mild ale” is more of a pale, as its 5 percent abv is nearly double the standard for a mild. Meanwhile wheat enthusiasts (as well as naysayers like myself) should sample the dry-hopped Gumballhead, which sports lots more hops than your average hefe.
Seen an interesting quaff lately? E-mail beerspotter@washingtoncitypaper.com