Monday, August 25, 2014

Three Floyds Backmasking Review



Name: Three Floyds Backmasking
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 5.9%

Backmasking (n) - A recording technique in which a sound or message is deliberately recorded backwards in a track that is meant to be played forwards.

Backmasking, one of the very reasons Snopes is in existence today. Several major bands have been accused of using backmasking to subliminally manipulate the unaware music lovers. From Judas Priest to Led Zeppelin; From Pink Floyd to Weird Al Yankovic; These are just a few bands that have either been accused of backmasking or have partaken in it.

So leave it to Three Floyds Brewing to create a beer that pokes fun at this cultural phenomenon that, only 30 years ago, had parental advocacy groups convinced that the musicians were trying to corrupt the youth of the nation. With this in mind, you have to admit that the beer label is hilarious.



Backmasking pours a pitch black color with a brown head that has a thin creamy appearance. It's hard to tell if there's any carbonation in here but the lacing is very abundant.

The aroma starts things off with a very strong chocolate malt scent and some robust oatmeal notes. There's also a fair amount of roastiness on the back end of the nose along with some light dry hop notes. What I like about this beer is that you can actually smell the individual oats, something which I always look for in any oatmeal stout I have.

The flavor is fairly representative of the nose. For starters, you have a strong chocolate malt and oatmeal foundation but there's also a fair amount of lactose  in the middle of the palate. As for the aftertaste, it's primarily a bitter hop and roasted barley finish.

The body is fairly heavy in terms of weight and has some fairly mild carbonation. It also has a very smooth creamy texture, which helps add to the drinking experience as well as making it a bit easier to handle.

Backmasking may look intimidating, but this is actually a very smooth, flavorful, and well put together oatmeal stout and it's probably one of the best oatmeal stouts I've ever had. If you happen to see this, I would very highly recommend checking this out.

Three Floyds Backmasking - 9.25/10

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