Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged BORIS The Crusher

Brewed by Hoppin Frog
Style: Imperial Stout
Akron, Ohio USA

This is a very good beer. Pouring black with a 1cm brown head, one sip and an explosion of flavors hits you. Notes of vanilla, chocolate and whiskey combine very nicely. It is very creamy on your tongue and finishes nicely.

Bottle shared by....someone. Pours black with a dark tan ring. Aroma is coconut, chocolate, dark fruits, and over ripe pears with some alcohol. Flavor is pretty much german chocolate cake. Thick and silky but under carbonated.

Bomber. Opaque black body. Tan head, mostly diminishing. Oil-like sheen. Aroma of roasted malts, sweet chocolate, whiskey, alcohol, smoke, molasses and licorice. The flavor is moderately to heavily sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes moderately sweet and moderately bitter. Alcohol bite. Full body, velvety texture and soft carbonation. A good sipping beer with complex flavors, but the whiskey is overpowering leaving notes of tobacco and vanilla. Too much whiskey flavor, in fact. Couldn’t drink more than a glass of this.

Bottle. Head is initially small, frothy, brown, fully diminishing. Body is black. Aroma is heavily malty (roasted grain, chocolate, molasses, caramel), with notes of whisky/alcohol, vanilla, wood, blackberry. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Full body, creamy/syrupy texture, soft carbonation, heavily alcoholic. Significantly better than my last bottle of the regular BORIS (which has been inconsistent, sometimes very nice and other times boring). I’m rarely a fan of the bourbon treatment, but this is rich and focuses more on the malt than the whisky. Burning in the finish, but overall enjoyable.

Bottle. Almost pitch black, quickly disappearing head. Oak, vanilla, molasses and dark chocolate in the aroma. Powerful sweet, yet deceptively drinkable beer with vanilla, chocolate, oak, caramel, hints of licorice and lots of dried plums. Full bodied, syrupy mouthfeel. Alcohol and tobacco showing up in the aftertaste. Low on carbon, but a quite delicious and complex beer indeed.

Bottled. The aroma has chocolate, some vanilla, oak/bourbon and some dark fruits. Very delicate. Black coloured beer with a brown head. The taste is slightly bitter, sweet with lots of chocolate, some vanilla, bourbon/cognac. Nice dark fruitiness there. Full bodied, balanced, mild and complex. Really awesome.

22oz’r shared with Tim (Lagunitasfan). Cracked this one while Tim was on the phone talking to his brother. Tim exclaimed, "That looks like motor oil!" Pours with plenty of carbonation and weak lacing on glass. Taste contains hardly any proof of barrel aging. Didn’t have an alcohol burn at all, an extremely smooth sipper. Amazing brew recommended.

Beautiful beer shared by TheRealBastard. The two of us polished this thing off after a Cable Car and Stone 10th. Nice afternoon, eh? Nose is cocoa, sweet dark fruit, and a hint of vinegar tartness. Massively smooth in the mouth. Smoother than ANY other good stout I’ve ever had. No alcohol at all. Creamy and oats. Sublime. Looks like motor oil but tastes like silk. Absolutely loved it. Thanks Brent.