Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged BORIS The Crusher

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

The barrel aged version of Boris was a little disappointing. I though the barrel aging of this already spectacular beer would make it even tastier.......it did no such thing. Poured midnight black with a small chocolate ring. Some medicinal cherry and faint wood flavors in both the nose and flavor. This is a good beer don’t get me wrong, I would take the standard Boris over the Barrel aged any day.

22oz bottle batch 1, courtesy of Reed415. Pours pitch black with a small tan head that recedes fairly quickly leaving some spotty lacing on the way down to a minimal collar. For lack of a better word, the aroma is dark, really dark. It’s got a massive dark roasted malt aroma with lots of toasted oats as well. Some bakers chocolate follows and only a subtle barrel presence with a little oak and hints of whiskey. One of the least intrusive barrel aromas I’ve smelled recently. The taste is more of the same and I’m definitely surprised the whiskey doesn’t show more. The dominant flavors are dark roasted malts and dark chocolate. I’m also very surprised by the level of dark fruits in this one - lots of chocolate covered cherry flavors. There is definitely some oak in there, but the whiskey is really, really subtle, and vanilla is more dominant flavor. The mouthfeel is exceptionally smooth with the oats making their presence felt. The carbonation is light and the body is medium to full. This is a solid BA stout and I can’t decide if I like this or the regular version more. What I do like is that the barrel character is not overpowering and the the underlying beer still dominates the flavors. It’s a sweet and roasty stout with hints of whiskey which make it very drinkable for a BA stout.

From a 22oz Bottle. Pour is nearly black with some fudge brown hues and a thin layer of creamy tan head. The aroma is pleasantly balanced between whiskey and the base beer character, giving a rich impression of boozey chocolate fudge. The bourbon character are clear, but at the same time balanced, allowing a pleasant amount of malt to shine through. The barrel character consists mainly of spicy oak and boozey whiskey, with a touch of vanilla - pleasing, but my personal preference is to have more of a vanilla bomb. Rich chocolate and toasted oats provide a hearty base, with some restrained roast. It’s surprising how much the oats come through in the nose. Medium-full bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel with a slick, oily texture. Pleasantly rich in flavor and body, but much of the textural impression seems to come from the oats as opposed to cloying sugars. Semi-sweet dark chocolate and peppery whiskey up front on the palate; boozey, but in a soft and warming kind of way. The spicy oak contributes some balancing tannins. Hints of vanilla and toffee. Toward the finish, some grassy, resinous hop characters begin to emerge, pleasant in the bitterness balance in the malt, but the flavor character seems somewhat at odds with the other flavors for my palate. My favorite aspect of this beer is the balance between the barrel and malt characters, my least favorite is the hop character, but overall this is a very nice beer. Thanks for sharing, Julian!

Bottle shared by Sparky27...THANKS ERIC!!! Had to throw this in to offset a night of sours...twist my arm!!! Ebony pour produces a dark caramel head that leaves sticky lacing. Incredibly rich chocolate aroma with oak, smoke, vanilla, and bourbon. Full-flavored with toasted oats, cocoa, molasses, charred marshmallows, brown sugar, roasted coffee beans, and slight bourbon notes. The alcohol is subtle...and enhances the brew nicely. Not quite as creamy as others in the style...bit of an oil slick really...but delicious.

Bottle from stfun. Wow! Don’t believe I’ve ever tried a ba brew that was so perfectly blended. Smooooooth. Like chocolate moose eaten off your deck that you spilled whiskey on- just a touch of oak and booze. Nice.

Black with a medium dark beige head. Sweet aroma with burned malt, peach, hops and chocolate. Sweet flavour with vanilla, burned malt, dark bitter chocolate, smoke and whiskey notes. Finished sweet and full.

(Bottle) Pours black with a small dark brown head. The aroma is fantastic with boatloads of deep roasted malt. Tones of black coffee beans and creamy dark chocolate cake. In addition, the malt is a bit dark bread-like. The oak/whisky notes are nicely balanced and well integrated. Undertones of blueberries, new asphalt, nuts, smoke and vanilla from the oak. The flavour is near medium sweet and near medium bitter with a medium wood dry finish. The acid levels are extremely low considering the heavily roasted malt profile. Tones of coffee, dark caramel, dark chocolate, dark berries, oak/whisky, and some light resiny hops. Light vinous ending. Light dark fruity. The mouthfeel is super velvety smooth and oily with a perfect carbonation. Near full-bodied. Not mega complex but extremely well balanced and tasty, just like the normal Boris.

22 oz. Viscous near black pour. Some brown bubbles, sticks to the glass a bit. Big bourbon aroma, accented with molasses, vanilla, caramel, just hints of roast malt. Taste is a real nice balance with the barrel on the stout qualities, not as potent as the nose. Roasted malt, chocolates with light amounts of dark red fruits. Vanilla, caramel, oak follow. Warming, but not as much as the aroma would suggest. Thick and full bodied. Finish is lingering toffee sweetness and oak barrel. The only thing I would say this could use is some more bittering of coffee and hops. I expect barrel aging to negate some of that anyways though. Good drinkability for the "size". A real nice variation on the excellent original Boris.