Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged BORIS The Crusher

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

Big thanks goes out to Beerman6686 Dan for this special brew! Had the pleasure of sampling this at the 7/9/2009 Pittsburgh RB tasting extravaganza (PGHRBEXT) at the Sharp Edge Creekhouse. It will be a long time, if ever I see a spread of bottles like I did there. I am not good enough for the beers that were that we served! For example, how about this beer; Oaked Boris, heheheh! Again, I am not qualified to rate such a beer. Typical imp stout olfactory, roasty and volatile and such. Looks dark opaque black with a tan head, I think its staining my glass. Reminds me of old used shovelhead motor oil. Mouth coating terrible bitter taste on old wet damp campfire coals. I think there is a tad of sweetness in there too. What else can be said but horribly on style. Long lasting dreadful cold burned wood alky finish. Wew. Too much for this lager lover. I think I’ll go crawl under a rock after tasting this brew.

This poured a pitch black color with a tan head. Aroma was silky chocolate, tiny hints of whiskey, and some aroma hops as well. Flavor was smooth chocolate, roasty and a nice bourbon finish right on the tip of the tongue. Pretty good but I prefer regular BORIS more.

Thanks to JaBier for sharing a bottle. The beer pours a viscous black color with a medium thick light brown head that dissipates slowly. Patchy lacing. Aroma of bourbon, espresso and dark chocolate. Rich and smooth body with flavors of bittersweet chocolate, oaky bourbon and malt. Hints of hops as well. The finish is creamy and simmers with alcohol and chocolate liqueur. I am a fan of the original B.O.R.I.S., and this beer is not really better or worse, it’s just as good but different.

22 oz bottle (Batch One)
Now more available than when it first came out I got my hands on a bottle of the second release to do a side by side comparison. That one will be opened soon. To start with I used a bottle of the original release as a benchmark. If the second is anything like Hoppin’ Frog has a nice product on their hands. I actually prefer the regular B.O.R.I.S (which is also cheaper) but in a pinch this would be hard to argue with.

Aroma / Appearance - The sticky oily black body was typical of a high gravity imperial stout. A sheen of clear lacing gave it even more presence. Bitter chocolate, vanilla, espresso, and the whiskey are most obvious though as with many imperial stouts there is more depth. This includes nice hints of anise and raisins. It could be a little richer but there are no major flaws.

Flavor / Palate - Creamy and thick the mouthfeel is packed with flavor. Sticking to the throat are whiskey, rich chocolate, whipping cream, and plums. A vanilla aftertaste is not as strong but still leaves a mark. This would pair well with most desserts - I think I would try a nice cheesecake. The regular B.O.R.I.S is better. This however is no slouch either.

Name: BORIS, BA
Date: July 25, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Trade
Appearance: black, fine tan head
Aroma: roasted and dark chocolate aroma, sweet bourbon and vanilla
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich dark chocolate flavor, bourbon sweetness, light roasted, bourbon is well balanced and integrated with the chocolate and roasted malts, hint of vanilla, only a touch of oak
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

2009-08-01. Black body with a bit of a tan head. (3+) Aroma of dark malt, light roast, just a bit of wood. Flavour is rich dark malt, wood overtones, light bitterness. (7+) Smooth medium to full bodied palate is lightly carbonated. (3+) Oak seemed relatively restrained, which I like. The overall impression is surprisingly mild though, I remember the regular version being more assertive. I would like a return visit to full appreciate the more subtle nuances. Bottle at BCTC 2009

Bottle shared by hellbilly at tasteing. Good chcolate coco and wooden barrel aroma. Black body with an head. Flavor had a good mix of chcolate, vanilla and oatmeal all good ingrediants for a good stout. Of course the alcohol barrel affect in palay here also. Good imy stout.

Black in color with a small tan head. Aroma is wood, sausage, smoke, roasted malt, chocolate and coffee. Taste is wood, dark chocolate, coffee and roasted malt.