Hi guys.  For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout produced by the Hoppin’ Frog Brewery located in Akron, Ohio.

Let’s jump right to the website, hoppinfrog.com, for the commercial description of this brew.

This Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout will crush you like no other! This is the grand-daddy of all stout styles, with an intensely deep roasted and full bodied flavor. A robust hop character adds a refreshing balance.

Into the glass it goes.

This beer has an ABV of 9.4% and it comes in a 22 oz. bottle.

It poured black with a dark tan head.  The texture was smooth and creamy, however it did possess some large bubbles around the outside next to the glass.  The size was good, but the retention time and the lacing seemed to be lacking a little bit. 

The nose had a ton of roasted malts along with a plenty of toasted grains and breads.  It revealed that typical oatmeal sweetness smell that I tend to like too.  A touch of bakers chocolate added a bit more sweetness.  It was balanced rather well, although I didn’t find that it was overly complex or intricate and I didn’t find much by way of the hops either.  Oh well, it still smelled nice.

The taste was heavy with the roasted malts.  Tones of grain, wheat, bread and oatmeal.  Again, quite sweet tasting with the addition of some dark chocolate.  A slight savor of alcohol was noticed and I even started to detect some raisin and a wee bit of coffee bean, which provided a slight tickle of bitterness.  Like the aroma, the balanced and harmony was more than adequate.

The mouthfeel was medium to mostly full.  Very smooth, creamy, chewy and dry.  The carbonation was medium to low.  A small amount of warmth was felt and a decent amount of flavor was left behind for me to enjoy after each sip.

Overall, this beer was very solid.  As I mentioned before, it didn’t provide anything out of the ordinary or “top of the line”, fairly straight forward to be honest, but it undoubtedly represents the style very well.  If you are a fan of Oatmeal Stouts you should definitely pick up B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout.  I believe it would pair perfectly well with the cooler evenings of late Fall and Winter.  The drinkability was suitable considering the high ABV, yet I found myself sipping it rather slow anyway.  If you guys have tried this beer let me know what you thought of it in the comments.  I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for checking back in on another review guys.  I really appreciate the support.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  3.9 out of 5
Grade:  B+