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Review of Hoppin’ Frog D.O.R.I.S. The Destroyer

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

I’ve yet to ever try this brew, but I’ve heard a lot of very nice things about it. Let’s just say that I’m pretty dang eager to sample it.

The website, hoppinfrog.com, gave us this bit of information about D.O.R.I.S. The Destroyer.

This extreme Double Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout will overwhelm, satisfy, and destroy your taste buds like no other!! D.O.R.I.S. is even darker, hoppier, and stronger than our gold medal winning B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Stout. Dry-hopped and first wort hopped with the finest American hops for a great Imperial Stout experience! Enjoy the darkness!

Nice. Let’s pour.

This beer has an ABV of 10.5% and it comes in a 22 oz. bottle.

It poured black as night with absolutely no highlights. A small, tight, compact, dark tan head was formed from a very easy pour. It was really smooth and creamy with an “ok” retention time. The lacing was sticky and clingy and quite good. A skim of alcohol was left on the sides of the snifter when I tilted the liquid from side to side.

The nose had a ton of roasted malt, chocolate malt and oatmeal. Likewise, a hint of coffee and charred/burnt grain came through. It also smelled of earthy hops followed by a light whiff of alcohol. Overall, significantly strong, rich and rather nice.

The flavor let loose of those burnt grains. They really stood out. A lot of roasted coffee and espresso savors came to the forefront and some bittersweet chocolate and oatmeal added a touch of sweetness as well. A very light licorice note was found buried deep and some earthiness added a bit more complexity. An insignificant, but noticeable relish of alcohol was discovered too.

The mouthfeel was full bodied. Very thick, sticky, chewy, oily and smooth. Without a doubt the carbonation was on the lower side A light feeling of warmth was felt from the alcohol and a very sturdy dose of flavor was left covering the palate after each sip.

Yeah, this was a very good beer. One of the better Hoppin’ Frog brews that I’ve tried. It was full of flavor and the bouquet was completely enduring. The drinkability was somewhat low for me because of the strength of flavor and high alcohol, but it would make for a great Winter time brew. One to work through if you were not in any rush. The heavy roast and char did become, to a degree, slightly overbearing to me. That’s not saying that I couldn’t take this in smaller samples, however the “big” bottle might have been too much for me to track to tackle. Either way, the Hoppin’ Frog D.O.R.I.S. The Destroyer is worth a try if you can obtain it and if you like big, burly Imperial Stouts. Be sure to tell me of your opinion when you do so.

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone. I really appreciate it.

Until next time. Cheers.

Score: 4.1 out of 5

Grade: A-

Review of Hoppin’ Frog B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher

29 Aug

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+

4 Comments

Posted by Beer Apprentice on August 29, 2012 in Country: USA, Hoppin' Frog

Review of Hoppin’ Frog Silk Porter

20 May

Hello everyone. For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying the Hoppin’ Frog Silk Porter produced by the Hoppin’ Frog Brewery located in Akron, Ohio.

I have always been fond of Porters and when I saw this one I picked it up. With a name like that how could I pass it up? I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but I figured, “what could it hurt?”.

From the website, hoppinfrog.com, I found this description of the Silk Porter.

Dark, robust and silky-smooth, with many flavors of roasted, toasted and caramel malts. Porter is an old-world beer style, so popular that it helped start the industrial revolution. Taste the history.

Ok. Let’s give it a try.

This brew has an ABV of 6.2% and it comes in a 22 oz. bottle.

It poured a super dark brown to black color with a very small ring of ruby showing at the bottom of the glass. The head was tan in color, very small, tight, creamy and smooth. The retention time was average at best and the lacing was just ok in my opinion.

The nose brought out a ton of roasted malts. Toasted bread crusts, toasted biscuits and toasted grains. Hints of day old coffee along with some earthy and herbal hop profiles. Some sweet chocolate helped a bit by trying to balance everything because it was very roasted to say the least. In a good way mind you.

The taste revealed even more of that roasted goodness. In some cases it was almost burnt. Toasted breads and toasted grains. Light coffee bean and dried bakers chocolate as well. Some nice yeasty aspects contributed to a decently sweet taste while keeping the bitterness at a low to medium strength. I didn’t really find any caramel of which was mentioned in the description. No matter because the brew was balanced commendably and it had plenty of robustness for me to enjoy without being too over-the-top.

The mouthfeel was medium to full bodied. Chewy, smooth, but kind of chalky and dry. Not nearly as creamy as I thought it might be to be honest. Especially with a name like “Silk” Porter. Oh well. The carbonation was about right and sturdy amount of flavor was left covering the palate after each sip.

Well, all in all, I thought this was a very good beer. It’s quite solid all the way around and definitely worth a test drive if you favor the Porter style. The ease of drinkability was rather good too. I would love to try this again once the Fall season rolls back around. The roasted aspects would compliment that crisp time of year very well in my opinion. I’ll say that I wouldn’t have a problem at all recommending this beer to someone interested in trying a genuine American Porter. With that being said, give the Hoppin’ Frog Silk Porter a taste if you see it and tell me all about your experience…. good or bad.

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone. I really appreciate it.

Until next time. Cheers.

Score: 3.8 out of 5
Grade: B+