Session # 110 | Hoppin’ Frog | Barrel-aged B.O.R.I.S. | 9.4% ABV
Imperial Oatmeal Stout | Akron, Ohio | Rating: 94/100
I always love getting access to new breweries in the Kansas City market. It’s one that I think is really flourishing, so heads up to all you breweries out there thinking of expanding. Hoppin’ Frog, out of Akron, Ohio, just became available in the state of Kansas within the last year or so. For those of us who trade on a regular basis, we knew (or read about) their B.O.R.I.S., and were excited to have something that had some trade value. The barrel-aged version of B.O.R.I.S. is even more limited and is just as good as the award-winning regular and many people have it on their “to-get lists.”
I recently took this bottle with me on a short weekend trip and thought it’d be a good time to share it with you. After all, the wife loves big stouts, and I knew she’d help me knock this one back. So let’s get into it. Barrel-aged B.O.R.I.S. is an Imperial Oatmeal Stout that pours like very old engine oil – it’s that black. The head color is very nice with its dark milk chocolate color.
The aroma has tons of chocolate (think Tootsie Roll). There’s also a good amount of vanilla and wood coming from the Heaven Hill Whiskey barrels. The smell overall is mouthwatering. The taste is much the same. It’s huge with chocolate, caramel, and coffee, with a touch of booze from the almost 10% alcohol. Now, because it’s brewed with lots of oats, it’s not quite as viscous as you might expect but it’s definitely got flavor for days and days.
Up Next: Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws
Others: Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, Surly Four, North Old Rasputin
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This beer can be found in these states.
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Posted by theReaper16 on September 10, 2010 at 1:36 PM
You decided to do the review in the kitchen simply because of that frog statue, didn’t you?
Posted by thehopry on September 10, 2010 at 1:43 PM
Yes. You caught me.
Posted by Jon on September 10, 2010 at 3:09 PM
The wife and I both loved this one. Nice balance of booze and RIS.
Posted by thehopry on September 10, 2010 at 3:33 PM
Totally agree. And I’ve been sitting on this one for about six months, too, so I think it’s had a good amount of time to even itself out.
Posted by Bob from Indy on September 10, 2010 at 7:06 PM
Had the DORIS the Destroyer not to long ago. Amazing! It’s a “double imperial stout,” so does that mean it’s a quadruple stout? lol
Posted by thehopry on September 10, 2010 at 8:00 PM
I haven’t seen that here yet, maybe I won’t. Was it just a monster? Sounds like it.
Posted by Bob from Indy on September 10, 2010 at 7:27 PM
*too
Posted by thehopry on September 10, 2010 at 7:59 PM
Thank you for the clarification. I was going to ban you due to illiteracy. LOL!
Posted by Bob from Indy on September 11, 2010 at 3:49 PM
Haha I just couldn’t let that one fly! And yeah the beer was pretty beastly. Some awesome chocolate flavors came out when I let it warm a little bit
Posted by John Graham on September 12, 2010 at 7:19 PM
I found your website through Beeradvocate.com. Some people there were raving about your reviews. I’m new to the “craft beer” or non BMC beer world so my experience is limited BUT (didn’t see that coming did you) I did try Dogfish Head World Wide Stout and absolutely loved it. So if you get a chance check it out.
Posted by thehopry on September 12, 2010 at 7:57 PM
Hi John – Well I’m glad you came by to check out the site. Thank you! Since you’re new…if you click on the Sessions tab at the top of the site you can see all the reviews I’ve done so far. Should keep you busy for a while. And you can also see what states the beers are available in for each beer review. Then you can go out and find some and explore different styles. Thank you again and thanks for the comments…
Posted by Big Mike on September 12, 2010 at 8:33 PM
Pimping thehopry on BA actually works!:)
welcome to the hopry John. You’re going to be wanting to try every beer that you see Mark reviewing. I’m to about 47 of the 120 he has reviewed so far. And thanks to this website I have found my new favorite beers and a few new favorite styles and breweries.
Cheers!
Big Mike
Big Mike
Posted by Robert from GA on September 19, 2010 at 12:48 AM
Drank one while watching your review, nice job. I had a lot of the same thoughts although I thought the whiskey played a bigger role than you mentioned. This stuff was a bit pricey too! Keep up the good work, love the site.