Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Binny's in IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable (Imperial Pumpkin Ale), 8.4%
Reported IBUs: 7.3
It's been a while since I've had anything from Hoppin' Frog, but tonight's beer should hit that spot. About Hoppin' Frog:
Hoppin' Frog is a "small, hands-on brewery making very flavorful beers in the most flavorful beer styles." The brewery was founded by owner Fred Karm in 2006. The dude looks like he means serious business, and he has been brewing specialty beers since 1994. Karm came up with the concept of Hoppin' Frog, and has designed and produced 21 award winning beers at the Great American Beer Festival and World Cup.
The Barrel Aged Frog's Hollow isn't actually on Hoppin' Frog's website, so I'm going to link to their regular Frog Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale page. Punching in at 8.4%, the back of the bottle states: "Barrel Aged Frog's Hollow: The smooth and spicy character of Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale is perfectly complimented by aging in used whiskey barrels. The result is a complex, super tasty combination of flavors that is both satisfying and memorable. We hope you enjoy this very special Frog's delight!"
In lower light, the beer pours into a hazy orange body, and kicks up a finger of tan head. The head doesn't hang around for long, but swirling the beer kicks up a ring of carbonation on the side of the glass, along with some lacing, and glossy alcohol legs. In bright light the beer is a light, golden-orange color, with lazy mid-sized bubbles rising upwards, and a body that is mostly transparent with a slight haze. This one is bottle conditioned.
The aroma on this beer is incredible. You get blasted with huge waves of whiskey and pumpkin, in equal amounts. I'm getting big whiskey, barrel, and vanilla character...that is balanced with big pumpkin, pumpkin seed, pumpkin pulp, and lots of nutmeg/ginger and pumpkin spice. There is some brown sugar and molasses in the mix as well. Dang.
Hoppin' Frog knows how to barrel age a beer with subtlety and a deft hand, and this beer is no exception. There's a ton of caramel and malt sugar in this beer, with hints of fruits and whiskey that rolls into huge pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and sweet whiskey. The whiskey has nice bourbon/vanilla notes, and the beer is never hot or boozy, despite the barrel. In fact, you get lots of malt kick up front, and some pie crust, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice show up. The spices play off the barrel, and the whole thing has a candy sweetness to it. You get lingering pumpkin and whiskey, and the finish is dry and slightly sticky/dense.
If you're going to fault this beer for anything, it's that the sweetness might be a tad one-dimensional. But would you rather have a boozy or hot mess? This beer is super drinkable, thanks to lots of carbonation and non-existent heat. Palate depth is outstanding, and I might go as far as to say that this is fairly complex despite the one-dimensional sweetness. The body is medium-full to full-bodied, with pumpkin, toffee, caramel, and pie crust malts up front; that rolls into pumpkin spice and other spices, pumpkin, and big whiskey; you get whiskey, oak, wood, vanilla, bourbon, and then it trails off into whiskey/pumpkin with a dry finish. Super rad.
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| BA Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale |
In lower light, the beer pours into a hazy orange body, and kicks up a finger of tan head. The head doesn't hang around for long, but swirling the beer kicks up a ring of carbonation on the side of the glass, along with some lacing, and glossy alcohol legs. In bright light the beer is a light, golden-orange color, with lazy mid-sized bubbles rising upwards, and a body that is mostly transparent with a slight haze. This one is bottle conditioned.
The aroma on this beer is incredible. You get blasted with huge waves of whiskey and pumpkin, in equal amounts. I'm getting big whiskey, barrel, and vanilla character...that is balanced with big pumpkin, pumpkin seed, pumpkin pulp, and lots of nutmeg/ginger and pumpkin spice. There is some brown sugar and molasses in the mix as well. Dang.
Hoppin' Frog knows how to barrel age a beer with subtlety and a deft hand, and this beer is no exception. There's a ton of caramel and malt sugar in this beer, with hints of fruits and whiskey that rolls into huge pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and sweet whiskey. The whiskey has nice bourbon/vanilla notes, and the beer is never hot or boozy, despite the barrel. In fact, you get lots of malt kick up front, and some pie crust, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice show up. The spices play off the barrel, and the whole thing has a candy sweetness to it. You get lingering pumpkin and whiskey, and the finish is dry and slightly sticky/dense.
If you're going to fault this beer for anything, it's that the sweetness might be a tad one-dimensional. But would you rather have a boozy or hot mess? This beer is super drinkable, thanks to lots of carbonation and non-existent heat. Palate depth is outstanding, and I might go as far as to say that this is fairly complex despite the one-dimensional sweetness. The body is medium-full to full-bodied, with pumpkin, toffee, caramel, and pie crust malts up front; that rolls into pumpkin spice and other spices, pumpkin, and big whiskey; you get whiskey, oak, wood, vanilla, bourbon, and then it trails off into whiskey/pumpkin with a dry finish. Super rad.
Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)
I'm going to go with a Light Divine Brew, which is what I rated the original as. This is really stellar stuff, and the addition of the whiskey/barrel only adds another layer of complexity. That said, this beer's candy-like sweetness might be a tad one-dimensional, but the beer is complex in other regards. It also finds a wonderful balance between the whiskey and the pumpkin. I'm about to pair this beer with some broccoli cheddar soup, but you could pair this beer with turkey, Thanksgiving trimmings, pumpkin pie, a stew, hearty Autumn meals, or anything that would go well with a Pumpkin Beer. You could also mull over this by the fire pit on a chilly Autumn evening, or drink this beer as dessert during a football game. This beer is a tad pricey, but fuck it, this is some classy shit. Hoppin' Frog has yet to disappoint me, pick this up.
Random Thought: Today felt like the first real day of Fall. I woke up this morning and it was CHILLY out. When I stepped outside there was a cold mist sprinkling down, and I could smell the wet Autumn air. Even at around 4pm, I stepped outside and it felt like Fall. For these reasons, the Pumpkin beers are finally starting to really hit the spot.
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