Hoppin' Frog BORIS the Crusher

Gotta love them Imperial Stouts, and this one is just outside of the top 50 list on www.ratebeer.com, although its close cousin (the barrell aged version) is up there. This brew pours jet black, like almost all Imperial Stouts do, with absolutely no head. It smells of oatmeal, no surprise if you know what the O stands for in BORIS, heres a hint, its oatmeal. It also has a nice aroma of liqorice, coffee, chocolate, and coffee. The taste is instantly of coffee and alcohol, but fades into a nice bitter sweet aftertaste with a hint of oatmeal. Very smooth indeed.

Appearance - 4.0

Smell - 4.3

Taste - 4.1

Texture - 4.0

Overall -4.1/5

Brouwerij Huyghe Delirium Tremens

This Belgian strong ale comes in at 8.5% alcohol, pretty mild compaired to the brews that have been frequenting this humble blog. It pours a light brown, almost yellow tinge, with a ring of a white head. The smell is what I would expect in a Belgian Ale: hops, flowers, bitter fruit, yeast. The taste is a little more pleasant than the smell and almost the same exact notes but with a little more focus on the bitter fruit and hops. The finish is smooth and leaves a nice bitter aftertaste. Not bad for a "cheaper" Belgian ale.

Appearance - 3.6

Smell - 3.8

Taste - 3.9

Texture - 3.8

Overall - 3.78/5

Hoppin' Frog BORIS The Crusher

Frog + Crusher = Not Likely Combination. I love this name. It makes so little sense, it's awesome. For the purpose of this review, you might also want to know what BORIS stands for. Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout. You know what that means - motor oil. Let's get to it.

As I poured it into the glass, I was stunned of what came out. Err...okay, not really. Motor oil came out. It let absolutely no light through, it had no head, and had a nice tan ring around the rim of the glass. Standard issue - let's move on. I took a nice whiff and got a nose full of coffee or cappuccino. There was also a hint of liquor in there - kind of like Bailey's. There was also that roasted smell of barley. It reminded me, in taste, a little bit of the World Wide Stout in terms of complexity and what was in it. There was a lot of oatmeal in the flavor with a slight hint of liquorice as well. The texture was very appealing to with a smooth, but thick palate. There was a nice flow of flavors that made the beer extremely filling and pleasant to drink - a rarity for a RIS.

Overall, this was a very nice surprise. I ENJOY a nice Imperial Stout but I do like a little bit of variation in them once in a while. The oatmeal spin really made this an interesting and memorable brew. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to try something new.

Appearance - 4.3
Smell - 4.2
Taste - 4
Texture - 3.9
Overall - 4.1/5

Brouwerij Huyghe Delirium Tremens

Now for something a little new to our arsenal. We're not sure where this beer comes from or what the name even means, but it is intriguing. We do know that the name of the beer is the technical term for "alcohol withdrawal". Appropriate.

As I poured the beer out of the strange, blue speckled bottle, it came out a very clear and consistent golden color, like a true ale should be. It had a nice full head that lasted a while. Although, once it settled, it took on a slightly murky appearance. At the first smell, I was instantly reminded of a cheap beer, which was disconcerning. It may be because it is such a clear beer and consists of mostly hops and not much else. Because of this, it was very smooth. It had a little bit of a bitter taste as well as being seemingly light with a hint of citrus. The palate was smooth, overall. There was a nice flow from sweetness to bitterness in the beer and it all hid the alcohol quite nicely.

Overall, a decent, but average beer. Not much to write home about or distinguish this from other quality ales, but still a decent brew all around.

Appearance - 3.8
Smell - 3.6
Taste - 4
Texture - 4
Overall - 3.85/5

Brew Tasting the Sixth

Now we're pretty much completely out of brew. We don't want to touch the Westvleteren, so expect a brew run next week sometime. We need something...anyone with suggestions, post 'em here. Today we're gonna total off a frog and something that sounds mystical. Full listing after the break.

1) Delirium Tremens
2) Hoppin' Forg BORIS The Crusher

Samuel Adams Imperial Series Imperial White

Here is another of the Imperial Series brews from the fine folks at Samuel Adams. It intrigued me because when think "Imperial" I think "motor oil." This is quite the contrary. Let's see what we get.

Poured into the glass it produced a very nice, opaque, golden-hued beer. It had a nice film around the edge after the head settled. The aroma consisted of a lot of hops. It was also pretty sweet - reminded me a little of traditional Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Aside from this, it was a pretty complex scent and I couldn't pick everything out. As for the taste, there wasn't much to say at the start of it but at the end there was a hit of everything. There was a nice combination of barley and spices and a slight bite from the aforementioned barley and alcohol content. This was a pretty smooth beer but it was a little unbalanced in terms of taste-flow. It started with not much of anything, kicks you with a spice and it ends bitter. It reminded me a little of Chimay White in terms of overall flow.

Overall, this was another fine brew. It was a little strange in the way it was constructed and how the textures and tastes flowed, but it was still decent. The Double Bock is still my favorite Imperial Series brew but this holds up the name quite well.

Appearance - 4.2
Smell - 4
Taste - 4.1
Texture - 3.8
Overall - 4.03/5