Hoppin' Frog Barrel Aged Frosted Frog Christmas Ale

Hoppin' Frog Barrel Aged Frosted Frog Christmas Ale (2012)

Limited Release Winter Seasonal.

22 fl. oz. / $14.99 USD / 8.6% ABV

About: "Barrel-Aged Frosted Frog Christmas Ale has a familiar and satisfying combination of carefully blended Christmas spices in a flavorful nut-brown ale, its like a Christmas cookie in a glass!

For a rare seasonal specialty, Barrel-Aged Frosted Frog is a great treat, expertly aged in oak Bourbon barrels for 12 months! As the angel’s share evaporates, the barrel-aging concentrates the malt flavor, and lets the spice character mellow for an incredible taste combination! Frosted Frog’s Christmas spices blend with a tasty vanilla note and a very slight Bourbon character imparted from the barrels for a wonderful, savory flavor combination. With all these additional flavors, Barrel-Aged Frosted Frog is perfect for any Christmas ale lover or true beer aficionado!"

Thoughts: I've been looking forward to drinking this beer since December 13'th, 2011, after trying their standard seasonal version and finding out they make this one. Popped the black cap off of the bottle, and I couldn't resist taking a whiff! Yeah... me happy. BA Frosted Frog poured a deep mahogany with little to no head whatsoever. The sliver of a head that was appeared to be a light tan one that left a small ring around the glass. Though pretty dark of a beer, I can tell that it's slightly cloudy.

This is one gorgeous smelling beer. The cinnamon and sugar here is immense! Just like the regular version of the brew, it smells just like freshly baked cinnamon rolls covered in vanilla frosting. Pure awesomeness. It's very bready, a little peppery and just reeks of sweetness. I love it. The barrel aging doesn't overpower the scent in any way, just kinda forges a deeper tone throughout. For someone like me, who never indulges in "sweets", this sure does remind me of the snowy and cheerful season.

First sip, and I'm blown away. What a beautiful liquid. Prepare for a smack to the cheeks at first. The barrel aging has toned down the spices here, but not as much as I had feared it would. In fact, the essence of the original beer is perfectly in tact and still quite abundant, only now it's got a heavy woody note after the swallow. The taste is like pounding a gingerbread house down to a pulp, squeezing it into a glass and drinking it. It's really malty, spicy, sweet and tastes beautiful. The little bit of bourbon that's creeping through gets a little stronger as the beer warms and it's a welcome change of tone while drinking this beer slowly and savoring it. Though cinnamon is the dominating factor in the scent, the nutmeg and ginger really shine through in the taste and blends stupendously with the liquor. This is a beer that you have to drink slow, and for every new sip it's totally worth the price and time to do so.

The mouth feel is pretty creamy and soft, and it leaves a slight burn at the back of the throat. The cinnamon brings about a dryness to end it all, but aside from that this is one silky and sultry brew.

A lot of people aren't into Pumpkin Ales or Cinnamon Roll Christmas Ales, calling these beers "abominations", and those people I like to refer to as Idiots. Frosted Frog is the perfect holiday ale, and there's no doubt about that. I have never actually favored a Barrel Aged version of a beer over its original form as of yet, and this beer is no exception. BA Frosted Frog is downright amazing, but unless you get the itch and find this bottle in front of you at some point, I say just enjoy their Frosted Frogness any way you can. But believe me, once you try the original, nothing will stop you from hunting this version down. It's that addicting.

Hoppin' Frog Frosted Frog Christmas Ale

Hoppin' Frog Frosted Frog Christmas Ale (2011)

Winter Warmer (Seasonal)

22 fl. oz. / $8.89 USD / 8.6% ABV

About: "The essence of Christmas is captured in this very bottle you are holding. Perfectly blended spices compliment Frosted Frog’s rich malt flavors, creating the ultimate Christmas experience. Celebrate the holidays as you savor this very special seasonal offering."

Thoughts: Poured a super hazy mahogany with a light caramel head.

Fuck yeah! This is what I'm talking about. Smells just like fresh baked cinnamon rolls! And it's strong too. Man... after the previous Christmas brew disappointments, just the smell of this one alone beats the others straight out. I love it. Bread, sugar cookies, and pumpkin pie!

Malty with a hefty dose of cinnamon, nutmeg and a little bit of ginger. This tastes fuckin' excellent! There's a truckload worth of holiday spice in this, sweet brown sugar, a beautiful tinge of alcohol that circles around towards the end. It's got a great balance with the spice and malts, and it gets straight to the point. There's no subtle tones hiding around in this one for the connoisseurs... it's a straight up frosted mug blast over the dome of pure, unadulterated flavor! If you love pumpkin beers, you will no doubt love this! This beer kicks the ass of all other so-called Holiday brews. All Hail!

Medium thickness that you just want to savor and enjoy. Goes down relatively smoothly, but leaves a bit of a tickle on the tongue. Not that I mind it though, it's making me giddy.

Damn, I wish I could try their Barrel Aged version of this (though apparently it was only brewed once). I think this one tops their Double Pumpkin brew, which I too loved. Aftertaste is bready, malty and mild. The overwhelmingly awesome spice doesn't linger around once it's gone (cinnamon has this effect which can be distracting), instead, it lays low and blends in making it a very, very enjoyable feeling. Nothing is ever going to top this brew as a Christmas seasonal. Nothing!

Hoppin' Frog Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale

Like it froggystyle?

Hoppin' Frog Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale (2011)

Brewed and Bottled by Hoppin' Frog Brewing Company in Akron, Ohio. USA.
Autumn Seasonal (Yearly Release)

22  fl. oz /  $9.69 USD / 8.4% ABV

About: "There’s a place just south they call Frog’s Hollow, brewin’ pumpkin ale in Fall, and they only speak in whispers of the name. There’s a lady they say who has the secret, of spices picked just right. With a crying shout, she’ll knock it out, and hand you the Frog’s delight."

Thoughts: I love frogs, and this frog is one cool dude. He looks pretty much the same on all their labels holding up different colored beers, with a few exceptions like the one where's he's wearing sunglasses or has an afro. But the one of him in the Santa hat for their "Frosted Frog Christmas Ale" has me really looking forward to December. I want to try it bad.

Poured out a lighter shade of very orangy orange. The dark head was slower than usual to build up even with an aggressive pour, but it lasted a minute.

 

Smells like boiled frog! Ahhhh, I'm just fuckin' with ya... It smells like sweet, sweet pumpkin pie fresh out of the oven and just cut up.

This brew is hoppy as fuck. Get it?! Hop! Like a frog duz... I got hit with high alcohol first and a super fast rush of cinnamon that eventually subdued and allowed the tasty pumpkin to creep in. The lingering hints of the allspice, nutmeg, cloves and ginger seem to all be in equal amounts, and none of them overpower the others. I can taste it go back and forth between allspice and nutmeg with the cloves and ginger following things up after I swallow and smack the lips together. After a while and a few gulps the bite of the alcohol died down a little. There's some great buttery squash as things start to warm up. 

Thick and creamy, just like my ex-girlfriend. Carbonation seems pretty minimal, even though I'm using my new Samuel Adams glass with a laser etched ring at the bottom.

 

I'm feelin' pretty good and I still have a third of a bottle which I'm about to pour and finish writing this. I don't have a fire erupting in my belly, but rather a gentle smoldering that's making me grin like a dumbass. This ale is pretty damn spicy though, I wouldn't mind the spices held back about twenty percent or so with a bit more raw pumpkin thrown in but I'm not complaining as this one is still pretty sweet. Headed towards the top of the charts, too.

This Ale won the Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2010, in 'Category 4: Field Beer', beating out 27 other entries including Elysian Brewing Co.'s Dark o' the Moon (Silver) and Weyerbacher's Imperial Pumpkin Ale (Bronze).