Hoppin’ Frog Brewing Co. Barrel-Aged B.O.R.I.S.
B.O.R.I.S. is Hoppin’ Frog’s catchy acronym for their russian imperial stout that is brewed using a healthy portion of oats. The resulting hybrid of an American-style imperial stout, with notable hoppiness and high-alcohol percentage, and a classic oatmeal stout with its roasty flavors and smooth texture and body, has earned the brewery a good amount of national acclaim during the last few years, now that their beers are more widely available than they had been previously.
This Spring the brewery released the first batch of Barrel-Aged B.O.R.I.S, their regular B.O.R.I.S. aged in whiskey barrels for about 3 months. It was a small batch and sold out quickly despite most of the bottles only being sold at the brewery. Riding the great response to that first batch, Hoppin’ Frog released a second batch late this past June.
Despite lots of anticipation the beer rather quietly made its way into Massachusetts, and I was kind of lucky to stumble upon a bottle of it. While talking to the beer buyer at a local shop he let on that they’d received a small shipment, and that the bottles were available on as as-knows basis. So now that I knew, I was able to land a bottle. Lucky indeed!
Given my predilection for both whiskey and imperial stouts, and the rave reviews I’d seen of this beer, I was quite excited to try it, despite a relatively steep price tag. It rolls in at 9.4% and 60 IBUs.
B.A. B.O.R.I.S. pours viscous and near pitch black with dark amber highlights around the rim and a dark tan, crema-colored head that forms an inch-thick, slowly dropping to just a thin layer of foam. The nose is intoxicating with flavors of bourbon, vanilla, caramel, chocolate and espresso. As the beer warms the caramel and bourbon flavors become more prominent, subduing the coffee and chocolate flavors. The palate is velvety and unctuous, with enough carbonation to heighten the flavors without impeding the smooth mouthfeel. Layers of flavor gradually open up, highlighted by cocoa, bourbon, vanilla, and toffee, along with a hint of dark anise. A slight note of oaky tannins draws away from the flavors a bit by introducing a very slight note of astringency. The finish is very mellow and calm, with flavors of malted milk balls, vanilla, and cocoa. The bourbon is much less prominent on the finish.
This is a very good barrel-aged imperial stout. It reminded me quite a bit of the Weyerbacher Heresy barrel-aged imperial stout that I wrote about a while back. Both had a great balance of chocolate, coffee, and whiskey flavors, atop a smooth, velvety body. In both cases the body was a shade thinner than the best renditions of this style (such as Founders’ Kentucky Breakfast Stout or the Goose Island Bourbon County Stout), but still an ample vehicle for carrying the great flavors. So, given the price-tag of the two the B.A. B.O.R.I.S. shines a light on just how great a job Weyerbacher is able to do at creating incredible beer at a great price point ($9 for Heresy vs. $19 for B.O.R.I.S.).
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