Bullfrog El Rojo Diablo Oak Aged

Formerly brewed at Bullfrog Brewery
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Williamsport, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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A solid pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet glass produces a three-finger thick, frothy, amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a plum red color that shows a red, gold tinged at the edges color when held up to the light. The aroma is interesting in its mix of oak and hop character up front and once you throw in the funky, "wild" character things really start to get interesting; though I wouldn’t quite call this cacophonous. Big notes of oak-vanillin mix with herbal hop notes, phenolics that smell of curing plastic, spicy oak, musty-earthy mushroom aromas, some crayon-like notes, tart citrus and toasty malt character all make for a complex, if not quite well-integrated beer. The buttery oak ends up being the most dominant note here in the aroma, at least before I have had my first sip of this beer.

My first sip has me noticing herbal hop notes up front and a substantial biting hop bitterness in the finish that mixes with a spicy oak and hot, higher alcohol are the first thing I notice. There is quite a bit of carbonation here that provides a fizzy texture to this light-medium bodied brew; much of the body is derived from the oak / tannin influence. This really finishes with a peppery, hot note in the finish that is a combination of oak and alcohol. The hop notes seem to be quite vegetal in the finish at times. Buttery oak flavors are pretty substantial, but get buried beneath the hop notes, oak spiciness and alcohol most times.

As the beer warms up a bit some fruitiness starts to come out a bit more (tart plum, over-ripe apple, and an orange note). The vegetal note starts to be more noticeable as well and reminds me of a raw, peppery cabbage, some spicy, uncured tobacco notes and perhaps a touch of broccoli. The fruitiness, though more focused on the plum notes derived from the "bugs", is accentuated as the beer warms up as well; and once I start looking for it, the citrus hop notes become a little more noticeable. The aroma really starts to get hot and alcoholic as it warms, which really drowns out the previously noted complexity. Letting this beer sit too long in the glass has it losing too much carbonation, the scrubbing, effervescent bubbles are needed to tame some of the heat in this beer.

This is really a bit of a cacophonous mess, but only just a bit; it is still enjoyable even if it is a bit too hot in the finish. The aged, but still substantial hop character and the sometimes funky and oak barrel notes don’t entirely mix too well. I really like the creative leanings of this brewery, but they seem to not really be able to create consistently good wild beers, much less the phenomenal level that Russian River seems to pretty consistently hit.

Bottle thanks to GRG1313. Pours with a hazed orange body with minimal head. Aromas are spicy, vinous, mild funk, red wine, rose petals, tannin and lightly grassy. Flavors are bitter, spicy, floral and sour. Very vinous, red wine. Tannic and bitter. Kind of a mess. Oxidized hops. Medium bubbles.

Herb-hefiger säuerlicher Beginn. Starke Holznoten, dann etwas muffig. Die Säure bleibt muffig, sehr trocken, fast etwas aufdringlich. Dann bitterer, dunkel malzig. Ok aber sehr trocken! 11/10/8/9/12/8

750ml bottle from Trey. Rating #94. Bright orange/gold color with a small white head. Funky woody aroma with a light bitterness. Dry tartness and a bit of hops, real freaking nice. (2142)

Sampled at the DC Local Tasting a 750ml bottle pours a transparent orange. Nose is medicinal, oranges, windex. Flavor is sweet, oranges, brett, windex. Full bodied, sticky finish.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with faint beige head. Aroma is toasted malt, caramel, light sour fruit, and spice. Flavor is spice, caramel, and biscuit malt. Light/medium body with medium warmth and carbonation.

750mL thanks to MrChopin. Pours a clear reddish amber with a short lived beige head. Blueberry nose with that odd bullfrog terroir of wild yeast. Berries, fruit juice, mustiness. Taste is hotly acetic with a dry and grassy herbal character. Drying Zataar spice medley. Stomach acid/bile comes through with an abrasive acid character. Corrosive mouthfeel down the esophagus. Oh no.

Bottle. Deep clear amber, small white head. Aroma of summer fruit. Taste is sour and bitter wood.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with a medium, fizzy off-white head, medium retention with light lacing. Aroma is light caramel and cookie malt, sour fruits and earthy and spicy hops. Flavor is malt with medium hops and bitterness, sour fruits and a sweet finish. Medium body, warmth and carbonation.

Thanks once again go to Deuane for this one. I had one of these about a year ago and didn’t care for it very much. This must have been one of the "good" bottles. A - Pours reddish brown with a stark white one finger tall head leaving spotty lacing down the glass. S - Smells of earthy funk, vinous red wine, lightly toasted caramel malt, dulled tart fruit, and some dry oak tannins. You can really tell this was in a Cabernet Sauvignon barrel. T - Starts off with a big dose of vinous red wine from the Cabernet Sauvignon barrels slowly giving way to a mix of brett funk, apples, caramel malt, dulled earthy hops, and lots of dry oak tannins. It is very dry but the light tartness helps to ease it a bit. The finish is pretty dry with a touch of tartness, lingering for some time. M - Medium body and flavor with moderate carbonation. Dry, tart, feel with plenty of dry oak tannins lingering through the finish. O - Not too bad. I have had better from Bullfrog but this was far from terrible. If you go into it without any expectations it isn’t too bad but if you do, then you might be let down big time.

Pours a dark hazy amber color with a thin fizzy white head that quickly disappears without leaving much in the way of lacing. Vinous and funky aroma with hints of earthy oak, cream and dark fruit. There’s a subtle vanilla presence with hints of cherry, grape and other dark berries. Medium bodied with soft carbonation and a slight lactic, creamy texture. Slightly tart but not overly funky or puckering with a strong barrel presence and lots of vinous dark fruit. Hints of toasted oak with a prominent vanilla character followed by subtle funk and lots of sweetness from the fruit notes. I’m picking up raspberry, grape, cherry and other berries. I was expecting more funk/sourness but it’s pretty tame. More sweet/vinous than anything without any harsh acetic quality.