Hoppin Frog Frosted Frog Christmas Ale

Brewed by Hoppin Frog Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Akron, Ohio USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Bottle sample at the Christmas beer tasting at Blacklick Wine & Spirits on 12/17/09. Clear reddish amber pour with a medium beige head. Sweet malt and huge spice aroma that is mostly cinnamon with a sprinkle of ginger. Flavor is absolute spice bomb. Tastes like chewing on a cinnamon stick. Some ginger and malty sweetness (but not too much) in there as well. I love spice beers and have always wondered whether there was such a thing as too much for me. This was a very good beer, but it did cross that line I didn’t know was there. I still prefer it to anything that’s way too subtle on the spice.

Bomber from the Binny’s in Orland Park, Illinois: This poured a clear chestnut body with a respectable tan head. The aroma was rife with cinnamon and a touch of ginger dryness over dark caramel and milk chocolate malt scents. In the flavor the cinnamon carried the day as well, supported by the malty sweetness and ginger. (The nutmeg never really made an impression on me.) It’s a pretty straightforward holiday brew, but for some reason this one slides down well. And the sturdy alcohol content, althouch undetectable in aroma or flavor, is a plus once it warms over the veins.

Smells and tastes very similar to Southern Tier Pumpking, but a little more seasonal. This beer is pedestrian and nothing to cause a fuss over. It is good, but too sweet for me as I prefer the complexity of Belgium Christmas Ales.

22oz bottle 12/17/09 (Binny’s-Downers Grove)-Pours a medium brown with an off white head. Aroma of cinnamon and other spices. Taste of mainly cinnamon and the other spices being thron in. This medium bodied brew is a little unbalanced with the cinnamon but is still very tasty. A nice cold night next to a fire kind of a beer.

Bottle Pours a red brown with a off white head which leaves quickly. Produces spotty rings of lacing. The aroma is very holiday, spices dominated by cinnamon, but it is pleasing. Also do get the nutmeg and ginger. Has a light carbonation. The flavor is festive with plenty of spices. Have a spicy kick from the cinamon, reminds me of red hot suckers. Has a medium body. The texture is thin. A good finish with a cool spicy aftertaste. This is most likely not for everyone but I enjoy it and want more. A good beer to enjoy when putting out the presents or after Christmas dinner.

medium brown with mild white head. amazingly fresh cinnamon to the nose, really remarkable. moderate carbonation for style. mild bitterness, then some low crystal malt that doesn’t really open up before the very powerful cinnamon and nutmeg comes through. not much ginger or other spices noticed. the base beer is an english brown ale which, without spices, could use some time to open up and add malt complexity, it ends up being too sweet. the cinnamon however overtakes it. alcohol is also present, though rather indifferent. overall, the beer could use some aging, maybe 6months-1 year, then I imagine it could be much better, right now, just slightly above average

22oz bottle: Pours a dark amber with tan head. Very spicy smell consisting of cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices. Flavor of gingerbread and cinnamon. This beer is huge with spices and totally fits the Christmas beer style. Great beer to sip on during the December month.

This brew pours a clear dark copper brown color with a medium beige head that diminishes to almost nothing eventually. Spotty lacing on the glass. The aroma is a spice wallop of cinnamon and ginger, with some malt in the background. Medium body with a sweet spice character and notes of nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger plus some toasted malt. The finish is spice cookies and malt and lingers awhile. Overall it skews a little too far on the spice side for my taste but it is still a pretty good beer.

nose is huge cinnamon and light ginger. body is ruby red. flavor is solidly palatable spice, nearly crunching between my teeth. this interesting phenominon turns to simple graininess and turns due south. cinnamon tears at my lips and burns my throat as it goes down.

22oz. Bottle: Aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, light malts, slight ginger, slight cocoa, slight mint, and a hint of York Peppermint Pattie. Poured brown/very deep amber in color with a tiny, tan head that diminished but lasted around the edges. Hazy. Sparkling. Flavor is medium sweet and highly spiced. Tastes of spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, light allspice, light malt, light graham cracker, and some ginger. A bit like a Sweetzel ginger cookie (http://www.sweetzels.com). Medium body. Dry texture. Average carbonation. Spice, cinnamon, and light ginger finish in reminiscent of a Sweetzel ginger cookie, and slightly dry.