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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This was good, but don’t think I could drink a lot of it. Sweet and spicy and very heavy. I definately got the aromas and flavors mentioned on the bottle - cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, plus some clove-like flavors, as well. Tasty stuff, but very heavy.

Big spicy nose, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon on the nose. Pours reddish brown with a thin white head. Spicy cinnnamon, ginger and nutmeg with very caramelly malts and brown sugar. Not bad but it does remind me of christmas!

Overpowering aroma of cassia cinnamon starts this off. Pours a clear red, with a pillow of light tan head on top. This is not a subtle beer with the spices. There’s notes of cloves, which are overpowered by the ginger and cinnamon. I think this would be an amazing beer to cook with (especially in a spice cake, or anything dealing with apples), but is far too overspiced for my drinking taste.

Bomber. Pours a clear, dark crimson color with hints of coppery brown. A small head of beige colored foam quickly fades into a thin film, leaving just a few scattered lacing spots behind. The aroma is quite spicy, showing bold notes of gingersnap cookies, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, along with a general wintertime potpourri overtone. Caramel cookie malt provides the backdrop for the myriad spice aromas. Flavors largely follow suit, again based in lightly toasted caramel malt and loaded with winter spices. Peppery ginger and cinnamon lead the charge, with complimentary notes of allspice, clove, and nutmeg. There’s a nice, earthy hoppiness that keeps it pretty well balanced. The palate is medium-plus in body and smoothly carbonated, finishing long and spicy. Good brew. I’m typically not into heavily spiced beers, but this one manages to pack in alot of flavor without getting carried away.

Pours very lively with a big. Off white cloudy head, some soapy lacing above a cola brown body. Aroma at first is a fresh gingerbread cookie that is bready, cinnamon, ginger, and a little nutmeg. The bready cookie aroma is awesome. The flavor is much the same with plenty of the spice and a great bready brown malt taste. A very spicey good thanksgiving beer. Not sure i could drink more than one at a sitting though.

Pours a slightly hazed red auburn with a frothy white head. Aroma is huge Ginger, sweet, lots of nutmeg underneath, strong clean and spicy. Flavor follows, lots of ginger, lighter cinnamon and tons of nutmeg towards the finish, thin aftertaste, hint of caramel sweetness like an amber ale. Medium bodied, thin in palate, great soft large carbonation, wish it was a bit fuller.

Bottle. Pours brown with a tan head. Huge aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Heavy spice flavor follows the aroma. The spices hide a little bit of the sweet malt and is somewhat well balance with the spices winning. Not my favorite beer, but actually pretty enjoyable for the holidays. I could see drinking it again.

Murky, rust colored pour with some splotches of head. Aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, Kind of like a gingerbread cookie. Flavor is also like gingerbread. A big fat christmas of a beer. Seriously. Now I’m ready for it. Bring on the reindeer and the fat man in the suit, I don’t care that it’s two weeks before thanksgiving.

650 ml bottle
Maybe the bottle that was shared at a recent tasting was an aberration but this was a spice bomb. Extremely aggressive to the point of being way over the top it ruins what could have been a nice experience.

Aroma / Appearance - Reddish brown with a glowing translucent edge and thin beige head the body does not hint at the imbalance to come. The nose was overly sweet with a mess of candy cane, spice, and brown sugar. With less spice it would not mask what else is hiding underneath.

Flavor / Palate - Like a candy cane bomb the spice explodes on the senses. Anything else is hidden by the sweetness. It might fade at some point but if so it takes longer than five minutes. Rebalancing this will result in a much better product.

Pours a beautiful mahogany-brown color with a large and lasting light brown head followed by strings of bubbly lacing. Aromatic spices and sweet malts penetrate the air above the glass. Nutmeg, ginger and some rather aggressive cinnamon. Smells like a freshly baked gingerbread man cookie. A very thick malt body backs up the spices, heavy malt seems to be the Frog’s signature attribute. Warming with a soft creaminess, it drinks fairly easily and the spices quickly fade in the aftertaste. Full flavored and balanced which is key for this style. You can taste that real spices were used and are well proportioned. The hot cinnamon steps forward after the other spices have gone and really shines in the overall flavor profile. Very impressed by how much I enjoyed this beer in a style I rarely get excited about these days.