Hoppin Frog Silk Porter

Brewed by Hoppin Frog Brewery
Style: Porter
Akron, Ohio USA

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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Sampled February 2009
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three-finger thick, lightly browned, dark tan colored head. The beer is a dark, concentrated brown almost black color that shows some ruby highlights when held up to the light. The aroma smells of dark chocolate up front but then quickly becomes quite roasted with espresso notes, burnt grain husks, lots of toasted whole grain and even a touch of musty malt character. The aroma is definitely on the charred and burnt side of the spectrum, though it is not so much as to leave the aroma harsh.

Lightly sweet tasting up front, the beer has a medium’ish body to it that lightly coats the palate. The carbonation provides a substantial prickle as well as some sharp carbonic acid; after the carbonation is forcibly removed the beer becomes much more smooth and well integrated. Sweet malted chocolate and some roasted berry notes up front are tempered by a herbal hop flavor, a hop bitterness and a roast grain bitterness in the finish. Hmm, after stepping away from my beer for a bit, I think I know what makes this taste so sweet. There is a definite, though subtle, note of diacetyl here that adds a touch of butterscotch to the flavor. This definitely has a simplistic, at time annoying sugar sweetness to it.

This is a nice beer, I was definitely in the mood for some dark grain on this cold, by Tucson standards, winter evening and this has hit the spot. I could wish for a touch more smooth, chewy dark malt, with a bit less of the simple sweetness (more of a caramelized malt sweetness would have worked a little better here), but this is still a tasty beer. Well here is a bit of a dichotomy, the more I work my way through this bottle, the more cloying and annoying it gets. Not horrible, but I am really not digging the simple, sugary sweetness here; the body is just too light to support this amount of sweetness.

A deep brown thats quite nearly opaquee with the exception of blood orange high lights. Doesn’t pour with much of a head. A collar at best. Aromas of deep roasted almost burnt malts dominate. Some bittersweet chocolate can be scented also. lots of good flavor with of course deep deep roasted malts rich chocolates and ash. A bit thin on the palette with a grittiness in the body. The flavors seem to explode in the mouth filling every corner like foam. A rather plain porter that didn’t live up to the label descripition.

Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a black color with an enormous foamy dark brown head that lingered and left decent lacing. The aroma was cola, anise and hints of wood and cocoa. The flavor was a bit roasty with moderate cola, cocoa and anise and a touch of wood underneath. Medium finish and body. Forgettable.

Medium brown head quickly grows coarse and shrinks. Just barely translucent deep dark red body with carbonation. Roasty chocolatey aroma with dusty licorice notes. Sweet-dryish roasty fruity taste with licorice notes. Mid-bodied. Mild, soft mouthfeel. Dryish chocolatey licorice aftertaste with burnt toasty fruity notes. Long lingering dusty burnt earthy finish. A bit much fruit in this one, but otherwise nice. (0.65l bottle, wine monopoply, Vika, Oslo.)

Funky, floral aroma, with some dandelion greens. Pours nicely into my chimney style glass, with a head that foams up before settling back down. The label says this beer (they mean porters generally) started the industrial revolution. A sweet and smooth porter with flavor elements that blend nicely together - black cherry, coffee, woodsmoke, molasses, caramel. The low carbonation keeps it flowing smoothly along the palate, and there is an odd funky-herbal edge to it also. An excellent example of one of my favorite styles!

65cl bottle from Vinmonopolet, Vika. Dark, almost black with a light brown head. Aroma of lightly roasted malt, fruits and chocolate with hints of caramel and berries. Malty and slightly chocolaty without beeing too sweet. Very well balanced. Soft and silky and very nice!

Bottle@Pullman, Helsinki. Black color, wispy tan head. Vanilla and oak aroma. Sweet coffee flavor, licorice finish. Medium-light body, medium carbonation. Very smooth and fairly light for the style. Not half bad, though!

From bottle. Black with brown. Very good balanced. Roasted malt. Nice bitter aftertaste ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

On big bottle from Vinmonopolert Vika, thanks Visionthing. Black color, good brownish foam. Medium/full body & complexity . Some coffee notes, fruity ( most fruity Porter I’ve tasted) and chocolate . Deserves silk porter name- very smooth. Enjoyable

0.66 l bottle at Harry’s, Jyväskylä. Black color. Very coffeish with toasted nuts, dark bread and bitter chocolate. Silky indeed, sweetish with mellow bitterness. Medium to full body. Pleasant mellow porter.

Very sweet smell of licorice. Almost black. Aroma of tar, cough mixture, aftertaste of... mint chocolate? Roasty, but not so bitter.