Hoppin' Frog - Barrel Aged Naked Evil

Today is a bottle that has been a long time coming.  I received it as a Christmas gift from my father and its name alone qualifies it as one of my more rare/interesting beers.  First off, it's barrel aged.  This is more often than not a good start to a great beer though far from a prerequisite.  Second, those barrels are whiskey barrels and not bourbon barrels.  Not that there's anything wrong with bourbon barrels, I just happen to be much more familiar with whiskey than bourbon, with few exceptions.  Third, this is a barley wine - a style that lends itself unusually well to being made into big ol' beers.  Fourth, it's a Belgian-style barley wine.  This is just another layer of complexity that I'm looking forward to having wash over my taste buds.  The bottle has this to say,

"On a recent trip through Belgium visiting the monastery breweries, we discovered an excellent barrel aged ale that had an incredibly satisfying flavor combination.  Aging in oak barrels added a memorable richness, that we seek to achieve with this barrel aged Belgian-style barley wine-style ale. Being the ideal celebration beer to release on our 5-year anniversary, Barrel Aged Naked Evil is fermented with both British and Belgian yeasts and aged in whiskey barrels for a lightly spicy twist on this old-world beer style.  Sweet malt flavors will become smoother and rich dark fruit characteristics will build with time to add a wonderful complexity and depth of flavor."

Aroma 12/12

I smell this and instantly feel like I should be in more formal surroundings.  You are immediately embraced by dark boozy fruits, raisins, vanilla, whiskey, and a lesser oak.  It is simply a fantastic blend.  As it warms the whiskey takes the forefront with strong tones of vanilla, toffee, a lesser oak, and a faint Belgian spiciness hidden in the back.  The dark fruits are still very present, but know their place.

Appearance 3/3

Pours like silk with very little head.  In fact, one wonders if they'll receive any head at all until it begins to fade in at the middle of the glass and slowly push its way to the top like a person newly awakened and slowly making their way through the first of their morning routine.  The ale's legs on the other hand are ridiculous.  They stick to the glass and show virtually no signs of falling.  The color is a bright copper with an abundance of ruby glints, sunset orange hues, and earthy reds.  Gorgeous.

Flavor 20/20

Oh my!  This begins in the same sweet fashion as the aroma with boozy fruits, but makes a gradual and seamless transition into vanilla, toffee, candi sugar, and more whiskey.  Somehow the oak is not completely subdued by all these imposing flavors and still manages to make its own small contribution.  Sitting in the mouth it continues to enjoy all those confectionery inspired flavors and ceased to be quelled.  The finish is like the smoothest, sweetest shot you could imagine.  Think high end, "no burn" whiskey, and caramelized hardened sugar.  Oh, but add amazing dark fruits and oak.  Enticed yet?  The aftertaste adds some bitter, but it appears to be a result of the dark fruits and alcohol, not so much that of hops.  Absolutely wondrous, rich flavor as complex as it is harmonious.

Mouthfeel 5/5

The mouthfeel was the first clue that this beer was not going to be Belgian-style in a yeasty, banana, bubble gun, clove, spicy kind of way.  It was going to be a Belgian-style in a quad, knock your socks off, highly carbonated, dark fruit kind of way.  Carbonation is initially pretty strong, but fades to a perfectly appropriate level; being present to provide texture, but never allowing that sensation to become too strong or to distract from the flavor.  It also never threatens to lighten the medium-full body.  Obviously, the whiskey provides some heat to the beer at 11.3% ABV, but again in congenial way where it never threatens to usurp the other more important flavors.  The spiciness incorporated by the brewers doesn't hurt one bit either, nor does the way it leaves the mouth sticky with caramel in the aftertaste.

Overall Impression 10/10

A masterpiece for Hoppin' Frog!  By far the best offering of theirs that I have ever tasted.  It is a rich, superbly blended cornucopia of Belgian quad goodness: active carbonation, dark fruits, whiskey heat, and smooth as you please.  Good gracious!  Can we all sign a petition so that they'll make this again?

Total 50/50

Well, Hoppin' Frog has joined the elite ranks as one of the few beers to earn a perfect score on Sud Savant. Deservedly so.  This beer is fantastic!  The barleywine style that they claim in their descriptor can be difficult to find sometimes, especially if the drinker is more accustomed to the more common "American Barleywine" style.  However, as a traditional or "English barleywine," this beer is a marvelous blending of styles.  It incorporates all the malty, caramel-laden, fruity, boozy, silky goodness that we've come to know and love and combines it with even more dark fruits, active carbonation, and spice from the Belgian style.  On top of that it throws in whiskey and oak!  What else could you want?!  The correct answer?  Some in your glass and then some in your stomach.  Top marks to Hoppin' Frog!  What a beautiful bruiser!

The specs.

Innis & Gunn - Highland Cask

After my last Innis & Gunn review, there were a ton of comments both supporting and lamenting this brewery.  I've never written anything else that has received such a response!  In short, I knew I'd have to review another I&G beer in short order.  That day is here!  Today's review will be for Innis & Gunn's Highland Cask ale.  This beer is aged in oak barrels and their have a pretty cool genesis story for those interested in that sort of thing.  Some of their detractors talk about the apparent marketing machine that Innis & Gunn has at their disposal.  The good news is that there is virtually zero, I repeat, zero I&G marketing in the US, so I don't have to try and deal with any preconceived notions that I might have.  Big thanks (again) to Keith for snagging me this brew.  Let's pour!

Aroma 6/12
Initially, I didn't think this smelled much like whiskey at all.  I should know.  I love bourbons and whiskeys.  It didn't have that quintessential sweetness, but instead was more earthy and grain-like with just hints of peat poking through.  Just to make sure, I grabbed a nearby bottle of Redbreast (a 12 y.o. aged Irish whiskey) and inhaled deeply.  Sure enough, the I&G lacked that sweetness that makes whiskey such a treat.  Obviously, that missing characteristic is quite a disappointment.  To further add to that disappointment, there's not much behind the boozy warmth!  This could have been a great combination of sweetnesses from the English Strong Ale style and that of the whiskey, but I&G has definitely whiffed on all this potential and instead given us a boozy, timid smelling brew.  To those that might be saying, "Hey!  This beer is aged in Scotch Whiskey barrels, not whiskey barrels, you idiot," I say that's OK.  It doesn't smell like Scotch Whiskey either.  Again, I should know.  Johnny Walker and I have long been good friends.

Appearance 3/3
Despite a weak start in this review, the beer actually appears quite handsomely in the glass.  True to its name, it is just darker than some whiskeys and bourbons with shades of rust, mahogany, and burnt orange.  It's clarity is quite high, but the head hisses and dissipates too soon.  My photos do not do it justice.

Flavor 12/20
Thankfully the beer begins by tasting better than it smells.  It starts with a traditional English Strong Ale sweetness, some nuttiness, and hints of dark molasses.  These delicious sounding flavors are far from intense, but they are tasty.  A butterscotch is present, but is easily overtaken by the ESA flavor.  There's not much else to say as this beer is remarkably simple and thin.  What I am NOT getting is any semblance of Scotch Whiskey!  Where is it?!  Daddy needs his special medicine! Even slurping this beer only goes to show how bland it truly is.  There is NO reward for slurping, not even an extra alcohol kick.  The finish is unusual as it doesn't continue or reintroduce any of the already existing flavors in this beer.  It's just this oaky, bitter, earthy, toasted flavor that leaves the mouth more bitter than anything.  What an odd, underwhelming beer.

Mouthfeel 3/5
This beer is going to get points for its ridiculous smoothness and that's about it.  Overall, the beer feels thin and certainly not  big enough to adequately carry a flavor like Scotch Whiskey.  Carbonation is tiny, but adequate and persists until the end of the glass.  To their credit, the 7.1% ABV is invisible.

Overall Impression 4/10
This beer misses so many things that could have gone right.  It doesn't smell like whiskey or Scotch whiskey.   It doesn't taste like whiskey or Scotch whiskey.  It doesn't have a robust malt profile that could have potentially complimented the whiskeys' sweetness, had there been any whiskey in the first place.  Why is the end bitter?  Why does this beer feel so thin?  Arg!

Total 28/50
This is a world of difference from the last Innis & Gunn beer that I reviewed.  Their Rum Cask brew was really tasty and I enjoyed it immensely!  On the other hand, this beer is one-dimensional and lackluster in flavor, offers very little in aroma, and drinks as easily as the smoothest macro.  It begins with molasses and ends bitter with no scotch or whiskey in sight.  With it's shiney label, high ABV, and "cask-aged" claims, this beer is like dating a very dumb, gorgeous person:  all style, no substance.  It simply seems tired and vapid.  Thank goodness that this beer has only been brewed once and it not part of their regular line-up.  If anyone at Innis & Gunn is listening, please burn this recipe.  You are better off starting from scratch and building the beer that this SHOULD have been.  It's not up to what I perceive as your usual standard of quality.  C'mon!  It's brewed in Edinburgh for Pete's sake!  You should know if your beer tastes like Scotch whiskey before it leaves the brewery.  For shame.