Gulden Fraug
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

Gulden FraugGulden Fraug
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From:
Hoppin' Frog Brewery
 
Ohio, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Strong Ale
Ranked #176
ABV:
10.5%
Score:
82
Ranked #24,807
Avg:
3.6 | pDev: 13.06%
Reviews:
58
Ratings:
86
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 03, 2022
Added:
Nov 24, 2006
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  5
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by weeare138:
Photo of weeare138
Reviewed by weeare138 from Pennsylvania

3.92/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appears a semi-transparent, slightly hazed, deep gold with a small, off-white head that quickly fades out. Spotty lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is of yeasty, sugary, lightly spiced Belgian yeast with some coriander and pepper jumping out of the glass.
Taste is of yeasty, Belgian goodness with light notes of banana, citrus, and melon.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, sugary with citrus resounding. There is also a spice that blankets the entire tongue. Pretty decent Belgian style out of Ohio.
Feb 09, 2007
More User Ratings:
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.62/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Gulden Fraug from Hoppin’ Frog Brewing. Picked up at the brewery, Akron, OH, 03/10/21. $ 17.01 (Including tax)/4-pack of 12 oz cans ($ 0.354/oz). In reefer at brewery, stored at 37 degrees at home. Reviewed 03/07/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on bottom of the can “BEST BY FEB 23 2024”. Served at 53.7 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King Snifter. Final temperature 60.4 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5
First pour – Deep gold (SRM 6), hazy.
Body – Medium Amber (SRM 12), opaque. When rear-lite, translucent, and caramel.
Head – Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour), Dutch white, instantly fizzes and rapidly disappears; leaves neither cap nor crown, just a < one mm bubble ring and some vague ghostly bubble islands.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Sweet with a light, pleasing fruity chemical scent. No hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 3.5 – Slightly sweet apple fruitiness, maybe some caramel, but no yeast and no hops. No ethanol (10.5 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Gastric warming eventually occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Sweetness quickly ends leaving a slight sour/bitter aftertaste.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, almost watery, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.5 Well. A bit disappointing except for the nose. The alcohol is well-hidden. Two and done.
Jul 03, 2022
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

3.71/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12oz can poured into a snifter

A- pours a deep amber color with a ruby hue, one-finger foamy off-white head disappears immediately

S- Belgian candi sugar, spicy and peppery yeast, clove, ripe pears, slightly phenolic

T- sweet and malty up front with notes of candi sugar, caramel and brown breads. Mid-palate brings out some phenolic notes with cloves and pears. The finish gives notes of caramel and more spicy yeast

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into an almost effervescent finish, a hint of alcohol warmth
Apr 26, 2022
Photo of BBThunderbolt
Reviewed by BBThunderbolt from Kiribati

3.51/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Thanks to Ozzylizard for this one, from his box in NBS BIF #14. 12oz can (best by date of 2/23/24) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a very dark gold color, really a dark orange-ish brown, with just the thinnest cap of light tan head that immediately dissipated and left no lacing.

The aroma started off with some sugary sweetness from the traditional candi sugar used in certain Belgian styles, with yeasty spice following, and backed up by some earthy grains.

Similar on the tongue, with the sweetness being more the lead factor as the glass went on.

The body was medium-full, very smooth, and had a finish that was between sweet and very sweet. The lack of carbonation was a bit of a detriment.

Drinkability was good, as I usually find the Belgian styles to be, but with the sweetness, I'd probably want want a spacer between pours.

Overall, a very nice brew. It could have used some more carbonation, and I'd be interested in finding out what a couple years might do to it. Most certainly worth a try if you see it.
Oct 17, 2021
Photo of Brutaltruth
Reviewed by Brutaltruth from Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
From the 12 oz can in a snifter. This solid little brew pours a murky
orange tinged golden color with a nice head of white foam that sizzles
to a thin ring, thin dusty layer, and shows faint lacing. Nose of light biscuit,
raisin, plum, apricot, candy sugars, and banana esters. Flavors surpass the
nose with apricot, banana, soft wheat, raisin, Belgian candy sugar, subtle
white wine notes, light herbal notes of coriander, and orange zest. Decent
mouth feel; medium mouth feel, light soft carbonation, and a moderately dry
finish.

Overall, a SOLID brew that could use some effervescence in the mouth feel, but
overall a good brew.

Cheers
Jul 11, 2021
 
Rated: 4.26 by Danzifer from Ohio

Jun 20, 2021
Photo of CaptainHate
Reviewed by CaptainHate from Ohio

4.06/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured a best by Feb 23, 2024 12 ounce can into a DFH tulip. Body was more orange than the expected golden with a thin quickly fading off white head. Smell is rich with Belgian yeast notes, allspice and various miscellaneous fruits. Taste is pleasantly sweet reflecting the smell but also a white wine taste. Mouthfeel is appropriate for the style. A good example of the Belgian Pale Strong Ale.
May 10, 2021
 
Rated: 3.62 by j0hnc2468 from New York

Apr 20, 2021
 
Rated: 3 by fthegiants from California

Apr 12, 2021
 
Rated: 3.5 by heysuz from Indiana

Oct 30, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Oct 29, 2017
 
Rated: 3.92 by Chackman151 from Arizona

May 25, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by paulish from New York

Mar 06, 2017
 
Rated: 3.53 by Evil_Pidde from Sweden

May 05, 2016
 
Rated: 3.78 by dcmchew from Romania

Mar 27, 2016
 
Rated: 3.73 by StretchZep from Ohio

Jan 29, 2016
Photo of Sabtos
Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio

4.11/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Glistening dark amber to copper with a moderate off-white fizzy head settling to a fine ring and sparse but soft film.

Smell is plum, raisin, graham, and banana bread.

Taste is rich caramel, toffee, sweet biscuit, and wheat with a little cinnamon, allspice and earth.

The medium body is slick, round and velvety at first, but then crisps up by a cutting fizz into a tingly semi-dry finish that brings a little heat. It may be slightly more phenolic and assertive than I remember, but it's high quality all the same.

My original review was for the 2014 vintage, but it's since been updated in April 2021 for the recent canned release, which I found to achieve a striking consistency, prompting only minor updates while slightly increasing my score.

---

By the way, this beer is great with cucumbers. Yes, cucumbers.

Back in the day, when they used to do Tower Tuesday (and when COVID-19 hadn't shut the Tasting Room down), they'd infuse a select draft beer with various ingredients. They paired Gulden Fraug with cucumbers and it blew my mind, rocketing to the top of most other towers they'd done that you'd have expected to be more enjoyable.

So I did this at home with my last can, expecting the result to be different, but was pleasantly surprised to find it unbelievably successful. It has the effect of masking any alcohol, while developing a delicate sweetness that adds a sort of vanilla whip via the mildly floral cucumber character.

It's a fun way to kill off a 4-pack, even though the beer stands just fine by itself.
Dec 15, 2015
 
Rated: 4.06 by nrbw23 from Ohio

May 03, 2015
Photo of ONUMello
Reviewed by ONUMello from Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
22oz bottle poured into a goblet
A: orange-ish/goldenrod in color with no head
S: Candied orange, sweet malt, Belgian yeast and cherry
T: Lots of Belgian yeast, florals, cherry, apricot, a hint of banana/clove
M: Full-bodied, a touch sweet, a bit of alcohol
O: Initially I had plugged in lower ratings since it had something weird on the finish, but that blew off by midway through the bottle and this turned out to be a decent Belgian-style ale. Not my favorite in the style and not my favorite from Hoppin' Frog, but a decent beer and worth a try
May 01, 2015
Photo of doc_logic
Rated by doc_logic from Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Phenomenal Belgian Trippel. Complex on the nose and the palate. Ages with the best of them.
Jan 31, 2015
Gulden Fraug from Hoppin' Frog Brewery
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 86 ratings