Old Treehugger Ale
Bullfrog Brewery

Pours a very dark ruby red color that completely opaque with a one finger beige head that quickly settles into a lasting ring.  Streaks of spoty lace left behind.  

Interesting aroma with a vinous barrel presence along with some leathery malt and a weird, olive-like salt air presence.  Subtle hint of oak/toothpick along with a strong vinous fruit presence with fig, raisin and grape must.  There's also some leathery malt and tobacco in there as well.  Very odd yet interesting aroma.  

Medium body with soft carbonation and a decent amount of oxidation.  Strong  vinous oak barrel presence followed by some leathery malts and herbal tea flavors.  Slightly medicinal and mineral-y with an herbal, rooibos tea character.  Vinous grape must and dark berries with dry oak/toothpick.  A little sulfuric with some cardboard oxidation hurting the drinkability.  Kind of harsh and past it's prime at this point(probably four years old) but there's decently complexity and the flavor profile is pretty interesting.  

750ml corked and caged bottle that is 4+ years old at the time of this review. The brew pours a hazed ruby color with 2 fingers of yellowish tan froth. A webby wall of lace coats the glass as the cap slowly fades.

The aroma captured quite a fruity essence. Somewhat herbal to medicinal and mildly carbonic in nature but not enough to be distracting. Not much of a malt backing but seems the nose is driven by alcohol mostly.

The flavor is tangy with notes of dark fruit like cherry and a bit of minerals to carbonic quality that was hinted towards in the nose. Where the aromatics seemingly had no malt inclusion, there is plenty of toasty toffee and bready character here and little to no alcohol which is also polar compared to the nose.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest to lively level of carbonation. It is very easy drinking and most certainly worth a try. However, I cannot imagine there is much of this still kicking around. Many thanks Terry for sharing one of your old creations with me.

 

 

2009 rate from a fresh bottle.

Deep brown pour with pinkish-orange edges. Incredible lacing, one of the few 5's I'd give for look. Really nice lush hoppy aroma, grassy and fruity. Flavor is at first a wash of hops, then berries, wrapped up in a strange dry quality from the wine barrel. Weird, interesting, and really good. I've drank a bunch of highly rated, mostly west-coast beers the past few days, mostly Russian River and Lost Abbey, and this beats them all hands down.

Edit - I've had an aged bottle of this and it didn't age well at all. All wine barrel, when the hops died the whole balance was thrown amuck. I won't dock it, maybe .5 points.

750ml bottle.

***Very light gusher***

Poured a deeper amberish color with a very large sized off white head. Aromas of woodiness, vinous, cherries, floral hops, caramel, and vanilla. Tastes of vanilla, vinous, cherries, wood, caramel, and dark fruits. Lighter tart finish. Another winner from Bullfrog.

I think I may have a new favorite beer. This thing was insane. I recieved this one somewhere along the lines in the last couple weeks, and I apologize to the BA for not remembering who sent it to me. None the less, this lovely corked and caged 750ml bottle was grabbed out of the fridge and poured into a pint glass and allowed to warm. Consumed on the afternoon of 12/28/2008.

The pour was a think of beauty. Perfect here I have to say. Rich dark amber, bordering on a hazelnut brown color with lots of hints of red shing through. Very cloudy and hazy with a monster of a head three inches high coming up over the top and settling down effortlessly into a thin tan pillow covered the top of the glass throughout the session. Monster looking and I cannot think of anyway it could have looked any better.

The aroma heavenly. Rich hop aroma mixed in with a strong red wine that was evident from the very first sip. Rich was an understatement in this one. As it warmed more and more of the wine started to come out and really show off the depth of the aging on this one. The flavor though was just spot on. Rich notes of red wine, lovely hops, light grains and the most wonderful aftertaste I can remember in quite a long time. Simply stunningly done. Rich feel was spot on, just thick enough for the style without being overwhelming in any way. No hint of alcohol made this was super easy to drink every moment.

Overall I was blown away by just how good this one was. Rich, subtle, explosive and utterly amazing. I need more beers like this in my life, will be posting to get more of this one right away.

Mahogany colored with a gorgeous filmy white head that lasts quite well. Nose has some depth to it, is very vibrant and has a lot of character. Very tannic with fatty cab grapes, wood and wet hops. That being said, don't really like the way it smells. Flavor is dominated by red wine, barrel and earth, with some hops as well. Sweet and fruity. Interesting and complex, but I would never drink this again.

Thanks go out to Kempleton for this brew.
Bottle poured into a snifter produced one finger worth of white head that transforms into a nice layer of thick lace. The body of this ale was a slightly cloudy,and burgandy in color with tiny little bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass

Aromas on this brew are quite interesting, there is some apple and pear smells along with some sweet wine like qualities

There are flavors of sweet fruits filled my mouth at first then followed by a spicy bitterness in the end. This is a very unique brew and very complex in it's flavors and they are very hard to pin down. The mouthfeel is medium with enough carbonation to keep it from being to syrupy on the tongue.

This is my first Organic brew and the novelty alone made it worth while to drink. The bottle went down well and I would like to try another one with some age. Another interesting brewery from Pennsylvania looking forward to trying more