Silk Porter - Rum Barrel-Aged
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

Copenhagen 13/7 2019. 65 cl bottle from Best of Beers web-shop. Simply drawn, very Green Frog hailing with a cup of Beer on the label. Black cap so I assume this is the Rum-version.

Pours opaque, dark brown with a big light beige head. Settles as 0,5 cm thick layer of foam covering the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is rich, sweet and with a oaky, boozy touch. Sweet, dark, fermented fruit like plum marinated in sweet Rum. Brown sugar. Vanilla. Wood.

Light carbonation. Medium thick, slightly sticky, oily texture.

Flavor has a strong sweetness. Only a very modest bitterness present. Aftertaste is sweet with a boozy spicy touch. Lingering.

Very Rich Porter. I hardly noticed it was not more than a ABV of 6,2. The barrel aging comes through loud and clear.

 

 

 

02/03/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22oz black cap (rum barrel) bottle poured into a pint glass
A: Pitch black; even a slow pour made a huge head. Slow top-ups resulted in two-fingers
S: Bitter cocoa, chocolate malt, hints of vanilla/rum and a bit of coffee & oats
T: A pleasant mix of chocolate/vanilla/rum with a roasted malt/hot chocolate midpalate though the finish has a bit of bitter, stale coffee
M: Medium-bodied, a creamy midpalate but a bitter finish
O: This could be very good as the majority of flavors are quite nice. However the overwhelming bitterness that dominates the end of the smell and taste and mouthfeel leaves a bitter finish, pun fully appropriate and intended, knocking several scores from a 4 to a 3.75

 

 

This is the most carbonated Hoppin Frog beer I have ever seen--a massive tan foam lingers for quite a while, settling to a fuzzy blanket. The pour is shiny black--even though I know it's in their wheelhouse, I'm always in awe to see such a low abv brew in Silk display so dark.

The smell is quite hot of rum and oak, but also quite enticing with near dessert elements of maple, coconut, and Vanilla Coke.

Taste is toasted coconut, cola, raisin, and molasses, followed by light and medium levels of chocolate, bringing a Raisinette character, and plenty of rum.

My full review is based on a three or so year old bottle, opened April 2017. As advertised, it's still quite silky despite its age, and full bodied, yet its light with tons of frothy carb.

Easily the best barrel aged anything I've had at such a low abv. Everything is measured and balanced, nothing is overpowering or cloying or heavy. The lightness of the porter makes for quite a unique and contrasting experience to what we're all used to in the heavy, big BA stouts that often have flavorings added.

 

Poured from a bottle into a snifter.

3.5 A: Black color. Two and a half fingers of frothy/pillowy tan head. Retention is about average and a decent amount of spotty lacing is left.

4.0 S: Very nice nose on this. It's primarily barrel forward. Pleasantly woody with powerful leather. Red apple, melon, raisins, vanilla, and a touch of mineral. Mild-moderate roastiness with faint hints of chocolate, caramel, and toffee. It's not an in-your-face aroma, but rather sophisticated, mellow, and complex. My only complaint is that I wish the base beer was more present.

3.75 T: Like the nose, I taste more barrel than beer. Again a ton of leather, woody oakiness with supple tannins, more prominent mineral and earthy tones. Vanilla and apple are also quite potent. Again the base adds semi-sweet chocolate, rich toffee, and caramel, but is overshadowed.

3.75 M: Medium body. Could use just a touch more carbonation, but within normal limits. It's mildly creamy, but it's a hollow creaminess if that were to make sense to anyone. Still, super smooth.

3.5 D: It's tasty, but it suffers from weak beer barrel syndrome. A beer shouldn't be put in a barrel unless it can hold its own with the barrel. This is just a little too weak to do so. Thusly, I taste more barrel than beer and it just doesn't hit the spot the way something like an BA IS can.