El Frogquistador
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

 

22oz bottle. No bottling date information found.
Slightly cloudy, deep gold colored body. Slight white head. Some wavy sheets of lacing are left behind.
Jammy aroma of apricot, pear, and cherry. Brandy barrel is there too. A woody smell backs it all.
Taste is a close blend of orange citrus, cherry, apricot, peach, pear and green apple. The brandy barrels brings forth spirits and wood. A liquor infused marmalade is a good way to describe the main thrust of this beer. Almost close to a cocktail. Just a touch of bitters at the end.
Medium plus mouth feel. Very good carbonation.
This is a bright cocktail type beer that drinks a little sweet but is tempered by the brandy barrel boozy aspect. To swirl in the mouth is the way to bring out the different flavors here. Rather different from most beers, and totally unexpected.

 

Poured a bright yellow hazy color. Aromas heavy with raisins and cherry with notes of brandy. The flavors start out with marmalade jam, citrus zest and finishes with a sweet tang. The brandy shines through at room temperature, giving off an Old Fashioned cocktail flavor with the blend of liquor and citrus. Mouthfeel light to medium body with no alcohol warmth. Overall an interesting beer. I don't absolutely love it but I don't hate it. It keeps me going at one sip after another, questioning what kind of beer this is.

 

 

 

 

 

Beer poured a pale yellow with little to no head. Aroma was slightly sweet, not too complex. Flavor was inundated with sweetness...corn syrup with light toffee/caramel...super under attenuated or just from the barrel. Yuck...

 

Another good bottle shop near my house bites the dust. Picked this 22 oz. bottle up for half price which, despite their quality, is why I don’t pick up much H.F. Split with my wife.

The pour is mango juice. Since I don’t read or comprehend much of anything, I somehow believed this was a scotch ale, so the shock was real. Smells like brandy, booze, & honey. They should put this smell in plastic bears & sell it.

El Frogquistador is part of a growing trend of brews that are more cocktail than beer. Speaking of beer, about the only beer-related thing here is a slug of hoppy bitterness. Batting second, third, fourth, & fifth is a double barrel of sweetness, sticky honey, tongue-stripping raw sugar. The barrel comes across as booze & vanilla, with only a Careless Whisper of brandy (that’ll be my only ode to George, I promise) that mixes to give a white wine spritzer feel to this one. Sticky. Enjoying my half of this & pretty sure my blood sugar has already hit 230 mg/dL.

My attitude towards this went from WTF to eh to huh to this is pretty good! Weird, drinkable, & ultimately another testament to Hoppin’ Frog.

these guys are taking the barrel ageing ting to the next level right now. i have always loved their barrel aged beers, especially the stouts, but this is far beyond anything i have seen. spanish fruity brandy barrels, peach or pear i think, not sure which, i talk myself into tasting both fruits in here. soft hazy hay colored beer, a little green, a little grey, a little murky but very light and bubbly for its strength. the aroma is all brandy and wood, such a crazy intensity to it, sweet a bit with the fruit in here, but also a very strong and spicy belgian yeast flavor, something i have almost never had together in a beer at the same time. subtle green banana from the yeast, ripe juicy classic pear, a little perfume there, white pepper, white wine, light bright new oaky, vanilla, green pepper, vanilla, sort of citrusy tart, there is just so much going on here and absolutely nothing like it in terms of flavor. very bubby and active too, with a soft mellow feel still from the wood, very compelling. whether or not you love the flavor of this beer (i could see it being very polarizing), you definitely have to respect it, i mean, its so vibrant and unique, wow. great barrels to use here, perfect base beer i think for these flavors, although i never would have thought of that by myself. i wish their special beers like this made it out to colorado a little more often...

Pours dark yellow and with no head. Mostly transparent. Smells of apples and apricots. Sweet pear and apple notes come through strong with carmel and burnt sugar bringing up the end. Worth a try!

 

 

 

 

 

This actually looks a lot like apple cider coming to the table, with a peach and apricot hue and absolutely no head. Some fizz does surface upon first taste.

Apple cider actually comes through at first whiff and taste, with some kick from a spiced rum type of booziness. It tastes a lot like a strong Caribbean cocktail. These elements catch me a bit off guard, considering brandy barrels were used--but I guess the Spanish don't make a typical brandy. I also get notes of white grape and white wine, while the booze seems to have mellowed out, having a couple bottles of this a good year and a half after this initial review.

As it warms, it becomes more of a caramel apple, with some sticky maple in the background. Deceptively well carbonated and busy on the tongue, it's very much like a more grownup fruit beer, without trying.