Bourbon Barrel Aged Choco-Marsh Cafe BORIS
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

Bourbon Barrel-Aged Choco-Marsh Café BORIS from Hoppin’ Frog. 22 oz bottle picked up at the brewery 24/05/23, $ 16.00 (Including tax)/bottle - $ 0.737/fl oz. Reviewed 10/06/23 (Review 3121). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bottle from 2018, according to the receipt. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 58.1 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 60.4 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.5
First pour – Deep Brown (SRM 30), allows a little light through while pouring.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, still opaque, even at the edges.
Head: Average (Maximum 2.0 cm, aggressive center pour), mahogany lightening to burnt sienna, high density with a rocky top, quickly diminishing to a 0.3 cm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Roasted malt with coffee, chocolate, and marshmallow. No hops, no yeast. No bourbon, no barrels. No ethanol (9.4 % ABV as marked on the label).
Flavor – 4 – Begins slightly sweet and chocolatey with distinct marshmallow and weak coffee, no hops, no yeast. Moderate bourbon on the aftertaste, slightly oaky with vanillin over-riding tannin. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Medium gastric warming, stable.
Palate – 4.25 – Full; creamy; soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated personal container) The marshmallow comes distinctly through, adding a sweetness that is unexpected in a RIS as well as the typical flavor that offsets some of the coffee/roasted malt bitterness. The receipt also begins the name with “Roasted” which appears no where on the label. So, is this just a relabeling of an old, discontinued pile of bottles or is this a new beer? Probably only matters to us data nerds. Anyway, this was too good to just sip – larger swallows (but no coconuts) were involved.

Slick, intense black with a creamy mocha collar.

Tons of chocolate comes out on the nose, like wafers and hot cocoa as well as some milk chocolate, with a light accent of coffee.

Flavor exhibits a decadent level of coffee, which is very similar to that used in Infusion A, but with a stronger, roastier body that has a good punch of vanilla, and nutty accents that are almost peanut-like, with a little heat. This is very much like an adult Swiss Miss with gooey, flame licked marshmallow on top.

The treatment definitely seems to have thinned it out a bit, as the body is more moderate, with a crisp carbonation and a dry finish.

Originally the above review was based off of draft pours at 101 Bottles, but having just opened a bottle in November and stepping back and keeping it simple, it really tastes like...Count Chocula BORIS.