Frogichlaus
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

 

Mahogany color with a very thin head, Malty aroma with notes of dried fruits, toasted caramel, and toffees. Malty, moderately sweet, and complex aroma.

2020 Edition drank in 2024.

This version, dated 2020, amps up the ABV to 13.5 percent. So, perhaps unwisely, two 8.45 ounce cans are decanted into a clear glass liter mug, for a single episode consumption. There's very little head, common for this style. What was there for a few seconds, was biege, with a reddish tint. The color of the brew is light mahogany, bright, but still opaque. For the nose, there's malt, alcohol and even some caramel/toffee. It's a pleasant inhale. It drinks on the flat side, but that's appropriate for this style. Surprisingly, there's very little notice of all of the alcohol until it goes down the esophagus. The taste is sweet and reminiscent of dried fruits. This is a malt lover's answer to a prayer, provided it includes a heavy dose of alcohol. It's sweetly malty and the high ABV only augments that. There's really no depth to the taste and certainly no transitions. What you get up front, you get at the finish. Thankfully, it's not overly spiced, like too many other celebration ales. It's really just barley malt and alcohol, if you like those things.

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium to dark reddish orange with a thin off-white head that dissipates to sparse patches with faint lacing. Aroma of dry caramel malt, raisins, figs and brown sugar. Flavor follows, with caramel malt, toffee, figs, raisins, brown sugar and hints of light stone fruit. Semi-sweet at first with a fairly dry finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. Well this was an appropriate time to have my Frogiclaus can and didn't even get the riff on Samichlaus until I had my first sip. Like that classic winter brew, this is a doppelbock on steroids, although warming, it covers its ABV pretty well. Lots of caramel/toffee and dark fruit character, but with some lighter fruit making a more complex profile. An interesting and full bodied ale from these masters of big dense brews and a worthytribute to the Schloss Eggenberg original. A fine choice for Christmas Eve and a nice, warming evening quaff.

1966
Name: Frogichlaus
Brewery: Hoppin' Frog Brewery
Location: Akron, OH
Style: Doppelbock
ABV: 14.1%
Date: 2019
I am drinking Frogichlaus today using a Bruery glass. I served it at 46 degrees. The pour created an airy, creamy, one-fingered, tan head with average retention. The color is dark brown, charting around SRM 34. The somewhat slow dissipation left no lacing on the glass. This style's overall appearance is average.
The initial aromas are bready, caramel, Maillard, smoke, and alcohol. The malty aromas dominated the nose with malty sweetness. I do not detect much else.
The beer is a beast. It has enormous toasted malts, bready, and malty sweetness. Other flavors I detect are Maillard, smoke, caramel, and light floral notes.
The mouthfeel is sticky and chewy. The body is medium, and the carbonation is low.
I am pleasantly surprised. This is a delightful doppelbock, albeit a high alcohol.

 

Mahogany liquid with an off white head that quickly disappeared.
Semi-sweet, malty, notes of dates and figs. Slight medicine like aftertaste.
Well with a 14.1% ABV the feel factor is up there. LOL
A 8.45 oz can does not rate very high in my book. First time I had to pour a beer in to a tumbler because all my beer glasses were way to big. I feel like I have room for another beer but because of the high ABV I think I'll pass. Sip slowly my friends.

 

 

Poured from a can at fridge temp. Pours a nice murky dark orange with tan head. The nose is full of toffee and sweet candy. Quickly followed by maple, dark berries, watermelon, and a thick layer of malts. Really nice and smooth. The ABV is really not detectable at all.

The taste is really sweet, but not cloying. Again, tons of toffee. That's really the main flavor coming through. I also love toffee, so this is a winner for me. Candy sweetness, malts, figs, plums, a touch of wood, and some darker berries.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and the alcohol is very well hidden. Overall, this is fantastic. Compared to Samichlaus, this is definitely sweeter.

 

 

 

Thanks to Ozzylizard for this one. 8.46oz can 2020 version (dated Best By Aug 17 unreadable) poured into 14oz teku. poured a solid, muddy brown color with just the barest of head that immediately dissipated and had zero lacing.

The aroma had heavy malts, some alcohol, some barrel, and some booziness at first. Some caramel sweetness, and faint grain hid in the background.

Very similar on the tongue, with the addition of a stone fruit (black cherry? plum?) aspect. And, at 14.1%, some alcohol heat at the back.

The body was, as expected, thick, full, mostly smooth, and had sweet but hot finish.

Drinkability was very good. i would have liked a 12ozer, but this lil guy was probably for the best.

Overall, a very good brew. A must buy if you see it.

 

 

My can is labeled "2020" and I'm having it well into 2021, to give you an idea how fast it's moving. I'm not immediately concerned.

L: Roasted amber red and hazy. Mild carbonation. Glossy.

S: Syrupy barleywine.

T: A little extra on the palate versus an average doppelbock. I'm going to say holiday spice. The barley is extra too of course. But it's mostly spice.

F: Sticky as to be expected.

O: Pretty sure I'd rather have a Great Lakes Christmas Ale.

Frogichlaus from Hoppin Frog. Picked up some 8.45 oz cans at the brewery, price not noted. Stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 10/7/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
“2020” on the front label and stamped “BEST BY AUG 17 2023” on the bottom of the can. Served at 47.8 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 54.5 degrees.
Appearance – 3.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), clear.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. When rear-lite, the entire glass appears a murky ruby.
Head – Tiny (Maximum four mm, aggressive center pour), buff, medium density, short retention, diminishing to a tiara of tiny bubbles.
Lacing – None. Considering the 14.1% ABV, none was expected.
Aroma – 4.5 – Begins sweet with roasted malt, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins slightly less sweet than the nose suggests with toasted malt and dark fruit, particularly dates. Distinct hints of oak-aged bourbon. No hops, no yeast. No ethanol (14.1% (!) ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Gastric burning does occur following the first swallow, but this quickly dampens to a warming glow. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4.5 – Full, creamy almost syrupy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 The high ABV has the expected effect on both the head and lacing but this still lowers the appearance score. Otherwise, a sweet, malty, fruity quaff that moves it into at least second place if I had to list favorite DRINKING brews, if not my highest scoring brews.