Rocky Mountain Barrel-Aged T.O.R.I.S. the Tyrant
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

Black color. One-finger thick beige head. Roasted malt, coffee, molasses, whiskey, and wood are in the aroma. Moderate sweetness in taste. Roasted bitterness and warming alcohol notes at the end.

Rocky Mountain T.O.R.I.S. from Hoppin’ Frog. 8.45 fl oz can. Purchased from Hoppin’ Frog, Akron, OH, 05/10/24. $ 6.68 (Including tax), $ 0.791/fl oz. Reviewed 13/12/24 (Review 3417). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “BEST BY NOV 2 2025.” (I think, somewhat smudged) Stored at 39 degrees F at home. Served at 57.0 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 62.0 degrees F (What are the odds?).
Appearance – 4
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), nearly opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same with slight precipitate. When rear-lite, same with ruby at the edges.
Head: Small (Maximum 0.4 cm, aggressive center pour), latte. High density. Rapidly drops to a 0.2 cm crown and no cap.
Lacing – None, as expected at 13.8%.
Aroma – 4.25 – Initially distinct roasted malt. Fades to roasted malt and chocolate with vanilla, no whiskey, no ethanol (13.8% ABV, as marked on label). No disulfide or diacetyl.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins slightly sweet with chocolate, then becomes slightly bitter with roasted malt. No hops, no alcohol. No disulfides, no diacetyl. Gastric warming builds to a near-burn, then banks.
Palate – 4 – Full; creamy; soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Another good iteration of the basic B.O.R.I.S./T.O.R.I.S. formulation. Otherwise, nothing special.

"Best by 11/2/25"; drank 10/6/24 @ the Yarchives.

Midnight black appearance.

A violent pour yielded a big, noisy dark tan head; nice lacing remained.

Marshmallow, dark chocolate, wood & faint booze heat notes in the nose.

Thick, creamy mouthfeel.

Marshmallow & dark chocolate flavors up front; wood, booze & faint raspberry notes on the finish.

Finally no plastic-y notes; the higher the ABV goes on these "Rocky Mountain" variants go, the better they taste. Guardedly excited for the Q.O.R.I.S. version...

8.45 ounce can, best by NOV 2 2025 stamped on the bottom of the can. Served in a Hoppin' Frog snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head. Head retention is good, and there's a decent amount of lacing. The brew smells like coffee, roasted malt, dark fruit, oak, vanilla, and some whiskey. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some oats, dark chocolate, tobacco, dark bread and earthy flavors noticeable too. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's coating and a bit rich with a moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this one overall, certainly worth trying especially if you like Hoppin' Frog's other big stouts.

 

Best by 11/2/25

I’ve had the original T.O.R.I.S but this is my first variant. On the other hand, this is not my first of the Rocky Mountain BA variants from Hoppin’ Frog. It should be interesting to see how those all compare to each other at the end. Let’s crack this one open and see what it’s all about

Pours completely pitch black with a finger of creamy dark brown head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves decent lacing and has amazing sticky legs

The nose is so damn vibrant here, aggressive and smooth at the same time. I’m picking up on aromas of brown sugar, charred oak, raisin, sweet whiskey, earthy cinnamon, black cherry, cacao nib, spent coffee beans, and light leafy hops

There isn’t too much bite up front, but after the swallow is wonderfully punchy. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting burnt caramel, milk chocolate, vanilla bean, raisin, toasted oak, brown sugar, sweet whiskey, and molasses. The swallow brings notes of molasses, black cherry, burnt toast, spent coffee beans, charred oak, leafy hops, cacao nib, vanilla bean, earthy whiskey, and leather

A full body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a rich beer. Finishes a tad sticky but dries out over time

This is a super heavy beer as expected, and that’s the only thing that holds it down a little. I love these small Hoppin’ Frog cans

Poured from a small can at fridge temp. Pours black as night with a good inch of brown head. The nose is bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, and roasted malts.

The taste is insane and quite a bit different from what I expected from the nose. Coffee grounds, roasted malts, vanilla, burnt sugar, dark German bread, char, and booze. Excellent overall.

25cl can from Tavour. Thick, black pour with a ring of beige head. Sharp, strong boozy aroma. Taste is chocolate, roast, sweet, anise, syrupy. Finishes bitter.

 

 

 

Another random tiny can grab from the set. Some commonality with DORIS I had last week but this is a good deal better. The intensely bitter bakers chocolate is here but there is a welcome Tootsie roll note to take the edge off. Some cherry here but it's kind of jammy rather than bitter and it's joined by a hint of raisin. The whiskey is as strong but the oak and the ash aren't. I'm really liking this one.

 

 

22 ounce bottle into snifter, 2019 vintage. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1 finger dense and fluffy dark brown head with good retention, that reduces to a minimal spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, whiskey, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Very nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts, whiskey barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with solid strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, whiskey, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Very mild pine, herbal, grass, pepper, roast, charred bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, dark bread/crust, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, whiskey barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a solid roast/hop bitter/sweet and whiskey/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and whiskey/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and super full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/slick/velvety/bready, and lightly sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild increasing warmth of 13.8%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged huge Russian imperial stout. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, whiskey barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish; fantastic soft/silky feel for the ABV. Fantastic balance of super rich malts and bourbon barrel presence/integration; mild earthy hops and restrained fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A hihgly enjoyable offering, and outstanding spot on style example as expected. Still prefer the base beer over both BA versions, but did not disappoint!

 

 

 

Burnt oily black with a dark mahogany collar that dies off quickly to nothing but a silky surface.

This is quite potent, coming up fast on Gavel Slammer actually, as dark charred malt has an espresso and mocha liqueur character that nears molasses. Rich and thickly silky on the tongue, notes of cacao are pummeled by substantial heat as dark fruit comes out on the exhale, swallowing semi-dry and a little sticky. Dark oak and a hint of Tootsie Roll develop as it warms, with notes of Port and licorice, but it's a bit too boozy while missing more of the barrel character you'd want to come with it.