Den Haag
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

Best by 11/23/23

I’ve heard very good things about Hoppin’ Frog but haven’t been able to find their stuff, so I’m very happy that a good amount of their beers are available on Tavour. This one sounds intriguing, just an absolute beast of an Old Ale aged in Blanton’d barrels. Let’s dig into this tiny can

Pours an opaque medium brown with a finger of light tan head that quickly fades to a thin ring and leaves minimal lacing

The bourbon really leads the nose here, it’s huge and boozy but has a nice complexity. I’m picking up on aromas of earthy bourbon, molasses, toasted pecan, charred oak, vanilla, brown sugar, fig, old leather, and baked apple

It’s not quite as bourbon-forward in taste, though it is still felt quite a bit on the back end. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting molasses, toasted walnut, plum, charred oak, milk chocolate, baked apple, fig, sweet bourbon, sticky caramel, and vanilla. The swallow brings notes of earthy bourbon, burnt caramel, molasses, charred oak, plum, cocoa powder, toasted walnut, brown sugar, and light vanilla

A medium full body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth yet boozy beer. Finishes very dry for the abv

This is a beast and I’m glad it’s in this small can. I’m definitely down to try more from them

Dark, brown color. Thin, off-white head. Molasses, dark fruits, malt, and bourbon in the aroma. Malty, moderately sweet taste with warming alcohol at the end.

Drank 9/20/24. Best by *indecipherable* sometime in 2024. So now is as good of a time as any.
Pour is a deep mahogany with a finger of deep khaki / mocha head.
Nose is rich toffee, bourbon soaked toffee, caramel, prunes, bready malt,
Taste follows. Huge waves of rich bourbon, toffee, caramel, toasted bread, hints of raisin and prune, warming alcohol on the finish. Finish is pretty hot.
Big, full body.

Best By Date Nov. 10, 2024. Poured straight out of my basement cellar at 52°. Fast fizzy tan head vanished immediately leaving no cap retention, no ring nor lace; dark amber body with excellent clarity; saving grace is the heavy legs on swirl. Nose is bourbon, fig, oak; boozy exhale. Entry is caramel malt, fig, raisin; molasses, caramelized brown sugar and bourbon; oaky vanilla middle; dark dried fruit and bourbon on back end. Medium plus body; smooth feel; bite on tip of tongue; full mouth warmth from 16.8% abv; light carbonation; hot alcohol tongue coating; dry wooden finish. Overall, a delicious collision of old ale flavors and bourbon barrel aging; layers of base and barrel flavors; boozy alcohol in the mix, which is very apparent and appealing.

Review: 2033
Beer Name: Den Haag
Brewery: Hoppin Frog Brewing
Location: Akron, OH
Style: Barrel-Aged Old Ale
ABV: 16.8%
Date: 2020

I served the Den Haag in a Tulip glass at 50 degrees. The pour created a frothy, creamy, dark brown half-fingered head with poor retention. The beer is dark brown, nearly black, and opaque, measuring around 26 on the color chart. The quick dissipation left no lacing on the glass. The beer's appearance is average for its style.

Nosing the glass, I smell malty, bready, and toasty characters with extensive barrel notes. The barrel-aging is caramel, oak, and a bit of char. Swirling the glass again, I detect soft earthiness, floral ester, light molasses, phenols, yeast, and leathery. The old ale style melds well with the barrel aging.
The malts are toasted, crusted bread, dark roasted, and cereal grains. The barrel aging has vibrant bourbon flavors, oak, char, and caramel notes. While sipping the beer again, I taste phenol, leather, earthiness, floral ester, molasses, peppery, raisins, and yeast.
The mouthfeel is chewy, finishing hot. The body is medium-plus and has medium carbonation.
This beer is hot, especially since it has been aging for four years. Thus far, this is one of the better beers by this brewery. It will take a bit to drink. I wish the finish was not as hot.

This beer was part of a tasting that occurred on 08/18/23 (notes taken). The can says best by 10/23/24. One of the most interesting cans I have ever seen, I believe it was 8.45 oz. Honesty it is probably the appropriate size for a beer that is 16.8% ABV.

A&S: only wrote the score for the look, I didn't include notes. I thought the smell was the weakest part of this beer. Malt and booze were the main components.

T&M: The finishing taste of this beer is spectacular, with figs and blackstrap molasses. ABV is not hidden. A surprisingly high amount of carbonation for such a high-ABV beer.

Overall: good, but not mind blowing. Worth a try, but I wouldn't seek it out.

Alcohol mutes too much of the other flavors.

Leathery dark brown cloudy body, tan cap. Smells of dark yeast, big prune, date, booze, black strap molasses, licorice. Taste is boozy, rustic oak, leather, tobacco, dark yeast, pretty warm bourbon, earth. Much more bitter than the nose, boozier too. Feel is medium light bodied, yeast is really nice, dry and rising. Barrel is strong but not overpowering

 

strong english style old ale whiskey smell when poured and drinking you get a great malty whiskey taste

Freaking great. Beautiful dark brown with ruby edging. Strong scents of molasses, brown sugar, vanilla, and barrel. Taste is similar, with a very assertive booziness. Very hot in terms of booze on the feel, clean, big bodied, mouth watering finish. I probably should have let it age to see if it mellowed, but I can’t hold that against them.

L: No head. Murky light brown body.
S: Rich nutty booze. Toffee, nuts, a hint of chocolate, bourbon, a bit of apple.
T: Follows the nose. Lots of toffee and concentrated roasty malt, along with some orange peel and apple that come out more as it warms. Heavy bourbon in the body that brings raisin and vanilla flavors. Toffee and a few cacao notes lingering on the finish.
F: Hot. All the way down. Leaves a slightly tingling oily residue on the lips that you’d expect from sipping whisky.
O: This is delicious, but I’m glad I found it in a 8.5oz can. I really doubt I could put a pint of this down in one sitting. That being said, it really isn’t any heavier than a BA English barleywine.

Can: Poured a deep hazy cooper color ale with a large dirty brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of deep caramelized malt with some toffee notes and deep bourbon notes with light vanilla is amazing. Taste is also a mix of deeply caramelized malt notes with some bourbon and vanilla with some toffee and residual sugar notes. World-class barrel-aged barleywine.

 

Often I don't look at the prices and I am surprised when I get home. I think this is one of those. $11.99 is a lot for a can, regardless of style.

It pours a flat-looking deep brown. The aroma is strong booze and sweet malts. It's a nice comingling. The taste is a huge sweet yet dark ale with booze hanging in every moment of the experience.

Recommended. It is an interesting brew. It will be a nice slow sipper for me.

 

 

my new strongest beer i’ve ever had, oh my days it’s good, it’s been a while since i’ve had a proper heavy beer that wasn’t an imperial stout, and this is just such a welcome change, it’s massive and delicious, brown bread malt, whiskey, cognac, cherry, orange, fig, raisin, tobacco, treacle, liquorice, almond, vanilla, caramel, it’s quite sweet but in a good way, boozey but you would not thinking that it’s nearly 17%, pretty night bitterness on the finish, low carbonation, full bodied, well and truly a sipper, a proper winter beer, one to be had by the fireside while it’s windy and rainy out, great beer, the abv is no gimmick

 

Can stamped best by 11/10/24. On the pour, there's a distinct reddish hue. Once in the glass, it's a still deep brown bordering black with no head, which given the huge 16.8% ABV is not a surprise. Aroma is very heavy on the alcohol, with plenty of bourbon barrel. Rich malts play a backup role, but it's the alcohol / barrel that dominates.

On the tongue, it's more of the same. Heavy, heavy barrel and alcohol. Faint hints of molasses & caramel, but, while I've never licked the inside of a bourbon barrel, in mind if I were to this is what it would taste like. Medium to full feel, with plenty of alcohol warmth.

Overall, this is definitely a sipper. A bit imbalanced for my tastes, but I'll be happy to enjoy this over the next couple hours.