Coconut Rum Barrel-Aged Peanut Butter Hazelnut Caramel Chocolate Cake Stout
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

Once again, I was very disappointed that this was one of six "rare beers" for 2020. Rare beers should be something you covet and something you are proud to share with other beer enthusiasts; not something you struggle to find a time and place for because of overwhelming sweetness and gimmickry.

That being said, the first taste was amazing and the beer continued to be perplexing. I poured it a bit too cold so there was zero head and zero lacing. The smell is a nice Kahlua which may have sat on a shelf near a Frangelico. There was a constant battle between a delicious syrupy feel and aroma which was awesome for a few nano-seconds and instantly overtaken by a lingering alcohol sweetness that reminded me of eating a glazed doughnut that makes you want to instantly brush your teeth three times; except it was in the back of the throat.

I tried a couple different glasses with 2 ounce pours to give it every chance but it just wasn't something worthy of the class it was placed in. I tried pouring it from 12 inches above the glass to see if I could get some head........no deal! I let it come up to room temperature in hopes of a miraculous change, but none happened.

I drank the beer while I wrote this review and I went back three times to lower scores.

If you buy a 22 ounce bottle, which is the only way it is sold, you better have at least 10 friends or it might get "accidentally" dumped.

Fred should stay away from the gimmicky cake beers and stick to what he is really good at.

Could be used for drizzling on a Tiramisu!

Dull matte black with a moderate head of tan poof settling to a thin but creamy blanket and curled ring, leaving minimal fluid lacing only at the tilt.

This is a vast improvement over the regular version, and I'm not sure if it's because of the coconut rum barrel, or just that the added flavors are toned down or less artificial tasting. This time it's much more milk chocolatey, with a kind of hazelnut wafer accent before some creamy coconut overlays a faint hint of char. It no longer has that odd caramel corn flavor.

The roundly medium body is exceedingly smooth, with a fluffy but mild carbonation that finishes semi-dry. There really isn't much barrel, but it's super drinkable now, reminding me of the old Cafe Silk Porter days.