The Morning After Den Haag
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

Too sweet , other than that it’s a perfect brew , the flavors melt together perfectly .

1959
Name: The Morning After
Brewery: Hoppin Frog
Location: Akron, OH
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 16.65%
Date: Best by Aug 2024
I am drinking the Morning After today; it is
involving Den Haag. I served it at 46 degrees. Using a tulip glass, the poured created an airy one-fingered medium tan head with poor retention. Examining the color. It is dark brown, nearly black, charting around SRM 38. The appearance is slightly above average and darker than a few of the old ales I have consumed.
Nosing the glass, I smell the first aromas of coffee, chocolate, maple, and vanilla. I was expecting something far different than this. I have consumed another old ale from another brewery, and it was similar. I was hoping this would have a malt-forward aroma. I nosed the glass several times and smelled raisins, molasses, caramel, and light char. I don't know what to think about this.
The malt forward comes through in taste. I tasted a robust French coffee, Canadian maple syrup, and chocolate. The malt is bready and lightly toasted, and soft cereal grains. Bourbon, oak, char, caramel, raisins, vanilla, and molasses are other taste components. I do taste a bit of hops on the end; they are herbal and slightly floral.
The mouthfeel is chewy and alcohol-warming. The body is heavy, and the carbonation is low.
I have consumed several beers from this brewery, and it has been a challenge to understand what the brewers are doing. I enjoyed this beer, but it is perplexing. Why an old ale and not a stout?

 

 

Black body with brown edging, dark khaki cap. Super rich coffee, maple warm bourbon booze naturally waltz together in the nose. Taste adds the old ale somewhat earthy and left out bread backing, faint cocoa lingers, light hints of vanilla in the finish. Feel is thick but not super heavy, warm with booze and chewy yet surprisingly smooth despite the coffee percolation. A new world take that really works for me

Mystery beer #2:

This review is written blind. I have no clue as to what it is when writing this. All I've been told is it's higher ABV:

Looks - 4
Dark brown pouring with a 1 finger tan head. The head retention is not good, but considering I was told it's high ABV, not surprising. No lacing on the glass.

Aroma - 4.5
This is a boozy smelling beer. I get some brown sugar, plum, caramel, toffee. Quite deep and rich smelling.

Taste - 4.5
This beer has a lot of sweetness to it. I get brown sugar flavors, caramel, toffee. I also get a hint of coffee. I do get a hint of plum that hits right up front, but dissipates rapidly.

Feel - 4.25
Thick, and full body. There's a bit of a burn, but not too much. Smooth feeling for the most part, in spite of the burn.

Overall - 4.25
I am probably wrong as to the style, like I was with the last blind beer I did. I would guess it's barrel aged, and a Scotch Ale. It is quite delicious.

Received from @ozzylizard. Best by Aug 6, 2024. Consistent with the base beer, on the pour there's a clear amber / red color that once in the glass mostly turns into a deep, deep brown. No head but a thin ring persists. Aroma is rich and boozy. Whereas I found the regular Den Haag very, very heavy on the alcohol and bourbon, the sweetness of the maple syrup adds a dimension to this that I felt the base beer lacked. I can't pick up any coffee on the nose.

Taste is a really nice blend of coffee (which does show up, unlike in the aroma), bourbon, maple syrup & faint molasses. Unlike Den Haag, this is really well balanced. The sweetness and the alcohol bite work very well together to create a really, really enjoyable beer. Full mouthfeel with no carbonation and a nice alcohol warming.

Overall, excellent.

The Morning After Den Haag from Hoppin’ Frog Brewing. Picked up at the brewery, Akron, OH, 03/10/21. $ 26.74 (Including tax)/4-pack of 8.45 oz cans ($ 0.791/oz). In reefer at brewery, stored at 37 degrees at home. Reviewed 13/07/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on bottom of the can “BEST BY AUG 6 2024”. Served at 53.4 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King Snifter. Final temperature 58.6 degrees.
Appearance – 3.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), clear.
Body – Amber Brown (SRM 18), opaque. When rear-lite, translucent with a reddish cast. A moderate amount of precipitate rests on the inside curvature.
Head – None (Aggressive center pour), flat – no crown, no cap, not even a bubble ring.
Lacing – None, as expected at 16.65% ABV.
Aroma – 4.5 – Light bourbon and sweet maple syrup. No hops, no yeast, no coffee.
Flavor – 4.5 – Follows the nose but maple syrup predominates. Sweet but not cloying. No yeast, no hops, and at best only weak coffee. No ethanol (16.65 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. However, esopharyngeal and gastric burning instantly occurs. Thankfully, no nasal burning on exhaling. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – Full, lightly syrupy, soft and barely noticeable carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.5 The appearance and palate are unremarkable and as expected for the style – nothing to see here. Both the nose and flavor are superb, despite the absence of the advertised coffee – the maple syrup backed by bourbon carries the day! The tiny can is the perfect delivery system for this much ethanol – enough to enjoy but not enough to paralyze. Sip and savor!

Damn fine beer. I love a barrel aged old ale, and this one has all the right qualities. Sweet, thick, syrupy, flavors of molasses and malt and honey and booze from the barrel. Let’s throw in some maple and a hint of coffee and you got yourself a big bold tasty treat. I love the little can for this one. It’s enough to get a good sampling of the beer without a commitment. But if I had a bomber, this would totally be one worth sharing with a group of beer aficionados.

 

 

375ml can from Tavour. Dark brown, oily, flat pour. Sweet malty aroma with notes of maple and coffee. Maple takes front and center in the taste, sweet maltiness, hint of coffee. Quite boozy too. A bit sticky.

STRONG ale at 16,65 % you need to drink slow , enjoy all the taste 1 beer will do

 

 

Poured at fridge temp. Pours black with almost no head. No bubbles and no lacing. Nose is toffee, chocolate, coffee grounds, maple syrup,

Taste is incredible. Tons of coffee up front. Chocolate, maple, vanilla, bourbon, roasted malts, dark fruit, and brown sugar. This is sweet, but not too sweet. Really tasty. The ABV, although high, is almost completely undetectable. Super smooth.

Mouthfeel is medium to thick bodied. Overall, a nice BA ale that leans more sweet.

Flat, sweet, and thick. This drinks like a caramel liqueur. There is a slight coffee roast and vanilla on the finish. Very interesting Old Ale in a bizarre little 8.45 ounce can format. I’m glad I took a chance on this one.

First of all i'm glad to be the second all time reviewer of this beer on this website, after only the legendary sabtos, whose reviews i seriously respect. I was so excited to purchase this because i drank a lot of den haag in the last year or two, and thought it to be awesome, and was thrilled to live so close to hoppin frog to be able to have the privilege of obtaining it directly from the brewery. i truly feel sorry for those saps who have to travel far to get it, it's great to have such a great brewer directly in my backyard. I bought this on a steamy hot 94 degree saturday afternoon after my first week back at work so it's lovely to have a treat to satisfy my saturday night with. Pours out deep dark brown and lovely into my snifter. Smell is so strong of maple syrup, it's almost like i was reviewing this in vermont over a crispy golden waffle on my plate. Taste is an absolutely and unbelievably rich and decadent treat of thick, dark, sweet maple syrup, balanced by a slight bitterness of dark roasted coffee. Obtuse notes of vanilla, caramel, toffee, and butterscotch highlight the blend and give it color and richness. Mouthfeel is thick and syrupy, leaving a noted stickiness upon my lips. Overall, this is absolutely incredible and is like eating a piece of cheesecake - so dense and rich, so heavy and satisfying. I'm giving this one top marks, as it's unique and wonderful, and i'm proud such a flavorful brew originated in my hometown.

A little clearer than the base--oddly enough, being an adjuncted version, which I'm having side by side regular Den Haag--appearance is dark brown with red edges and a short tan head settling to a fine, bubbly ring.

Dang, this tastes like an actual caramel macchiato with a shot of rum. This is even more noteworthy due to the fact that they recently made a macchiato BORIS that didn't come close to hitting these notes so well. Caramelized brown sugar comes to an almost crème brûlée characteristic as it meets vanilla latte and even mocha qualities.

The slick medium body has a tingly, fluid carbonation that finishes stingingly sticky on the lips, but semi-dry down the hatch, warming on the way down to a light sting, exhaling vanilla bean.

The maple rounds it out very well, and the fresh coffee presence adds a wonderful chocolatey earth. Den Haag or The Morning After? It's hard to say, as the base is excellent, but this is quite the treat.