New to Ohio (2016)

I will admit that when you do the math and think of it as 6 different $5 bombers it seems a lot more justifiable which just goes to show how much we overpay for that format. I cant remember if it was 2015 or 2014 but the last time I grabbed one it was an actual mixed twelve pack. It had Russian River, FFF, FW, CC, New Glarus, Bells, etc. I think of those twelve maybe two or three of them I would go back and have another glass of so that's why I'm hesitant. The only good thing about having two bottles of six different beers is you can go 50/50 on it with a buddy and each have a glass together.

 

I enjoyed all the brews from this year's SN beer camp. The table beer one reminded me of a gose beer minus any tart bite. Stout, imperial brown, & PA were probably my favorites.

 

Dude, all the beers are great. We tried them all on tap last week at the craft brewers conference. Make your own decision regarding how you spend your money. But everyone should definitely do a little research on all of the people and breweries involved in the collabs if you have some time and aren't already familiar. I'd give the 12 pk two thumbs up.

 

The winking lizard / lizardville in westerville is supposed to have a lambic event tomorrow for beer week. Does anyone know if they are actually going to have some cantillon for it? They mentioned in the original post they might but never saw confirmation or a list anywhere for the event.

 

a buddy and I have been talking about that too. I haven't seen any confirmation anywhere about it. I'll probably go either way, unless I get there and it's crazy busy.

 

Bell's Hopsolution is hitting stores in Cincinnati today.

 

^ Happy to hear this. Their altbier is a personal favorite, easy-drinking summer brew

 

No beers over 12%?! Lotta good that new law is gonna do for us!

 

Oooo, I forgot about that one. Totally agree

 

This.

And this.

 

That smoked porter is FANTASTIC. Haven't had any of their other beers, looking forward to trying them.

 

Anyone else go to the Rocky Mountain Doris release? Had it on draft and it was one of the most disappointing BA Stouts I've ever had. Tasted pretty much like regular Doris with a mild hint of something you might consider barrel.

Consulted with a buddy of mine who works there and after he tasted my draft he had to go make sure the right keg was on. He said that the bottles are fantastic/ a whole different beer and couldn't believe how underwhelming the draft was. I also had the Rocky Mountain Boris and thought it was fantastic so I had a good frame of reference as it was aged in the same type of barrels.

Anyone else notice this or open one of their bottles up yet?

 

Haven't opened a bottle. Totally agree regarding the tap. I think my review was "barrel aged?" I don't believe it had a hint. BA Doris on tap was much better.

 

Looking forward to these hitting the shelves in a few weeks.

 

Anyone know how long this was in barrels? People always talk about how they only barrel age for 3 months or so. I was wondering how long this one sat in barrels.

 

Take this with a grain of salt but one of the employees told me "at least" 5 months for these Rocky Mountain variations.

 

Just opened a bottle, as curiosity got the best of me. A totally different experience than the tap I had on Saturday at the Tasting Room. I was so disappointed in the tap that I only bought one bottle. After a glass from the bottle, I would definitely go back for another bottle. I can taste the barrel and much less hop.

 

Problem is Hoppin Frog is notorious for being very secretive, almost to the point of paranoia. You will never really know how long these were in the barrel because they are "brewer secrets". I know I come across as a hater of Hoppin Frog a lot and it is played out too often here but I will say that BA Boris is one of the best beers. I just can't buy it anymore.

 

It's a conspiracy!

Really though, Fred takes them out of the barrels when he likes the way it tastes, no sooner no later. It's not a secret, he'll tell anyone that asks.

We had the opportunity to test out the Brandy Barrel Silk Porter on April 4th (the one that is releasing this coming weekend), and you could tell it just wasn't ready--it seemed like it was still fermenting. I imagine the flavor is drastically different now, but I'm not expecting my mind to be blown. However I may not be the best source since BA brews are not why I'm a huge fan of theirs to begin with.

Anyone looking for really pronounced barrel characteristics, or on the other side, a sock to the face of hot booze, be it bourbon, whiskey, brandy, etc, is probably going to be disappointed with Frog beers that get the barrel treatment. I find the base beers are often more formidable than the barrels, but then again, maybe that's why BORIS 200 is my favorite BA of theirs if I had to choose, since it spent more time in them.