B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher - Reserve
(has 2 batches)

Backlog

The deepest darkest chocolate notes, rich and roasty, sticky and thick.

Bottle, 22oz, shared by Meilby. Close to pitch black in the glass, with a dense, creamy, dark beige head leaving some cute lacing. Roasted malts dominates the aroma, but leaves plenty of room for chocolate and coffee. Feels more alcoholic on the the nose than the regular BORIS. Some heavy toffee notes chime in as well, both in aroma and flavor. For some reason I get a feeling of barrel ageing as well, in the far back, but I guess it's just the intensity of the dark malts that tricks me. Roasted malts, dark chocolate, coffee notes and a decent bitterness, both of the hoppy and roasted malt kind. It's full-bodied and smooth on the palate, with a certain warmth from the alcohol. Everlasting finish. A delicious one indeed, but I think I prefer the regular one. Would be very interesting to do a side by side tasting. 171111

Special edition of Hoppin’ Frog’s acclaimed B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher made with imported malts of better quality – justifying a higher price tag I suppose, but only of interest in a side by side comparison with the regular one. I only had this one on hand so I have to review it by itself. Densely creamy, regular, slightly ‘membranously’ lacing, deep tan coloured head, slowly thinning and in the end almost completely gone; jet black robe, with only the thinnest rim of burgundy visible right under the head. Powerful bouquet of everything a classic American style imperial stout needs: hot chocolate sauce, kahlua, cold black coffee, treacle, brown rum, wet leather, melting mocha ice cream, wet toast, liquorice, coffee cream, butterscotch, candied date, hints of burnt wood, black radish, peanut butter sauce, roasted chicory, pipe tobacco ashes, shoe polish. Sweetish onset hinting at candied dates and dried figs but not as sweet as many other present-day ‘impies’, beautifully restrained in this respect, with a very thin, cured meat-ish umami edge and underlying sourishness of roasted barley; soft carbo, thick, viscous and oily mouthfeel. Thick layers of toasted nut-, bitter black chocolate- and hard caramel candy-like malts unfold in the mouth, ending with a strong, very black coffee-flavoured roasted bitterness nicely blending with a peppery hop bitter punch; a peanutty flavour lingers, almost creamy, and softens this roasted bitterness a bit, followed by a rum-like alcohol glow, though nothing overly astringent. A big, fat, motor oil-like, old school imperial stout – clearly not the usually overly sweet and boozy ones you get a bit too often today, often under influence of the much-heralded Scandinavian pastry stout concept. This is the kind of American imperial stout I hugely enjoy, and certainly among the finest Hoppin’ Frog beers I had so far – if the brewery is right about the quality of the grains used here, I guess the regular version can only be slightly disappointing after this one, so I’m still not sure if this was such a good idea marketing-wise… And now that I’m nitpicking anyway: what’s with all those different fonts on the label? I do not have a habit of commenting on labels, but this one seems a bit clumsy, even if some of the letters are beautifully printed in silver…

Bottled 650ml. -from Pivoteka Zagreb. Pitch black coloured, medium sized brown head, chocolate and whiff of wood in the nose. Roasted malt, chocolate, notes of wood and alcohol with touch of vanilla. Touch of barrel in the finish. Very smooth for the ABV. Again great Frog.