BORIS Royale - Hoppin' Frog Brewery

dlello2

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From a 22oz bottle, about a year in the cellar.

A - Bottle looks nice. Dark brown bottle which is good to shield it from light. There's a frog with a mug of beer. Oh, the beer? Ok it pours a nice, thick, deep brown. Looks like most imperial stouts. In terms of how dark and thick, think somewhere between Founders Imperial and Founders Porter. Little bit of red, not much head.

S - Smells nice and sweet, lots of bourbon and chocolate. Inviting, not overpowering.

T - This is really smooth. Good amount of coffee, chocolate, and yes, sweet bourbon. Sweet, wish it had a bit more roast to it. But damn is it balanced.

M - Slick, decent amount of carbonation for a barrel aged beer. Medium to full bodied, though leaning toward the latter. Nice.

O - A really good bourbon barrel aged beer. Not quite as intense as some others, but damn fine for what it is.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 23:52:58 | More by dlello2

moonknight31

California

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

05-21-2013 14:21:31 | More by moonknight31

kjkinsey

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

05-13-2013 01:21:51 | More by kjkinsey

pawpaw

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

04-09-2013 15:17:23 | More by pawpaw

mctizzz

New York

5/5  rDev +20.5%

04-06-2013 22:24:24 | More by mctizzz

Dweedlebug

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

03-15-2013 22:17:13 | More by Dweedlebug

Kelp

New Hampshire

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

02-22-2013 05:48:07 | More by Kelp

rebertx3

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -3.6%

01-21-2013 02:38:51 | More by rebertx3

MarkyMOD

Colorado

4/5  rDev -3.6%

01-11-2013 20:53:26 | More by MarkyMOD

marine1975

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -3.6%

01-05-2013 03:45:00 | More by marine1975

ridglens

Indiana

4/5  rDev -3.6%

01-05-2013 02:44:42 | More by ridglens

PittBeerGirl

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

12-26-2012 03:03:04 | More by PittBeerGirl

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.23/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Creetoper for sharing this bottle.

A - Black with a thin layer of light brown head.

S - Toasted oak, whiskey and chocolate. Seems to be a good balance of the barrel and the base beer.

T - Toasted oak up front with nice sweet whiskey and vanilla undertones giving way to roast, chocolate fudge and caramel flavours from the base beer. Really good balance of the barrel qualities and the base beer.

M - Medium body. Creamy. Light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 15:53:38 | More by TheSevenDuffs

Kopfschuss

Oregon

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

12-07-2012 17:58:22 | More by Kopfschuss

writerLJBerg

Oregon

3.55/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle from OakedCanuck. Thanks!

A: Opaque black. Very thin lacing. Not bad.

N: Oak, heaps of chocolate, a little coffee roastiness, and some nice vanilla flavor.

T: Tons of fudge and roasted espresso flavor. Dark prune.Oatmeal lends some nice flavor to the proceedings. If you hadn’t told me this was barrel aged, I wouldn’t have noticed, however.

M: Best thing about this beer. Extremely smooth with a great oily feel. Touch of alcohol.

O: A good BA stout that is both too expensive and not high enough in the top tier to do much more than recommend a split bottle.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2012 19:53:11 | More by writerLJBerg

Alieniloquium

Florida

4/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

650 mL bottle poured into an Allagash chalice. No bottle date.

Appearance - Viscous black body. Inky with a decent khaki head. Settles to a few islands of bubbles and a collar of deep khaki foam.

Smell - The whiskey aroma reminds me of scotch, strangely. Tons of oatmeal. Deep chocolate aroma. No booze, impressively.

Taste - Whiskey is more prominent. Vanilla comes out. Not a lot of oak, but still it's a nice barrel component. Booze is more prevalent, too. Chocolate. Oatmeal is more subdued, but the viscosity is apparent.

Mouthfeel - Nice thickness, if the oatmeal is a little too overt. Nothing like the booze of regular BORIS. Just a little sweet in the finish.

Overall - Pretty nice without being really spectacular. Been a while since I've had regular BORIS, but I remember it being a pretty good stout. This is good without being really smoothed out.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 02:10:35 | More by Alieniloquium

tbone1384

Wyoming

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

11-03-2012 03:07:20 | More by tbone1384

AleApostle

Illinois

4/5  rDev -3.6%

10-24-2012 15:36:36 | More by AleApostle

FreshmanPour77

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

10-23-2012 17:21:53 | More by FreshmanPour77

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -3.6%

10-14-2012 15:09:24 | More by t0rin0

angrybabboon

Rhode Island

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Massive thanks to Goblinmunkey7 for acquiring this for my birthday. This has been a top want since the beer was announced. My_body_is_ready.jpg

10/13/12

Appearance: Pours black, perhaps even a bit heavier than other iterations of Boris - decent size brown head, fades to a decent ring and some spots of lacing

Smell: Burnt malts and a lovely undercurrent of Crown Royal - dark chocolate, baker's chocolate, with some burnt and roasty coffee - characteristic Crown Royal barrel woodiness and whiskey

Taste: What's this, Crown Royal in my stout? (What? SAY "WHAT" AGAIN) - Dark, roasty, and burnt chocolate malts - dark chocolate, chocolate chips, and burnt coffee - a moderate level of burnt bitterness -burnt brownies and some toffee - the Crown Royal is very obvious and works very well - lots of whiskey, woody, lightly smoky

Mouthfeel: On the light side of heavy, slick and oily, with a woody finish

Overall: Best served with Big Kahuna Burgers

This is what I wanted. I'm not entirely sure why, but I am a fan of Canadian whiskey. I've grown oddly tired of bourbon barrel aged stouts, and I love this novelty of Crown Royal barrels. This wins.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 17:25:15 | More by angrybabboon

Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev -12%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Split the bottle with angrybabboon.

Appearance: Pours near black with some dark deep reds when held to light. Head is dark chocolate, creamy and rich. Retention is low. Drops to a creamy collar and wispy head. Minimal carbonation.

Smell: Fudge and chocolate cake dosed with whiskey. Smooth edge of vanilla and toffee. Nice oak backing. Big sweetness. Chocolate malts, milk chocolate, dark cocoa and nibs. Big sweet malts. Bitter roasted edge. Some tiny hints of char. Leather, plum, and cherry. Fudgey.

Taste: Big fudgey sweetness followed by the smooth whiskey flavors. Vanilla, some butterscotch, English toffee, and oak. Loads of vanilla. Sharp bite of alcohol on the back. Extreme dark cocoa. Nibs. Extremely dark and roasted. Outweighs the sweetness. Whiskey floats over the top and ultimately doesn't blend.

Mouthfeel: Slick and almost full body. Carbonation is higher than expected. Barrel provides smoothness, but not a ton.

Overall: Better than BA BORIS.

A better use of whiskey barrels. Smoother with a nice depth, but ultimately feels like chasing a beer with a shot of whiskey.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 16:54:16 | More by Goblinmunkey7

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A big beer, yet very smooth. Canadian whiskey flavour in finish well integrated.ALso chocolate, coffee, coconut, some booze. From May 2011. A bit above average mouthfeel. Not a big head, opaque black appearance. Full roasted aroma. Very good drinkability and balance.Thanks Steve.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 01:02:28 | More by northyorksammy

BeneathAJoe

5/5  rDev +20.5%

08-21-2012 19:32:00 | More by BeneathAJoe

ThePorterSorter

New York

3.9/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep black pour with no head or lacing. The nose has a smooth chocolaty appeal with rich sweetness. The taste is just as sweet with its rich malty, chocolaty base. There is very little indication this beer spent any time in barrels, except for a slightly boozy finish. It's very smooth and drinkable regardless, leaving a sweet and roasty aftertaste to help balance out the booze. This is definitely a tasty beer with a stout base big enough to earn its time barrel aging. Worth trying, but doesn't have characteristics that would definitively indicate crown royal barrels were used.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 20:55:50 | More by ThePorterSorter