Devil In The Details - Frog Island Brewing Company

AmitC

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +32.4%

12-29-2012 03:19:54 | More by AmitC

homebrew311

Illinois

3.54/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from notes of a previous tasting.

Pours a deep dark brown, not quite black, but definitely opaque. Lifeless upon pour in terms of head. The nose starts with some vanilla and oak with accents of artificial cherry character. Roasted malts seem to be taking a back seat on this one. The taste is very mellow with lots of vanilla. The flavors seems well integrated, but again lacking some of what I search for in a stout. The mouthfeel leans on the thin side and the carbonation is very low. Nice balance of flavors here but nothing really resonates.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 06:27:55 | More by homebrew311

DragonzBreath

Michigan

3.4/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The Devils in the Details, Frog Island Ann Arbor was our final tasting. we were shocked at the pour to see a black, syrupy beer fill our glass. Strong odd smell. upon first taste I was pleased, but it grew sweet and stronger after that. No carbonation either. it is billed as an Imperial Stout at 13 abv .
Our tasting glasses are 6 oz can't imagine drinking more than that.
Good - rich beer

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 16:26:54 | More by DragonzBreath

divineaudio

Michigan

2.35/5  rDev -26.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

bomber into my deschutes snifter.

a - a hard pour gets me a black liquid with no head whatsoever, not even a thin film. no lacing present.

s - burnt toast, sour cherry, stale coffee.

t - a little roasty with some stale coffee notes. maybe a bit of wet cardboard. no oak or vanilla as claimed on the bottle and no discernible hop character either. faint alcohol bitterness.

m - thin for the style with absolutely no carbonation.

o - really sub par and just shy of being a total disaster. drain poured half the glass. if you see this one on the shelf, keep on going.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 23:49:59 | More by divineaudio

klipper

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev +9%

11-11-2012 22:37:42 | More by klipper

t0rin0

California

2.5/5  rDev -22.1%

10-01-2012 01:10:04 | More by t0rin0

womencantsail

California

2.05/5  rDev -36.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Black in color with an enormous head that nearly fills the glass. The nose is just awful. Highly metallic and acidic with the only stout characteristic being the roasted malt. The flavor is similarly bad. Very acrid and harsh, super metallic and acidic as well. Somewhat roasty with maybe a touch of oak flavor. No way I’d care to have this ever again.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2012 16:54:34 | More by womencantsail

DruC4

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev +9%

06-18-2012 21:14:57 | More by DruC4

TasteTester

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev +1.2%

06-04-2012 03:26:40 | More by TasteTester

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

2.35/5  rDev -26.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Bottle from Siciliaon's in Grand Rapids. Poured in to Bruery tulip glass.

A - Dark inky black with almost no head aside from a few light bubbles around the edges.

S - Huge artificial vanilla aroma up front with some oak and a roasted malt presence in the background. Very sweet overall nose.

T - Big sweetness up front full of vanilla and milk chocolate flavours. The vanilla tastes very artificial and is almost cloyingly sweet. Roasted malt backbone is present behind the vanilla. The bourbon is barely noticeable. The sweetness makes this difficult to drink.

M - Medium body with almost no carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2012 01:24:28 | More by TheSevenDuffs

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle shared by sprague11, thanks John. 22oz into a tulip.

Huge dense brown head that appears to cascade (like a nitro-pour) when poured into the glass. Black body with some lighter hues at the edges. Nose has big bourbon and barrel notes, brown sugar, oak and butterscotch. All of this appears to dominate some subtler flavours, perhaps some chocolate and roast. Taste has some warming (but not hot) alcohol and bourbon, oak, butter/butterscotch, coffee bitterness. Unbalanced flavours and the barrel certainly overtakes this rather than compliments it. A heavier medium body, but the lack of balance really sets this back - little room is left for the other flavours to add much to the profile.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2012 03:42:42 | More by liamt07

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.28/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Looks like a thick chocolate milkshake with a big bubbling head. A lace sheet is left complementing the dark black body. Corny, buttery, vinegar, bourbon, boozy, woody. Balance, well doesn’t quite get it taste-wise, murky mix, though interesting to try. OK drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2012 06:17:51 | More by northyorksammy

Goldmund1

Michigan

3/5  rDev -6.5%

02-26-2012 03:23:44 | More by Goldmund1

Christov

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev +9%

02-16-2012 13:49:34 | More by Christov

mikediesel124

Michigan

4/5  rDev +24.6%

01-28-2012 05:59:57 | More by mikediesel124

Chriscrundwell12

Minnesota

2.5/5  rDev -22.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22 oz bottle sharred with 4 other BA's.

A- Pours a pitch black, ½ finger brown head, dissipates to nothing, splotchy lacing.
S- Huge oak presence, big metallic aroma, nothing special, slight cocoa, dark malt, not very appealing.
T- Wow, interesting, big big oak, dark malts, molasses, cocoa, sight bourbon but very hard to pick out, the taste is just as bad as the aroma.
M- Big mouth feel, decent carbonation, dry roasted finish.
O- Not very good, metallic, cardboard, no bourbon characteristics at all, very disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2012 04:40:30 | More by Chriscrundwell12

jtingue

New York

2.03/5  rDev -36.8%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

Poured into a snifter.

Appearance. Very dark reddish brown in color. Pours with absolutely no head, no lacing and no alcohol feet.

Smell. 2 distinct smells emerge. One being a musty bourbon soaked oak smell, which is dominant. The second being molasses that is so pungent that you can almost guess that it is going to be thick and sticky. A real tale of two smells.

Taste. Hits the palate with a a slightly sour or bitter hit, which is quickly taken over by overwhelming sweetness. The bourbon and oak start to build with quite a bit of vanilla, which is strong enough to be mistaken for an artificial flavor. Some strange astringent bitterness leads into a semi-dry finish.

Mouthfeel. Surprisingly moderate in body, with absolutely no carbonation.

Quite a disappointing beer. Absolutely nothing seemed to be gained from the aging, other than a weird vanilla flavor. The mustiness in the nose is off-putting. The biggest killer though was the complete lack of carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2012 02:57:38 | More by jtingue

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

1.53/5  rDev -52.3%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Pours a tan head. Color is black.

Aroma: all oak chip and no bourbon. Chocolate and wet cardboard. Not a fan.

Taste: molasses dry tar and roast. Chocolate and oak spirals. Rich and roasted. Not for me.

Mouthfeel: roasted and dry. Lighter bodied with a higher amount of carbonation. Ends really dry and roasted.

Overall this wasn't good and I couldn't drink a lot of it.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 03:40:20 | More by mothman

AutumnBeerLove

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -6.5%

01-09-2012 02:00:39 | More by AutumnBeerLove

imperialking

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +9%

01-08-2012 20:22:43 | More by imperialking

MasterSki

Illinois

2.65/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to Jason for sharing this one. Served in a wine glass.

A - Quick-dissolving tan foam settles to a thin ring of bubbles and not much else. Very dark brown body.

S - Milk chocolate, vanilla extract, light bourbon, smoke, wood, roasted nuts, yeast, and some not entirely hidden alcohol.

T - Flavor is pretty cloying, with pretty copious amounts of vanilla extract, milk chocolate, butterscotch, and straight-up sugar. Just intensely sweet.

M - Medium-light body, low carbonation, smooth texture, and fairly watery. Some alcohol warmth is present.

D - It seems like they tried to hide the high alcohol content with tons of sugar. Not much bourbon barrel character either, other than the oppressive vanilla extract.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2012 17:39:30 | More by MasterSki

fcdepalm

Michigan

2.5/5  rDev -22.1%

12-28-2011 15:21:13 | More by fcdepalm

Marti403

Michigan

4/5  rDev +24.6%

12-22-2011 01:43:07 | More by Marti403

Holland

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -6.5%

12-10-2011 04:37:26 | More by Holland

kzoobrew

Michigan

2.63/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Review input from notes.

Black and opaque body. A heavy handed pour only manages to produce a meager one finger head. The head dissipates rather quickly, patchy lacing left clinging to the glass.

The aroma is somewhat promising. Chocolate and vanilla aromas blend with a pleasant roast on the back end. The bourbon appears to be fairly well integrated, well blended and not overpowering in the nose.

The flavor is where things start to fall apart for this beer. Chocolate and roast flavors are present, flavors may be enjoyable if it were not for the oak. The wood is really overpowering in this beer, really diminishing the other flavors. Dry astringent flavor is one that I cannot get past. Combine with the overly assertive wood the bourbon flavor seems very cheap, just not a pleasant tasting beer.

Medium bodied Imperial Stout, body is much too thin for the style. The carbonation is low though does not provide a creaminess which could benefit the body. The finish is overly dry, not appropriate for the style.

Devil in the Details started out ok, then the wheels fell off. There are many similarities between this beer and Dark Intrigue for me. Both become victims of the oak monster, and under delivering on expectations. I would love to try a version of this beer which the flavors are more developed and integrated, this on did not do it for me.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2011 19:09:31 | More by kzoobrew