Hoppin' Frog Frosted Frog's Christmas Barrel Aged Christmas Ale

I was fortunate enough to have Heather Holmes pick me up a bottle of Hoppin’ Frog Frosted Frog’s Christmas Barrel Aged Christmas Ale from the brewery. I previously had the non-barrel aged beer, and was excited to try this one. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin filmy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, allspice, vanilla, and bourbon. The taste is spicy and has plenty of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice on the front end. However, in comparison to the non-barrel aged version of this beer, the bourbon and vanilla sweetens and rounds out the flavor in the finish. The alcohol content is 8.6% ABV. While I didn’t hate the non-barrel aged version, this version was infinitely better, as the bourbon barrel aging smoothed out the spiciness, especially in the finish. The alcohol warmth added a true touch of Christmas, exactly what was missing from the beer before.