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.

Hoppin' Frog Frosted Frog Christmas Ale

I bought a bottle of Hoppin’ Frog Frosted Frog Christmas Ale from Al’s of Hampden and brought it over to my buddy’s Adam’s place to share with friends. The beer pours a red-tinted amber color with a thin bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma is big on cinnamon and ginger with hints of nutmeg and pepper. The taste is dry with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a hint of sugar. A solid caramel base announces itself before a before a ginger spice kicks in and bitters the palate. The alcohol content is 8.6% ABV. I thought this was a rather good spiced beer that was very dry. For those that don’t like spice-heavy beer, this may not be for you, but I loved how it tasted very similar to gingerbread cookies.