Hoppin' Frog BORIS The Crusher Reserve
After brewing B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher successfully for many years, our creative minds wander. We imagine a B.O.R.I.S. brewed with even better dark grain - the finest imported dark grain - for a smoother and mellower deep-roasted flavor. When we finally made our dreams become reality, it was a symphony of beautiful flavors, a higher level of B.O.R.I.S. born from our creativity, that deserves the name B.O.R.I.S. Reserve!
4
222 reviews
Akron, United States
Community reviews
This is an oatmeal imperial stout: Nose of sweet chocolate & alcohol background; slight lacy light brown head with black hue; velvet full body mouthfeel with bitter prune and a sweet raisin background taste. Malt roast is on darker side, but not burnt. A saliva forming sweet malt and dark fruit finish.
Bardzo dobre, w aromacie dużo się dzieje, praliny, lekka kawa, trochę wanilii, lekki kokos, beczka bardzo wyczuwalna, nuty dębiny dobrze wzbogacają to piwo.
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
650ml bottle. Pitch black beer, small brown head. Nose is chocolate, roast, malt, smooth booze, mild coffee. Flavor is coffee, lots of cocoa powder and chocolate, roast, mild booze, which fits the profile quite nicely. Hops and chocolate in the finish. Nice and veeerrrrry smooth.
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.
Excellent beer. Kjetil’ basement bar. Poured by Erik.
Flaska från Beergium, provning med Nerikes Ölsällskap. Riktigt tjusigt kolsvart med gräddigt, än mer tjusigt, tätt mörkbrunt skum. Maffig, krämig doft med toner av choklad, laktos och kaffe. Samma i smaken, men lite kärvare och större beska. Bra tryck. Något större, len kropp. Stor och maffig "standard" imp stout. Riktigt bra!
Bottle from Beermoth, Manchester. Black pour with a tan head. Aromas of coffee, peat, bourbon, raisin, dark chocolate, light smoke, dates, cocoa. Flavours of chocolate nut, shed loads of coffee, earth, licorice toffee, dark chocolate, black treacle. Smooth velvety mouthfeel. Warm, dry boozy finish. Lovely!
KRS 111117. Black color with a tan head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, coffee. Flavor is roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, caramel, cocoa, licorice. Full body. Very nice balanced beer.
31Jan2018 Intense dark, sweet, rich chocolate, cacao, sweet, dark, candied fruits, candied blackcurrant, blackcurrant cake. Hazy, very dark brown, tiny, creamy, beige head. Light bitter. Bitter, dark chocolate, cacao, dark, burnt, toasted malts, dark roast filter coffee, soft carbonation, full bodied. Very nice aroma, could do with more complexity in taste and palate. Bottle shared at L42 - thanks to Leighton!
Bottle at LKS - thanks to the host. It pours opaque jet black with a thick tan head. The aroma is rich, oily, toffee, dark roasted malt, cocoa, vanilla, rocky road and a touch of icing sugar. The taste is dry, bitter, charred wood, rich roasted malt, leather, tar, cocoa, warming booze and some dark fruits with a slick finish. Medium - full body and moderate carboantion. Rich and chewy stuff. Good fun.
Bottle shared at Leighton's place 31/01/2018. Many thanks! An oily black coloured pour with a halo tan head. Aroma is jammy fruit, mellow, chocolate, raspberry ripple, Flavour is composed of sweet, woody, bark, dark chocolate, liquorice, bitter black malts. Palate si oily, dark chocolate, woody, oily, moderate carboantion. . Nice
Bottle shared in Hackney - sourced online. Pours black-brown with a small, creamy beige head. The nose holds well roasted malts, burnt malts, scorched earth, baking cocoa. Medium sweet flavour with well baked malts, baking cocoa, more earth, raisins, old leather. Medium to full bodied with fine carbonation. Light warmth in the finish, some further ashy roast, bitter dark chocolate, dark malts, leathery berries. Good stuff overall.
31st January 2018
Bodney Towers sharebottle. Thanks to Wingman. Opaque dark brown beer, small tan head. Smooth palate, fairly dry, decent fine carbonation. Smooth dark malts, soft dark chocolate. Light vanilla. Touch of barrel aged character. Airy dry finish. Tidy, very smooth.
Bottle@sori. Opaque black color with small tanned head. Aroma has dark fruits, chocolate, cocoa, malt. Taste is malty with long bitter and sweet aftertaste. Flavors of dark malt, coffee, licorice, oak, dates.
Laatste speciaalbiertje van 2017, vanaf vanmiddag is het alleen maar pils happen, veel pils... bomber, schenkt zwart met fijne bruine kraag. Aroma van haver, mout, lactose, chocolade, getoosterd en gebrand, vol. Smaken redelijk dik, haver, graan, mout, lactose, chocolade, moutig, alcohol, zacht, plakkerig zoet, redelijk dik
bardzo solidny ris, na szczęście wręcz wytrawny w porównaniu z przesłodzoną podstawą, kawa i czekolada, ładna faktura, piana i kolor - wszystko jak należy, choć do ztosa trochę brakuje
Coffee, choco, pleasant roasted notes, black with a good brown head, mediumfull body, again roasted notes and cocoa, intense and plesant...very good like always for the frog.
Fekete szín, sötétbarna kérems hab. Testes. Melaszos, csokoládés, kávés ízvilág. Mintha valami sűrű édeskés krémet innál. Pazar.
65cl Bottle @ Be Hoppy, Madrid, Spain.
Black colour with a thin tan head.
Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, sweet, nuts.
Taste is roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, toffee, coffee, nuts, bourbon.
Full body, average carbonation.
alost black, syrupy, motoroil-like beer with half inch, dense, though not too stable grey-ish brown head; aroma of dark chocolate, burned plum jam, soy sauce, coffe and slight licorice; taste of dark chocolate, soy sauce, coffee, dark berries, herbal liquour, slight syrupy and some smoked notes; spicy-alcoholic aftertaste; excellent imperial stout!
From Boxbeers. In Teku glass. Shared with Carlos. With Pok cheese. The very definition of balance and equilibrium, with a smooth body. I only miss something that stands out to give it a higher score.
Draft pours black with a brown head. Aroma of chocolate, toffee, coffee and grains. Taste is chocolate, toffee and coffee
Draft at Craft Brewed. Pours a pitch, motor-oil black with a finger of foam that lingers. Lots of roasted malt, booze and caramel. Big and toasty on the palate with lots of roasted flavors that shine. A bit boozy, some marshmallow and cacao as it warms. For a 9.4% beer it really punches up.
On tap @EurHop 2017 (Rome). Nera, densa, impenetrabile, schiuma beige media, discretamente persistente. Al naso note di cioccolato, cappuccino, caffè. In bocca è molto morbida, cioccolatosa, con finale amaro medio. Corpo pieno, carbonazione media, vellutata al palato. Una garanzia, come sempre.
66cl bottle. Dark color. Medium brown head. Taste is light to medium sweet, medium bitter. Medium smooth body. Aroma and flavour is chocolate, coffee, toffee, nutty, spices, wood.
From tap at Muted Horn, Berlin. Black color with a tan head. Aroma of roasted malt with dark fruits up front together with caramel, coffee and chocolate. Medium to full body with a medium sweetness and a light bitterness. The flavor is again full of roasted malt - chocolate, coffee, dark fruits, raisins - and finishes with a nice bitter roasty impression. Good Imperial Stout but nothing the particularly stands out for me.
Aroma: 8
Appearance: 4
Taste: 8
Palate: 4
Overall: 14
Bottle from Beer Gonzo Webshop, Earlsdon, Coventry consumed on the Stena Brittanica at Hoek of Holland, Netherlands Friday 29th September 2017 Ultra smooth, creamy, yes it has a magnificent mouthfeel, super indulgent, super creamy,
just super. A little bit of coffee, malty, warming, rich and the barrel ageing is wonderful it both softens and adds layer upon layer of complexity which I would write about here if I could be arsed but I can't and I want to get back to supping it. Marvellous stuff. A8 A4 T9 P5 Ov18 4.4
Feingliedriges ZartbitterCherryFassWunderwerk umringt von BourbonBoozyness und dezenter Espressosäure. Nice Impy :)...Bomber from BOXBEERS.COM. AGAIN: Bomber vom MIKKELLER ONLINE STORE...9/4/9/5/18 Edel schokoölig mit begehrenswerter SüßholzraspelSpirit👌😀 NoCherryBaby & mit kurzer AshDusche⚡👽 ...älter besser?