Recently, I decided to spend a quiet evening playing Dance Dance Revolution. What better way to hydrate yourself during video games than with a beer? Especially a beer from a place named “Hoppin’ Frog”? I mean, if that kind of beer doesn’t give you some slick moves on the DDR mat, I’m not sure what will.

However, no matter how well I scored (and let me say that my DDR basic skills are totally improving—I’m able to do over 20 combinations in a single dance now—nd my “Bad” scores are dropping into double digits), this beer didn’t score as well with me.

Let’s get this out of the way: Any beer that’s 6.0 percent ABV is going to be pretty drinkable. So, this beer has that going for it. When you pour this baby into a glass, it’s one mass of carbonation—so much so that I could swear this was the Rice Krispies of beer, the way this beverage snapped, crackled, and popped.

Once the sound died down a bit, I took a good look at it. It poured a nice dark golden color with a slight reddish tint to it. It was a thick, hazy beer with a decent head. You could smell the wheat on the nose, and the touch of banana in the scent promised good things to come.

During my sip, I could taste the banana flavor as it expanded along my tongue and clung to my upper palate. It was quite creamy, but there was a slight sourness way in the back of my mouth that was slightly unpleasant. Also, as I continued drinking, I could tell this beer was slightly watery—the flavor diluted somewhat.

Overall though, this was a decent beer. It wasn’t the fullest, creamiest hefeweizen I’ve ever had, but it was good on flavor. It’s just that with 6 percent ABV, I’d hope for something a little more mesmerizing. Or at least as mesmerizing as the DDR dance moves.

Reviewed by Jill Jaracz on June 11, 2008.

Agree with this review?