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Beer Reviews

Gulden Fraug

Other reviews for this beer:
Eddie Glick		read it ›

Hoppin’ Frog Brewery
Akron, OH
USA
http://www.hoppinfrog.com/

Style: Belgian Strong Ale
ABV: 10.5%

Jill’s Rating:
   (Drinkable, but flawed)


Comments:
I believe I’ve said it a few times: I like a sweet beer. Oh, I like my beer to be fruity or spicy along with that, but I do like a sweet beer.

However, there’s a fine line between sweet and overly sweet, and for me, Hoppin’ Frog crossed it with their Gulden Fraug beer.

This Belgian style ale poured out an amber color that was clear with a fair-sized head. It had some lacing, but not what I expected from this style. The scent was strong and full-bodied. I could tell from the nose that it was going to be a pretty meaty beer, and I was prepared for the 10.5 percent ABV to pound me in the ass.

On my initial taste I had a zesty feel on the front of my tongue, then warmth as it hit the back of my throat. It was a big, thick, sweet beer. Really sweet. Almost syrupy sweet.

As the beer got warmer, I thought it might open up the zest a little bit more, but the reverse actually happened: The spice went away, and the beer coated my mouth with gagging syrupy-sweetness even more.

Overall, I gave this 2 mugs because it really felt like all the beer intended to do was throw you a huge ABV. The slight complexity I did sense in the beer was totally overwhelmed by this massively sweet aftertaste, which made for a pretty underwhelming drinking experience.

If only Hoppin’ Frog had laid off the sweetness a little. Did I just say that?

Reviewed by Jill Jaracz on June 30, 2008.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

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