Beer Review; Hoppin Frog Silk Porter

Last night after losing two softball games by one run each (man did that suck) Kriddy and I went to Crane Alley to grab a bite, drink a beer, and watch the Cubs.

Kriddy had a Barley Island Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout (one of her favorite beers) and used that to wash down a turkey sammich. I wasn't as hungry, so I just had a cup of cream of carrot and celery soup. They had just ran out of 3 Floyds Gumball Head on draft, and had hooked up 3 Floyds Alpha King, so I had a pint of that. The beer went GREAT with the soup. It was almost as though they were made for one another. Kriddy didn't like the look of the soup, and was expecting to hate it; in fact she probably did dislike it, until she washed it down with the Alpha King. The soup itself looked almost like the stuff that was left at the bottom of a bucket after you get done brewing beer. It was almost as thick, and had green and orange chunks from the vegetables (it reminded me more of the gunk from when I brewed a pumpkin ale; due to the carrot). I really enjoyed the soup, but it was even better with the beer. I tried to get Kai to taste it, but he said he was allergic to carrots... and celery, so he couldn't.

After finishing the Alpha King, I ordered a Hopping Frog Silk Porter.

According to their website:

Dark, robust and silky-smooth, with many flavors of roasted, toasted and caramel malts. Porter is an old-world beer style, so popular that it helped start the industrial revolution. Taste the history.

On Ratebeer, it's in the 93rd Percentile. On Beer Advocate it rates a B+. I didn't like it as much as the others did.

It poured relatively flat, and almost looked like a soda; Kai said it looked like a flat coke. It was a little darker than a coke, but it seemed soda-y. There were some swirls of foam on top but they didn't stick around long. It smelled of grape and raisin PERIOD. All I got was wine smelling fruit.

It had no carbonation in the feel, and seemed flat, again, like a stale soda. It wasn't syrupy and seemed rather thin. It tasted of grape. There was a little chocolate, and maybe a little smoke flavor, but it seemed dominated by the vinous flavor. The label said roasty, toasty, caramelly... I got none of that.

It just wasn't that great of a beer experience for me. My notes say "I haveta drink a 22 of this?" I'm sure there are people who will like this beer, but it's not for me. Kriddy didn't like it much either. Kai was surprised by the flavor. He was going to be doing the writeup for their table-tents, and said he may have to change the description, which would help sell it. If you went in to this beer expecting an Edmund Fitzgerald, or a Gonzo, you'll be very disappointed.

I'm a HUGE fan of B.O.R.I.S the Crusher and the Hoppin Frog IPA's, so I was surprised that I didn't enjoy this one.