Review Date 10/26/2011
Try?
Re-buy?
There’s a place just south they call Frog’s Hollow, with cauldrons afire in Fall, and they only speak in whispers of the name. There’s a brewery they say who has the secret, of spices picked just right. With a crying shout, they’ll knock it out, and hand you this Frog’s delight. – Quote from a bottle of Hoppin’ Frog Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale.
If
barley be wanting to make into malt, We must be content and think it no
fault,
For we can make liquor to sweeten our lips, Of pumpkins,
and parsnips, and walnut tree chips.-early
17th century rhyme credited to the Pilgrims.
It’s amazing what poetry beer can inspire. Above, submitted for your approval, are two fine examples. The first, of course, is from the first quarter of the 17th century. It’s credited to the Pilgrims who, having used up all the barley they brought with them, were keen on fermenting just about anything they could get their thirsty hands on. And thus was born that noblest and most historic of American brews, pumpkin beer, which as you can see by Hoppin’ Frog’s quote is still going strong almost 400 years later. We don’t know what became of parsnip beer and walnut tree beer, though I’m sure some brewery somewhere has those in the works.
Today’s pumpkin beers are nothing like what the Pilgrims probably brewed; indeed, many of today’s pumpkin beers are nothing like the pumpkin beers brewed just a few decades ago. The first modern pumpkin beer was likely Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale, first brewed in 1985. That beer, unlike those the Pilgrims enjoyed, has spices added to impart the flavors of pumpkin pie.
Today, 26 years later, there are literally hundreds of pumpkin beers on tap: pumpkin ales, pumpkin lagers, pumpkin porters, pumpkin stouts and of course, double pumpkin ales the likes of Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale.
Hoppin’ Frog Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale pours to a deep caramel color with a medium head formation and an exceedingly potent spicy nose. Ginger is the flavor that jumps out most formidably in the aroma, drowning out most everything else. You can’t miss it in the palate, either, and as I sip I get some chewy caramel malt upfront for about a second before the spices take over. The ginger again, definitely nutmeg, a hint of cinnamon, the allspice and a little of the clove are all very much apparent. I do get plenty of vegetal, stringy pumpkin too. In the finish, I’m not getting a lot of hops (the beer only has about 7 IBUs) but that’s OK because the spices really dry the beer out, and they combine nicely with a touch of alcohol warmth (8.4% is the content by volume here).
In body, Frog Hollow doesn’t seem as big as the alcohol content implies, though in the finish the warmth does. It’s easily the spiciest pumpkin beer I’ve yet tasted, yet still manages to bring through the pumpkin flavor nicely. The only drawback is the price, I paid about $10 for a 22 ounce bomber bottle. That’s a bit much, I think, and brings this one down a half notch to 4 in my opinion.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
