Latest Reviews

Double Dry Hopped pseudoSue
Toppling Goliath
Modus Vivendi
Wild Beer Co.
Spaceman
Brewfist

Recent Articles

Shameless
Craft brewer sellouts become as tone-deaf and underhanded as their new overlords. Great Taste Eve
Check out the burgeoning Madison beer scene the night before the best fest in country. Good Beer Makes Good Conversation
The effects of drinking beer worth talking about. The Beers of Walmart
The largest retailer in the world now has its own line of beers. Our Take on the Lagunitas-Heineken Deal
Fuck Lagunitas. archives »

Beer Reviews

Wild Frog Wheat Ale

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

Style: German Hefeweizen
ABV: 6.0%

Jill’s Rating:
   (Recommended)


Comments:
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.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

Want to know how healthy the craft beer industry is? As always, look to Portland. Craft pioneer Bridgeport announces sudden closure, adding to a growing list of PDX casualties. Did Anheuser-Busch Chicago offer their shit beer to Cody Parkey before his missed field goal? Because that may explain why he "accidentally" biffed it. Chicago now has the most breweries of any city in the country. Other things Chicago has the most of: murders, mobsters, and Ditkas. Trying to spin it positive, BA releases end of year graphic. Only 5% growth in the craft sector when nearly 1000 new breweries opened? That's a collapse waiting to happen. R.I.P. Tallgrass... another casualty as the regional/national craft beer market continues to get squeezed. Wait... Constellation Brands cut all of the Ballast Point and Funky Buddha sales staff? They merged it with their Corona/Modelo staff?? We're SHOCKED!!! Pizza Beer founder crying about failure of company, blames everyone else. Reminder, the beer tasted like vomit. Try having better ideas or making better products so you're not a failure. It's Bud Light so doesn't really matter, but we expect this beer to be sitting around for awhile. Indiana brewery to open with controversial beer names to "get the conversation going". Translation: taking advantage of serious issues for free publicity. Hundreds of amazing beers in Wisconsin and the Cubs took back the one everyone drinks just because it exists and people have heard of it. How fitting...