Bodacious Black & Tan from Hoppin’ Frog Brewery

Bodacious Black & Tan by Hoppin’ Frog Brewery of Akron, Ohio takes a draft treat and puts it in a bottle.  Typically requesting a black and tan results in Guinness Stout poured on top of Harp Lager.  However, over the years many local brews have taken the combination of a stout and lager and made it their own.  Bodacious is a bit different because Hoppin’ Frog did not follow the typical pattern of stout over lager.  In  Bodacious the brewers took the brewery’s GABF gold medal winning B.O.R.I.S the Crusher (Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout) and blended it with their Hoppin’ To Heaven IPA.  The use of an oatmeal stout and IPA bucks the usual decision of using an Irish Dry Stout and Lager.  This creates a beer with 65 IBUs, much higher than a typical black and tan.  If you are a fan of the layering effect created by a draft version of the black and tan, you are not going to get that in a bottle.  The two beers are throughly mixed together which means there is no beginning and no end to each beer.

Tasting Notes:
Pours a dark chocolate color and lacks the color definition in typical black and tan.  A medium bodied tan head forms from the pour.  Aromas of chocolate and, more unusual for the style, hops come to the nose.  A medium bodied, moderately carbonated beer with flavors of roasted coffee, chocolate, molasses and citrus.  The 2/3 IPA and 1/3 stout come out perfectly resulting in a very balanced beer.  Definitely a beer I would drink again.

Tags: Beer Review, Black and Tan, Hoppin' Frog