T.O.R.I.S. the Tyrant Triple Imperial Stout

From the beginning, Hoppin’ Frog has won plaudits for it niche as a brewer of bold-flavored, high-alcohol beers.  In 2013, the last year that RateBeer ranked its entire Top 100, Hoppin’ Frog was rated the seventeenth best brewery in the world. It continues to make the site’s annual list of the world’s 100 best breweries.  It started with B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout.  A few years later saw the release of the barrel-aged. D.O.R.I.S. the Destroyer Double Oatmeal Imperial Stout. When the new law Ohio law eliminating ABV limits went into effect at the end of August Hoppin’ Frog released T.O.R.I.S. the Tyrant Triple Oatmeal Imperial Stout which clocks in at 13.8 percent alcohol.

T.O.R.I.S., a big beast of a beer at 13.8 percent alcohol.  This super-tasty Triple Oatmeal Imperial-Stout is rich, dark, and flavorful – the way we like it – this beer is intense Karm calls it "the big brother of B.O.R.I.S.," referring to the brewery's B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher, the Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout. That big boy is 9.4 percent alcohol.

You would expect an ale weighing in with double digits in alcohol percentage to be boozy, but T.O.R.I.S. really isn't. It's extremely smooth, with chocolate in the nose and bittersweet chocolate on the palate. There's nothing harsh across the taste – no overwhelming roast or toast to mask any flavors. It's just a sippable beer, with a reddish, burnt sienna-colored head that dissipates as you drink.  Pull out your snifter for this one on a cold winter's night.