I picked up this bottle of Red Frog Ale during one of my trips to San Francisco over the past year. I picked it up mostly because I had never heard of the brewery, Blue Frog Grog and Grill. I like those hoppy, west coast ambers, so it sounded interesting. unfortunately, I didn’t get to this one before the big move back. I’m afraid a few weeks in the back of a moving van or sitting in a warehouse probably didn’t serve it well. Here’s my notes.

Red Frog Ale
Blue Frog Grog and Grill, Fairfield, California
Style: American Amber Ale
Serving Style: 22 oz. Bottle

Aroma: Caramel and light resin/spicy hops. Hints of citrus. The label mentions dry hopping, but the hop aroma is very subdued.
Appearance: Dark amber and clear. Huge off-white head that would not go away.
Flavor: Loads of caramel malt with light toast. Medium-high bitterness is less than expected. Hop flavors follow the aroma, primarily resinous and spicy with licorice notes and hints of orangy citrus. Finish is moderately dry and lingers a bit on caramel. This bottle seems a little oxidized. Could be that sitting in a moving van on the way home from California didn’t serve it well.
Mouthfeel: Medium body with high carbonation. The carbonation is a bit too high, giving it a bit of carbonic bite.
Overall Impression: A solid, middle-of-the-road amber ale. Nothing offensive, but also nothing terribly interesting. The malt is nice, but not terribly complex, a bit one-note caramel. Bitterness and hop character is less than expected from a west coast amber and from the description on the bottle that touts the “generous addition of hops” and the “aggressive” and “wild” character of the beer. It was neither aggressive nor wild. Handling in the move from San Francisco may have dealt this bottle a blow for the worse as suggested by the oxidation flavors.