3 Frogs

Second up from Barcelona’s La Cervesera Artesana was their smoked imperial stout: 3 Frogs. 3 Frogs was a bruiser, at 11.5% alcohol. My 330mL pour arrived looking black and bleak, with just a ring of tan suds. It had a wildly potent smokey aroma with scotch whisky peatiness leading the charge.

3 Frogs was smokey from front to back, but it transitioned from sweet to bitter along the way, with the top end incorporating treacle sweetness and the back tobacco and leather elements.

I have seldom sipped smokier beer, though 3 Frogs lacked balance—it was too heartily

smokey, at the expense of finesse. Additionally, the front end struck me as a touch too sweet, providing an unusual flavour profile. On the positive side, the strength was agreeable and the peatiness of the smoke didn’t seem at all artificial.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.