Tag Archives: Terrapin

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June 18, 2012

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Terrapin 10th Anniversary Ale

Terrapin Beer Co.

Athens, GA

10th Anniversary Belgian Strong Pale Ale

10% ABV

This past April, Terrapin celebrated 10 years of brewing amazing beers with the release of the special anniversary ale. The Belgian strong pale ale features Euler’s Identity, a mathematical equation from Leonard Euler that is considered one of the most beautiful calculations ever devised. Also, it equals out to 10, so there you go. (Fun challenge: Drink a bottle by yourself and then go on to try and work out the equation. Alcohol and math go so well together.)

This thing was a beast of a brew. It features Chouffe yeast, coriander, two types of orange peel, chamomile and Nelson Sauvin hops, all in a smooth Belgian-style ale. Fittingly complex, given the mathematical behemoth that accompanies the bottle.

The color is a crystal clear deep yellow with no head to speak of, although there is a nice heady film on top. Accordingly, there’s no lacing, but there are so strong alcohol legs.

On the nose is a huge blast of melon. It’s a honeydew and cantaloupe bomb coupled with a great sweetness from the Belgian yeast. That also imparts a bit of a bubblegum note along with a kind of sooth, syrupy sweetness.

The mouthfeel is very smooth. There’s just a slight hop bite on the front of the tongue, followed by a really rich melon sweetness throughout. There are hints of grape, pineapple, orange and citrus, and spices. It’s a very rich, mellow beer that completely hides the alcohol. 

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June 13, 2012

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Terrapin Phlux Capacitor

Terrapin Beer Co.

Athens, GA

Phlux Capacitor Oak-aged American Strong Ale

9.8% ABV

Athens, GA’s Terrapin – my favorite brewery from my home state – regularly cranks out new and adventurous brews through their Side Project series. These one-off batches has cranked out everything from a black saison to a hefeweizen-IPA hybrid, and the series continues to impress with each new brew.

Side Project 16 is Phlux Capacitor, an homage to “Back to the Future,” albeit “incidentally.” This oak-aged take on the American strong ale was originally planned to clock in at 12.1% ABV – 1.21 gigawatts, anyone? – but Spike and company had to settle for 9.8%.

As I said in my lightning Untappd review, Phlux Capacitor gave me wood.

The beer pours a murky, muddy water brown color. It’s slightly lighter brown around the edges, but there’s no light coming through the middle. It’s quite dark and dank. On top is a finger and a half of a foamy head, but it doesn’t last for long. There’s really nice lacing around the edges but only some minor alcohol legs.

The oak note flooded out of the glass as I was pouring. There’s an incredible woody, earthy smell to it, like sticking your head in a wooden box. But it’s all balanced with a really strong sugary sweetness. I also got a very slight hint of raspberry and a slight barleywine note from the dark fruits and molasses.

The oak smell is tenfold in the taste with insane wood notes on the tongue. There’s massive, massive notes of oak and cedar that linger in your mouth forever, as if you’re eating a cedar plank. A slight hop bitterness pinches in on the front of the tongue. There’s not much going on mid palate, but the wood just explodes at the back. But again, the sweeter notes really do a lot to balance it out. It’s got a slightly cloying sweetness to it, with hints of burnt sugar and molasses.

I love oak-aged beers, but this one takes the cake. While stouts and porters do more to round out the flavor and somewhat mask the wood notes, this one had contrasting flavors of oak and sweetness. It sounds strange, but it’s not off-putting. It’s definitely a sipper, and one you might want to share with some friends, but it’s an incredibly unique beer worth checking out.

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May 14, 2012

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Terrapin Hopzilla

Terrapin Beer Co.

Athens, GA

Hopzilla Double IPA

10.7% ABV

Terrapin’s Hopzilla Imperial IPA originally stated out as part of their one-off Side Project entries that was so well-received that the Athens, GA-based brewery decided to make it one of their seasonal offerings as part of the Monster Beer Tour, replacing other entries in the consistently-awesome series.

Hopzilla is a wrecking ball of booze. Brewed with a mound of Maris Otter malts and Bravo, Centennial and Chinook hops with an extra round of Citra dry hopping. There’s an incredibly astringency to it and, as the name entails, it’s a hop monsters.

Hopzilla pours a very hazy yellowish orange. There’s about a finger’s worth of head that disappears quickly, not surprising for a nearly-11% beer. The lacing dissipates quickly as well but the alcohol legs go on and on,

The hops waft out of the glass as it’s being poured. There’s a big hit of peach, pineapple, mango and other tropical fruits. The astringency on Hopzilla is huge as well. A slight danikness is present as well. It’s a very rich and robust smell.

The hops, obviously, are huge on the tongue. There’s that signature bite of hops on the front of the tongue and a unique kind of sweetness. The dank hops come through on the back of the throat, at least until the alcohol burn punches through. It really is like taking a shot of liquor. It’s similar to Hopslam, but the alcohol burns much more. Not in an off-putting way, but it’s unmistakably boozy. That contrasts well with the rich and almost creamy mouthfeel.

For being so boozy and alcohol forward, the sweetness of Hopzilla balances it out quite nicely. It’s a bit of a sipper but one you’ll want to take your time with. Your tastebuds and liver will thank you.

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March 8, 2012

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Terrapin Wake ‘N’ Bake (W-n-B)/Moo-Hoo/Wake ‘N’ Moo

Terrapin Beer Co.

Athens, GA

Wake ‘N’ Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout – 8.6% ABV

Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout – 6.0% ABV

As much as I love SweetWater, the Georgia-based brewery I’m most impressed with is Terrapin out of Athens. Both breweries seem to have a similar model: solid year-round and seasonal brews and increasingly impressive one-off brews (Dank Tank for SweetWater; Side Project for Terrapin). But with Terrapin being much smaller than SweetWater, they make quite a name for themselves with damn good beer.

Two of their best beers are Wake ‘N’ Bake, an imperial stout brewed with local coffee and oatmeal, and Moo-Hoo, a chocolate milk stout brewed with cocoa nibs. (Wake ‘N’ Bake has been renamed “W-n-B,” since it’s less risque, I guess.) Each beer is awesome on its own, but people have begun mixing the two into a concoction called Wake ‘N’ Moo.

WnB and Moo-Hoo both pour a deep, dark brown with a very slight head. The nose on WnB is dark malts and coffee, and the chocolate really comes through on the Moo-Hoo. The tastes are as expected: WnB is a bit biting with a robust coffee flavor and Moo-Hoo is creamy, like drinking heavy chocolate milk, and both have a great lingering aftertaste.

While each is great on its own, they get even better when mixed together. I poured both into a glass at the same time in an effort to mix the flavors up as best as possible. (I did happen to get a fancy cascade effect but didn’t have my camera ready in time to get a picture.) The nose on the WnM is primarily that smooth chocolate from the Moo-Hoo with a slight roasted note. This thing tastes excellent, too. The Moo-Hoo is the most pronounced, and you get that chocolate flavor right out front. But on the back is the coffee, which lingers really nicely and tastes a lot light a chocolate-covered coffee bean.

Kudos to whatever genius thought up this one.