Sweetwater The Creeper

Brewed by Sweetwater Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Name: The Creeper
Date: December 12, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Porter Bar, L5P Atlanta
Appearance: cloudy dark gold, fine off white head
Aroma: sweet candy malt aroma with lots of spicy phenolics mixed with lots of hops
Flavor: big hoppy flavor, lots of spicyness, plenty of bitterness rolls out of the spicyness, sweet candied malt underlies all the hops and spices
Overall: decent take on the style
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

Straw colour. Bright simcoe nose with lots of candyish notes. Bitter with bright hops, a sweeter middle and a high alcohol finish. Doesn’t quite come together.

Draught. Warm golden, clear with nice head and lacing. Sweet malt with hop overlay. Hops came out more at first and as it sits, the strength throws it off. A disjointed brew with sweet sitting in one pocket, floral and pine hop in another, and alcohol in the next without coming together.

Appearance: Hazed, yellow-gold body with a small, white head. Smell: Lightly sweetish nose chock full of citrus, pineapple, and wind-blown grass. The malts player a minor role in the aroma along with a faint waft of peppery alcohol in the background. Taste: Delicate, light pale maltiness with a pinch of sweet table sugar and a few careful drops of clover honey. This is proceeded by a synthesis of American hop flavors, particularly tropical citrus fruits and a grassy herbacceousness. Bold moderate bitterness. Tiny pinch of clove. Small peppery hints at the tail-end. Finishes dry, bitter, and a tad warming. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: A solid, somewhat Americanized tripel. I look forward to trying more Dank Tank brews in the future, which seems to be Sweetwater’s answer to Terrapin’s Side Project series.

On tap, summits cumming. Half pint pour, draft. bright golden color. Very attractive cascade of bubbles rising to the thin white head. Classic belgian aroma. Yeasty dough. Fizzy mouthfeel. sweet malt, some straw. lots of hops. Spicy. Kinda strong, feel the burn. Overall, two words. duval clone. Tweeked and hopped. 13 dec 08.

When Dogwood closed a few years ago, I was worried the production brewery scene would go stale. Do not get me wrong, Atlanta Brewing had turned their act around and started making very good beer and Sweetwater was always a reliable source for good craft beer, but neither brewery did much to shake up their lineup. Their offerings were pretty much the same every year. Luckily, both breweries moved into different digs and apparently the change in scenery spurred some new bursts of creativity for both breweries. Sweetwater has dedicated an entire tank just to experiment with new recipes. I was happy to see that The Creeper was still available at the Kennessaw Taco Mac when I visited over Christmas. The beer pours a clear gold with a small head (possibly the product of the bars pouring practices). There is a sweet honey malt, slight yeasty funk, and a mild American hoppiness. It covers the alcohol content well and is probably a little TOO drinkable for its size. This does not match up to the best of the style, in my opinion, but it is definitely a welcome change of pace for the decidedly American-style brewery.

on tap at brewery. hazy orange under a medium sized white head. big hoppy aroma and flavor. honestly, i didn’t really notice much "belgian" ..just the 2ipa. good anyway.

Pours a pale golden yellow color with a white head. Aroma is pilsner malts, vanilla, yeasty, clove, banana, and very spicy peppery hops. Flavor is pilsner malts, a hint of clove, some banana, and very spicy peppery hops.