Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster

Brewed by Terrapin Beer Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Athens, Georgia USA

Bottle. heavy malt aromas of roasted and grain (rye, specifically), moderate to heavy hop note of pine and leather and broth for the yeast, with hints of plum and pepper. Head is creamy, off-white with good lacing and is fully diminishing. Color is clear dark mahogany. Flavor starts moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then the long finish is lightly sweet and acidic and moderately bitter. Palate medium, oily with a lively carbonation. A great hoppy beer with almost perfect balance. A well crafted DIPA, and hide the 8.3% alcohol well.

A pleasant surprise, with a much smoother taste than I was expecting. Lightly bitter grapefruit hops are well balanced with a strong caramel malt presence. Not as bitter as some double ipas. Alcohol is covered up by the full bodied character of the beer. Very drinkable.

12oz bottle. 2008 vintage, don’t know how old this is though. Pours a dark red/brown color, muddy with an off-white head that contains very large bubbles. Aroma is shows some faint though nice piney hops, some citrus, with a noticeable caramel/vanilla malt background. This is a really nice aroma actually. Good and balanced. Could be hoppier but that’s not the beer’s fault, would like to try this fresh. Taste is smooth, a lot lighter than I thought it would be. Slightly watery but not bad. Some caramel malts, a touch spicy, tingly mouthfeel. Semi-bitter. This is pretty good.

Bottle. Nice citrus and pine hop nose. Strong orange and grapefruit. Bright red-brown with a thin bubbly head. Nice strong bitterness with good caramel malt backbone. Lingering bitterness with notes of cherries and strawberries that spread into hop bitterness. Palate is sharp but full-bodied.

Thanks to Daknole for the bottle! Pours a dark amber red with a one inch off white head that diminishes into not much at all. Aromas of sweet caramel malt, and floral hops. Flaovors of big caramel malt and a great hop bite. Finish is long and bitter.

Yeah, I really started to like this beer. It pours a deep amber with a big off-white head. Aroma is vanilla, maple, malt, and nice hop balance. Flavor is a nice mix of maple, vanilla, malt, with pine and citrus hops. Finish is a mellow lingering bitter. I did not remember liking this beer as much as I do.

Another bonus send in trade with hopdog. Thanks a ton Steve! Bottle opened on Christmas Eve at a family-friend gathering. Deep amber color with a nice one-finger head. Hefty aroma of crystal malts, brown sugar and spicy hop oils. Flavor leans malty and sweet, with hops bitterness on the lesser side, but still finishes grassy and slightly skunky. Very nice mouth-feel on the palate. I like both styles of DIPA’s, malty versus crisp and insanely bitter. This is a nice compromise between the two.

Lots of malt and hops in this Double IPA. Label says "red" but I get a mouthful of malt. Much to my liking. Terrapin keeps getting better with its beers.