Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster

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

Sample thanks to acknud. Hazy burnished dark copper appearance with a sturdy beige head that scatters a lot of sticky lacing. Aroma hints of a huge malt bill, exuding waves of toffee, caramel, and molasses. Nice fruity esters underneath serve up hints of orange and pineapple. Thick and a bit chewy on the palate, medium full bodied. Chewy toffee opens the complex taste. All kinds of fruity notes here, pineapple marmalade, orange rind, and some red cherries. Hop bitterness somehow finds a way to balance the huge maltiness. Bready malt sweetness stops just short of being cloying. Very nice!

Nice caramel aroma backed by citrus hops. Pours a dark ruby with a dusting of off-white head. Interesting taste, caramel sweetness to start off with, with a touch of hop finish. Not seeing this as hoppy as they claim.

Thanks emacgee. 2007 version, very solid brew. Pours a deep amber color with an off-white head. Aroma is very sweet, almost cherry-like. Taste is rather unusual, but very good. Nice malty backbone with a slight hop taste. This reminds me of a mix between a barley wine and a scotch ale. Finish lingers for a while with more malt flavors. Would drink again!

*liked it ok, would not buy* aroma: smells nice, carmel hops . floral. app: hazy brown amber. flavor: HOPS. dry mealy malts. nice balance. its ok. not my tea. palate: fine OA: good beer. not enough malt magic for me.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this beer. I bought a four pack for a trade, and had a couple left so I decided sample one of these higly rated brews for myself. Listed on BA as a double IPA, I was expecting a bright orange grapefruit/pine/hop bomb. I don’t think this style is correct for this beer. The label describes it as an Imperial Red Ale, and this is right on the money. The beer pours a dark amber red into a pint glass with a rich, thick head that slowly fades and leaves great lacing all the way doen the glass. Aromas are full of cut grass and chocolate malt. A strong rye presence and some citrus balance this out. Very multidimensional. The taste is absolutely awesome! There are so many flavors it’s hard to list them all. Chocolate, rye, spicy hops, fruity. Very hoppy yes, but definitely not a hop bomb. This is one of the best beers I’ve had! Mouthfeel is both hoppy and dry and slick and malty at the same time. The high ABV is completely hidden. Overall, this is one of the best beers I’ve had. It just screams DRINK ME! Don’t pass this by if you see it on the shelves!

Bottle courtesy of Dchmela, thanks Dave! Pours a deep auburn topped with a frothy off white cap. The nose shows heavy malts and caramel with butter tart, roasty, bready, nutty hints and a boatload of hops. The flavour profile is more of the same, highlighting deep rooted caramel and toffee sweetness amongst the creme brule, and marked hops bitterness. It it quite bold and flavourful, and the alcohol shows in the end. A nice sipper. Thanks again Dave!

2006 Edition A- Pours a deep red color with a small but vigorous head. Seems very thick and hard to see through. S- Smells sweet, definitely hoppy but also has a roasted caramel tone. T- Starts sweet and chewy and moves onto hints of coffee, and a hop bitterness at the end. M- Mouthfeel is well carbonated and a tad on the thick side. D- This is definitely an interesting brew, its not intensely drinkable however I liked the way it mixed it up a bit taste wise with the huge amount of hops and high alcohol content for a red ale.

Bottle courtesy of pantanap -- thanks! I’ve wanted to try this one for a long time. ’07 beer tour bottle sampled April ’08.

Great big beautiful ruby color, very dark, with a small head. Powerful toffee nose, some oxidized hops. Big American Strong Ale flavors, super-caramelly, quite sweet, again those oxidizing (but not in a bad way!) hops, some reasonably-strong earthy/humus bittnerness on the close from what remains of the hops, nice full but not hot mouthfeel, ample and active carbonation keeping things lively. I really like this one for what it is, and I’m having a heck of a time not chugging it. Very nice. I’d love to try this fresh on tap too; I don’t know that it would be a better beer but it would be a different beer and an interesting one.