Terrapin Downward Spiral IBA Cask

Brewed by Terrapin Beer Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Athens, Georgia USA

Cask: Pours a hazy brown color with a fluffy tan head. Aroma is caramel, roast, chocolate, oak, some yeast, and spicy hops. Flavor is caramel, toast, oak, vanilla, and a bitter spicy finish.

Firkin at brewery party. Poured a cloudy brown with a tan head. Aroma of oak, toasted malt, citrus hop. Taste is of very fresh oak, with some light vanilla. Typical Terrapin IBA malt and hop profiles are present. Finish was still hoppy and bitter. Carbonation and body were solid. Very nice oaked brew.

Tapped on cask at the Thirsty Monk on March 25th. Damn this beer went fast, I only got a single pint! Hazy brown pour with some khaki foam head. Spicy floral nose with some green wood. Flavor had a lot of the hopiness replaced by vanilla and tannens, but still enjoyable. Smooth palate with medium low carbonation. The IBA is a pretty decent brew but i liked the added woody spiciness of this cask edition.

Appearance: Pours an opaque body the color of walnut wood and capped by a head of off-white foam. Smell: Earthy malt aroma of toast, brown sugar, and cocoa peppered with notes of oak and fresh, fragrant hops. Taste: Darkened malts with tastes of brown sugar, bread crusts, and cocoa powder. The oak character is shoved in back, only providing light touches of spicy oak and vanilla. Earthy, lightly citrusy hops with a medium-plus bitterness. Drying finish with a small amount of bitterness lingering into the aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: It’s good. The Indian Brown Ale greatly improved upon by the cask conditioning and oak aging.

On cask @ Redlight. Hazy dark brown color with an even 1-cm tan head. The aroma has an overall earthiness that you can pinpoint more than straight up oak, but the oak is definitely there along with some nice toasty notes. Nice mild tannic flavor mixes well with the moderate hop profile. Real nice on cask, melds nicely.

Draft... Murky, prune-colored ale with a wispy, off-white head. Fantastic retention. Restrained, earthy, malty hoppy aroma - grapefruit, chocolate and oak. Medium-bodied and coarse with gentle carbonation. Just like Three Floyds Ol’ Dread, the wood sucks most of the hop bitterness right out of the brew. The rough, bitter edges are rounded and the full-flavored hops come shining through. Caramel and chocolate plays nicely with herbal, earthy hop flavor. Lightly bitter, bone dry finish.

Cask at redlight. Pours a deep brown color with a big tan head that slowly settles to a thin film. Rings of lacing surround the glass. The aroma shows citrus and earthy hops, fresh oak, and some sweet chocolate. The flavor follows with the chocolate malt and caramel sweetness blended in with the fresh oak. A touch of vanilla and hop bitterness on the backend add balance. Really nice flavor in this one. Medium bodied and very smooth and easy drinking with a lingering bitter finish. Really solid brew and very tasty.

Cask at Redlight. Pours a nice deep brown with a wispy soapy white head. Nice fresh cut wood, earthy hop aroma. You can tell the wood really helps smooth out the hop characteristics. Taste is really nice, smooth chocolate malt body with touches of oak, vanilla and citrus hops. Just damn good and well balanced.