Terrapin India Style Brown Ale

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

12oz via GAManiac. Shared with my gf cyn. pours copper/amber with a 1 finger tan head. Nose is hoppy. Taste is nicely hopped with a kicking malt back end. This is a cool hybrid.

12 oz. Deep garnet-brown with a medium-sized lasting head. Nice mix of grapefruit, molasses and resin aromas. Front flavors of earthy molasses, chocolate and slightly sour orange. The finish turns more dirty-earthy: leaf, resin, wood and sweet toasted nut. Medium body is almost smooth, has a slight tongue tingle and finishes dryish.

On tap at the Brick Store in Decatur; poured a dark brown/auburn with a long lasting and creamy head. Aroma of roasted malt with an out of place grassy and citrus presence. Flavor of roasted malt with an IPA bitterness in the finish. While the flavor was not too strong, it was a little offputting. I found that the darker elements and the IPA elements did not mesh too well.

12oz bottle. Pours a deep, slightly hazy, brown with red/ruby highlights and a medium-sized tan head that leaves thick swaths of lace on the glass. The aroma is delectable: lovely oranges with notes of dark chocolate. The citrus hops smell great (cascade or centennial? perhaps amarillo or ahtanum?), and the malt character provides a subtle roasted grain and chocolate tone to the beer’s smell. The flavor starts with a strong note of citrus hops with a chocolate, toffee, and toast malt character. Just before mid-palate, the combination of citrus bitterness and chocolate reaches decadence. At mid-palate the malt profile becomes grainier and drier - like dry, bitter, cocoa powder. The hop bitterness peaks - but is never overpowering, but rather reaches a beautiful balance with the malts. The finish is dry, slightly warming (with a very subtle flavor of alcohol), and both roasty (with a subtle nuttiness) and hoppy. The mouthfeel is briskly carbonated, lightening the perception of the full body so that it feels more medium in body and slippery. Overall, a very drinkable, hoppy beer that perfectly fits their description as an India-style Brown Ale.

Bottled Terrapin IBA, with a label featuring artwork depicting the eponymous reptile playing a Sitar, when poured into a pint glass, looked red tinged brown, and sported a small head. The smell was pretty much halfway between the two styles as the citric hops intersected with a nutty malt. The taste was wavering between these two styles as well before ultimately settling closer to an IPA. The mouthfeel was a letdown to me, as the body felt watery and somewhat weak. The finish was dry and mineralized. I am not sure why Terrapin chose to release this style of beer, but my mind just kept going back for a comparison to a similarly constructed but wholly superior Big Hoppy Monster from them. Worth trying and savoring, but not a spectacular offering.

Dark brown-reddish pour with a nice, creamy tan head. Nice citrusy hoppy aroma, not at all in line with the appearance of this one. Medium body, lots of hops all through this one, citrus, pine. The finish is as the bottle advertises, pretty roasty. The roastiness and the big hop flavor really bitter this one out at the end. It’s pretty good. You can always count on Terrapin to come out with cool ideas for brews.

From tap at Bonnaroo. Aroma was hardly there, but what was there was good and clean and roasty. Color was a rusty dark red-brown. Flavor was pretty darn good. Good balance of hop and malt. Nit too strong on either side though. Good stuff.

Draft from Cask. Tan head atop clear brown body. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, floral/orange, some butterscotch. Taste is medium sweet, orange/grapefruit, some floral, spicy, caramel. Light-medium body.