Terrapin Rye Squared

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

Bottle sampled with Mad_indian a gift from DrBayern. Pours hazybronze with a small beige head. Aroma of caramel, citrus, pine, and sweetness. the flavor is caramel, rye, citrus, with a nice hoppy bitter finish. Good brew.

A truly delightful beer. The regular Terrapin Rye is an enjoyable variation but this pumped up version is distinct and enjoyable. The rye is present and gives this one a quirky flavor to offset the powerful hops. But the malting towards the back end give this not only a full body but a very rich flavor, refreshing and hefty at once. Quite fine.

Bottle from Capones, Sampled with Stegosaurus. Coppery/bronze pour with hints of caramel and hop in the aroma. Taste was pretty much the same but a hint of rye and pine. Not bad at all.

Date: May 04, 2005
Mode: Draft
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 2005
Appearance: hazy orange
Aroma: big sweet hoppy aroma
Flavor: lots of sweet carmel flavor, well balanced with hop bitterness, lingering bitter finish

Date: May 05, 2005
Mode: draft
Vintage: 2005
Aroma: sweet hoppy piney aroma
Flavor: big sweet carmel and pine flavor

Date: May 28, 2005
Mode: home draft
Vintage: 2005
kicked the gfy and replaced it with the rye**2 and it kicks the gfy’s ass, subtle and piney, sweet and hoppy, not worth $40 for a tap handle though, nice yeasty character with a good bitter finish, sweet sweet pine

Date: November 19, 2005
Mode: draft
Source: home keg
Vintage: 2005
Appearance: dark and hazy amber, fine beige head leaving lots of lace
Aroma: still the sweet sweet pine aroma with some good earthy hops to keep it company
Flavor: lots of sweet pine flavor mixed in with some grapefruit, the bitterness has faded but somehow it seams better balanced

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.2/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Date: May 18, 2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Sherlocks, GA
Vintage: 2006
Appearance: amber with lots of suspended yeast floating about, thin fine head that leaves bits of lace as it is swirrled about
Aroma: sweet pine aroma
Flavor: lots of sweet malt flavor combined with more pine sap sweetness, enough hops and bitterness to keep it in check
Overall: pretty much same as last year and unaffected by the floaties

Date: January 30, 2007
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2006
sweet orange flavor along with the piney sweetness, just a bit of bitterness still keeps it in balance,

Date: September 18, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2006
Aroma: still sweet pine aroma but the intensity of the sweetness is starting to fade
Flavor: the sweet hop flavor is as strong as ever, great sweet orange character, still enough bitterness for balance

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.2/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Date: March 23, 2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Wild Wing Cafe, Marietta
Vintage: 2007
Appearance: opaque burnt orange, fine cream head, thick lace
Aroma: sweet citrus hop aroma
Flavor: lots of hop flavor, touch of citrus and pine, nice sweet orange shows after warming, long bitter finish, no floaties

Date: March 27, 2007
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2007
the same big sweet citrus and pine flavor,

Date: December 29, 2007
Mode: draft
Source: charlie mopps
Vintage: 2007
am I picking up some sweet chocolate in the flavor to balance the sweet pine or am I on drugs?

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.2/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Date: March 08, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewery
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: hazy burnt orange, frothy beige head, bits of drippy lace
Aroma: huge sweet fruity tangerine aroma
Body: creamy body
Flavor: huge sweet fruity flavor with lots of tangerine and a hint of pine, touch of spicyness along with a light earthy bitterness for balance, peppery alcohol adds to the spicyness

Date: March 25, 2008
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Vintage: 2008
Aroma: picking more spicy hops in the aroma in addition to the sweet fruity character
Flavor: more balanced with the earthyness stepping up to balance the fruity flavor, light bitterness remains for the finish

Date: May 18, 2008
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2008
Aroma: bottle aroma is much drier with just a trace of the fruity character
Flavor: flavor is just as balanced with the sweet fruity crystal and peppery spicy bitterness

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+/4

Date: March 20, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2009
Appearance: clear copper, fine dirty white head, thick patterned lace
Aroma: sweet orange and pine aroma, citrus hops, spicyness along with a peppery alcohol
Body: sweet sticky body
Flavor: sweet pine and citrus flavor, sweet orange, just a hint of bitterness, touch of hot peppery alcohol

Date: April 02, 2009
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2009
Aroma: sweet orange candy aroma
Flavor: sweet orange flavor followed bitter orange peel, nice spicy pepper, light bitterness, hint of alcohol

Date: July 31, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: Twain’s
Vintage: 2009
sweet orange and peppery alcohol is melding together, bitter orange rind keeping the balance, long bitter finish,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

12 oz bottle 7/2/07: Orange/amber body w/ a short lived off white head (probable dirty glassware) Citrusy and floral hops, caramel & toasted malt. Llight rye spicyness and hints of alcohol. Pineapple hop flavor up front, lightly bitter from start to finish, low medium rye flavor, medium caramel, and light toasted malt. The finish is semi dry & lightly bitter, and aftertaste has a pronounced rye malt flavor and pineapple hop. Lighter medium body, medium carbonation, well hidden alcohol, and smooth body. A good, but not great IIPA. Hop character seems a little subdued compared to others in it’s class, but still a well made beer.

Bottle, thanks to after4ever! Pours a clear dark copper with a thin white head. Sweet and rye aroma. Chewy, almost chunky rye taste. Bitter finish with a lightly sour edge.

12-ounce, 07. Thanks, GoldTwins! Awesome stuff. Been wanting to try this for quite a while, actually. This has more rye than even I would have the sack to put in a homebrew, much less a commercial release. Pours a gorgeous gem-like sparkling deep dark amber with a thick, sudsy white head. Gargantuan sour rye nose, almost funky. Rich creamy medium body, active carb. Big nutty, floral flavors tag along with the sour bready rye. Very complex and broad flavor palate. Long slingy sour rye finish. Very drinkable and delicious throughout. Wonderful.

Bottle pour at a tasting session in Athens. Pours gold color and I thought the head was white although others have claimed differently. Much more hoppy aroma than the Rye Pale Ale. It is not a very complex IPA as the rye and hops dominate without much additional complexity in flavoring or aroma. Still, I like it and it is different from anything else I have had on the market.