Terrapin Side Project 90 Shelling Scotch Ale

Brewed by Terrapin Beer Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Athens, Georgia USA

August scotch amber colored with lush tan-brown head. Medium maltiness with touches of wood in the nose. Easy drinking and grainy malty body making for a well-stated scotch ale with no detectable hopping.

22. pours crystal clear dark brown. headless, laceless. no legs. caramel, peat, and smoke nose. creamy medium body. low carb. caramel, peat, and smoke mid palate. long sweet finish.

This bottle has been hiding in my back room for a while and even though I have had this on a number of occasions, this is the official rate. Has a very sweet, caramel, and almost meaty aroma. A little more malt presence for the style. This one falls a little short with the flavor though in that it is faint and a little watered down. After the sweetness there is some roasted malt but none of the cola or candi sugar flavors I am used to with the style. Some smoke and meat again in the flavor. I would like to see what happens if they spend a little more letting this guy ferment and get happy.

I appreciate what they were trying to do with this beer, but I just did not care for it, not to say it was made badly, but I constantly fault Terrapin for taking the stylistic guideline and throwing it out the window. Having said that, this could use just a touch of diacetyl, and a touch of peat, and I would have been pleased as punch. Still for what it is it is extremely drinkable.

22oz bomber. Pours dark brown with a small, short-lived tan head. The aroma is malty with a distinct malted barley twang and some roasted grain notes like chocolate and toasted bread. There is also an almost fruity candy-like quality - like Karo dark or molasses. The flavor follows the aroma. The beer starts malt-sweet up-front with a slight level of fruitiness (not banana or bubble gum but a similar funky ester - but subtle, unlike a weizen of Blegian ale) and some dark grain character - molasses and toast. The finish is full with a very subtle bitterness and a good bit of malt sweetness - chocolate and more molasses in the finish. The mouthfeel is full in body with low-to-moderate carbonation. Overall, a very decent beer with a nice, hard-to-place quality that distinguishes from other Scotch ales. I think I would have liked a touch more roasty character, but still quite good overall.

Bottle on the RBSG09 bus thanks to kp. Red-amber color with a white head. Caramel, light hops, and light alcohol aroma. Malty up front, with caramel and toast, then finishes bitter and hoppier than I was expecting considering the style. Medium bodied with medium carbonation.

Bottle from Santa, thanks matt! Deep red pour with off white head. Aroma of cherries and smokey malts. Flavor is cherry, some bready and malty, some fruit notes with a bit bitter finish. Its a bit thin for a scotch but I’m shocked by how drinkable it is.

22oz bottle pours dark copper, off white head. aroma and taste, roasted malts, plenty of grains, warming abv with light chocolate finish and some bitterness. Light dark fruits notes, cherries / raisins. Nice scotch, extremely drinkable.