Terrapin Side Project Gamma Ray

Brewed by Terrapin Beer Company
Style: Barley Wine
Athens, Georgia USA

Bottle from Frugal MacDoogal. Pours a hazy golden with very little head. Aroma of honey and some Belgian esters. Medium to full bodied with some stickiness. Flavor of pale malts and honey with a good amount of residual sweetness. Finish has some Belgian phenols and a slight hint of alcohol. Very one dimensional and not very complex, but I found it to be decent. I probably would not buy this one again.

Bottle. Pours a golden color and has a fruity aroma. Tasted much like an overhopped wheat beer; I feel some of the extra emphasis on hops and high alcohol overpowered the fruit tastes one would expect from a wheat beer. Mouthfeel is strangely sticky. Not an awful brew, but I expected better from Terrapin.

Bottle: Pours a light golden honey color with little to no head. Smells of a lemony citris and wheat. This is a total wheat beer. Appreciate the brew with more hoppy aftertaste.

Bomber. A mostly clear, golden amber body is topped with a small, foamy, off-white head that settles to a wispy film very quickly. Minimal, soapy lacing washes about the glass. The aroma is not impressive, notes of candy sugar, bubblegum, and honey showing way too sweet up front. Coriander, floral hops, and dry wheat doing little to quell the overpowering sweetness, which carries over into the taste as well. Candy sugar and honey dominate, like an overly sweet, poorly made tripel more than anything else. Balanced carbonation does nothing to make up for the sticky, cloying mouthfeel. This is a rare loser from the fine folks at Terrapin. I guess everyone has a bad idea from time to time.

Wow. Cloudy golden amber with a thick, fluffy white head. Aroma of honey, grain and sugary malts. Flavor is rich and alcohol-heavy. Honey notes, wheat and fruit with a big alcohol presence. Smooth and flavorful, despite that. Very, very nice.

Wow. It is like liquid honey moonshine. Pours a deep slightly brown tellow color with a barely noticeable white head. Aroma is honey, banana, and alcohol. I mean burn your nose hair alcohol presence. Flavor is very sweet honey, sugar, and alcohol. Reminiscent of Midas Touch without the spice and grape presence. I wonder what it would be like with some age. Hmm.

Light beige. No head. Slight haze. Looks absolutely terrible. Chewy nose is very sweet, going towards marshmallow and mushroom. Very sweet and alcoholic. Syrupy, very doughy pale malts. Esters, phenols farting around doing not much. Only lightly chewy but way too sweet, not balanced, and not a single source of pleasure. Not a professional calibre brew.

Sweet strong wheat, banana, and honey aroma. Almost too sweet. Muddy orange gold with no head. CItrus fruits up front followed by wheat malt, honey, clove, yeast, and more honey sweetness. Wheat and clovey sweetness lingers. Drinks a lot better than it smells. Not cloying as one might assume.