Terrapin Twisted Spiral

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

Firkin at brewery party. Pour was cloudy gold, with a decent head, esp for a cask. Aroma was nicely oaked, with plenty of citrus hop coming through. Taste was also oaky, with some mild vanilla, and more hop bitterness. Mouth was very lively for a cask. Overall, another solid oak-aged brew from Terrapin.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy body with 1½ inch of whitish froth. As for the color, let me just whip out my Beer Color Swatches -- alright, let’s go with mars yellow. Smell: Inviting aromas of fresh oak week, fresh pale malts, and fresh citrus. Everything just seems alive in here. Taste: Swirls of fresh honey and toffee with a medium amount of sweetness. Small dash of vanilla sugar. Pleasantly spicy, soft oak wood character along with a small zip of rye grain. Bright citrus hops convey a medium-plus bitterness. Further flavor of oak layered with honey on the finish. Nice. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Soft mouthfeel. Drinkability: I’ll admit I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Generally, I’m down for some oak additions, but not always. Sometimes, it’s used to perfection, while, at other times, it’s over-used by an inexperienced brewer with downright disastrous results. Still other times, it’s used sooo lightly in an otherwise big, bold beer, that it becomes, at best, just another subtlety and, at worse, a nondescript component. The cask of oak-aged Rye Pale delivers just the right amount of oak character for me, evolving the original beer into something far, far better, in my opinion. Good work on this one, Terrapin.

Date: March 08, 2008
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brewery
Appearance: hazy gold, frothy cream colored head
Aroma: huge fresh hop aroma with a light fruity character and a touch of grassyness, towards the middle of the firkin the sweet fruityness blooms
Flavor: big hop flavor, nice crystal character adds only a touch of sweetness, growing oak along with the hops and rye keeps it dry, slightly grassy, long bitter finish
Overall: the firkin peed on my shoe, rye on american oak

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Name: Rye Pale Ale on Oak
Date: April 11, 2009
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brewery
Appearance: cloudy orange, frothy off white head
Aroma: sweet and spicy aroma, crystal sweetness, spicy hops go well with the oak
Flavor: just a touch of the oak in the flavor, combines with the hops to add a bit more balance to the crystal sweetness

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4