Posted By kkozlen on Jul 29, 2011 | 3 comments

This beer was given to me by my friend Joe, after his trip down south a couple of months ago.  He seems to be a fan of Terrapin beers and gave me a few of them, including this one.  I was looking forward to something with a good hop flavor, so I thought I’d crack this one open after dinner this evening.

Location: Enjoyed the bottled beer, in a Sam Adams perfect pint glass, at home in Bloomington, IL.

Numbers: 7.2% ABV, 78 IBUs, 16.3 O.G., 3.0 FG, ~ 219 Calories

Ingredients: Malt: 2 Row Pale Malt,Munich, Pale Crystal 24L, Victory; Hops: Warrior, Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo, Cascade (dry hop)

Appearance & Aroma: It’s golden-amber in color with a half-inch thick, creamy head.  There was a biscuity malty aroma with some hints of honey and grassy hoppiness.

Taste & Feel: It had a light medium body, and the mouthfeel was somewhat crisp.  I’m not sure if the crispness was due to carbonation or the hops.  There a decent honey and biscuity malt flavor in the middle, followed by a slightly citrusy and grassy hop flavor.  However, the hop flavor isn’t too big.

Food Pairing: The honey and biscuity malt flavors made me crave something baked, like a pot pie, or an open faced turkey sandwich.  The hop flavor would also make a good flavor addition to an otherwise, somewhat bland, bread or turkey meal.

Overall Impression: With a name like this one, I was expecting an over-the-top hop flavor.  What I got was a fairly balanced IPA, that was pretty drinkable.  Overall, it was crisp and went down easily – good for a hot day like we had today.  If I hadn’t been expecting a big hop flavor, I probably would have enjoyed this more for what it is – a pretty good, balanced, IPA.

My Rating:

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