Terrapin Tart Cherry W-n-B

Tonight’s beer is one that I aged for awhile and has been retired for a bit now. Let’s see how it was.

ABV: 9.4%

Style: American Double/Imperial Stout

Trivia: According to beerstreetjournal, “The base beer is an oatmeal imperial stout, brewed with a special coffee blend from Athens, Georgia roaster Jittery Joes. (The coffee blend is actually available for purchase as well.) The brewery has spiked the stout with Montmorency cherry juice. When life gives us cherries, we make ‘Tart Cherry W-n-B.’ Brewed with real Montmorency cherry juice from the USA, and freshly roasted ‘Wake and Bake’ coffee from Jittery Joe’s, this version of our classic Coffee Oatmeal Stout takes on an impeccable fruit forward dimension. Other editions of Wake-n-Bake include Cinnamon Roll’d, that has been released a few times in the past, as well as French Toast W-n-B. This year, the brewery will can the base Wake-n-Bake for the first time. Terrapin Tart Cherry Wake-n-Bake will be a 22 ounce bottle and draft release in December, 2016.”

Random: We got a waffle maker for a wedding present and use it almost every weekend.

This beer poured with a two finger, tan head. It took awhile to go away and left generous lacing on the glass. The body was dark brown, almost black. There was no visible carbonation due to the color. The nose was filled with the normal notes of an imperial stout. It had roasted malts, cocoa and lots of coffee. It also had a pleasant note of cherries. The taste was rich with lots of cocoa powder and strong coffee. There were also tart cherries and some booze, which could have been better integrated. The cherry note was intense and very, very tart. The body of the beer was intense and very heavy with light carbonation. The finish was lengthy and sticky with tart cherries and booze. I paid $12.99 for this, which came to $.77 per ounce. I’m glad I got to try this beer, but the tart cherry overtook the other nuanced flavors. I wouldn’t rush back to have this one.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Terrapin T-Time

Tonight’s beer is a seasonal from Terrapin intended for the golf course. I’m hoping to play a round while I’m down in Hawaii, although I haven’t played in awhile, so I’m definitely going to be rusty. Let’s crack this one open.

ABV: 4%

Style: Berliner Weissbier

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “‘T-Time’ Berliner Weisse is a tart and thirst-quenching wheat beer made with fresh tea and lemon peel. This easy-to-drink summertime refresher will get you back into the swing of things both on and off the course.”

Random: The brewery recommends pairing this with Chevre and Havarti cheeses or a Turkey Club Sandwich with a side of chips. They don’t specify the type of chips, though.

The beer poured with a two finger, thick, ecru colored head. It went away quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was moderately cloudy and yellow with lots of carbonation visible. The nose was lemon peel and lemon juice along with a little bit of funk. I didn’t pick up any tea. The taste started with lemon juice and lemon peel. It had significant tartness to make my lips pucker. There was no tea that I could pick up in the flavor. The body was thin with a lot of carbonation. The finish was almost instant and very sour. I picked this can up for $3, which came to $.25 per ounce. I really wanted to like this beer, but when you advertise tea being in it and there’s no tea, I’m left a bit disappointed.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Terrapin Sound Czech

This morning’s selection is a beer that I had on tap when I stopped to grab a quick lunch. I paired this with a tuna dish with mango and jalapeno and it worked quite well.

ABV: 5.5%

Style: Czech Pilsener

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “About the Beer: Like music to your ears, the Terrapin ‘Sound Czech Pilsner’ is a concert of flavor. Brewed with 100% Pilsner malt for exceptional crispness, and accompanied by Czech and German hops for noble superiority, this traditional lager will make you stand up for an encore performance. Pair with: Vermont Cheddar or Creamy Brie, serve with a low country boil…shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn, onions and a little Old Bay all in the pot. Spread out your newspaper, crack a Sound Czech and feast.”

Random: Restaurant Wars is my favorite challenge on “Top Chef.”

The beer poured with a one finger, white head. It dissipated slowly and left a lot of lacing on the glass. The body was a clear, straw yellow with lots of carbonation visible. The nose had a lot of pilsner malt and river pebbles. The taste started with mineral water and pebbles. It also had a lot of pilsner malt. It didn’t have any grass to it, but a slight amount of corn. The body was very light with a lot of carbonation. The finish was quick with corn. I liked this beer a lot. It was easy to drink and had nice flavor. I could see this pairing well with almost any food. I’m glad that I gave this a shot.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Terrapin Watermelon Gose

No matter what time of year I crack open a gose, it reminds me of barbecues and warm weather. It’s almost Spring time, which means that I need to start planting. We planted bulbs last fall, so I’m hoping they start to bloom. I think some of the deer and squirrels dug some of them up, but I’ll just have to plant more again this Fall.

ABV: 4.5%

Style: Gose

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “A traditional German style beer brewed with sea salt and coriander. Tart and refreshing, our Gose is sure to blow any picnic out of the water….melon.”

Random: This beer uses white wheat and pilsner malts.

The brew poured with a one finger, thin, white head. It dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a surprisingly clear, straw yellow color. There was a lot of carbonation visible as well. The nose was sour with watermelon rind and sea salt. I also picked up wheat. The taste had a lot of sea salt, which took some time to get used to. After that, it went into notes of watermelon extract, watermelon rind and lemon juice. The flavors were a bit disjointed. The body was very light and had lots of carbonation. It had a surprisingly lengthy finish with the same sea salt and watermelon rind. This beer was easy to throw back because it was so thin, but it needed a bit more refining to become a go-to for me, even at $1.83 a can ($.15 per ounce).

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Terrapin The Walking Dead – Blood Orange IPA

I finally started watching “The Walking Dead” again. I didn’t think last season was very good, but this season is a bit better. I wonder how many seasons they can keep going for. I didn’t like “Fear The Walking Dead” at all, but I still watched the whole season. Since we’re talking about the show, let’s drink “The Walking Dead” beer from Terrapin.

ABV: 6.7%

Style: American IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Terrapin Beer Co. and The Walking Dead have teamed up to brew the official beer of the undead. Made with blood orange peel, and a horrific amount of hops, this bloodthirsty Red IPA will have you prepared for the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse!”

Random: Zombie terrapin!

The beer poured with a one finger, khaki colored head. It dissipated slowly and left generous lacing on the glass. The body was darker than I’m used to for the normal IPA. It was a deep sienna color, although clear. There was no carbonation visible. The nose had a lot of bitter citrus peel. I got blood orange (which was to be expected) and regular orange peel. It had some spicy malt as well, almost like rye. The taste was also quite citric. Lots of orange peel, although not a huge amount of blood orange. There was a lot of spice from the malt and tasted like rye. The beer was dry, although not intensely bitter. It had a thick body with moderate carbonation. The finish was long with rye spice and orange flesh that was moderate bitter. The bottle was $8.99, which broke down to $.41 per ounce. The beer was decent, but nothing mind-blowing. I would have appreciated a bit more blood orange.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Terrapin Vapricot

This beer was also highlighted on social media as well, but because most people who bought it complained about the high pricetag and the fact that it was a huge letdown. I’m hoping they were wrong…

ABV: 9.05%

Style: American Double/Imperial IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “When you can’t see the smoke through the hazy, reach for a beer that cuts right through. Two neightboring breweries in the South, Cigar City and Terrapin Beer Co., introduce ‘Vapricot’ Apricot Ginger Imperial IPA. Brwed with apricot puree and ginger for a sweet and spicy profile, this multidimensional beer will help you see things more clearly.”

Random: Thie beer uses CTZ ADHA 529, Simcoe, El Dorado and Equinox hops in the boil while dry-hopping with Equinox, El Dorado and Citra.

This beer poured with a one finger, slightly off white head. It dissipated rather quickly and left a modicum of lacing on the glass. The body was a dark, hazy orange with light carbonation visible. The nose was very strong with ground ginger. It wasn’t pleasant. The taste was medicinal with a lot of ginger. There was even more than the nose. There was some sweetness with golden fruit as well. There was some hop characteristic to it, but as soon as it came out, it again got overwhelmed by the ginger. Some lightly toasted malt came through as well. There was alcohol present on the back of the sip. The body was on the thick side and bordered on syrupy with light carbonation. It had a long finish with the same ginger note that pervaded every aspect of this beer. This beer was quite expensive at $4.00 per single bottle ($.33 per ounce). Despite the price, I wanted to like this beer because I really enjoy apricot and ginger, but the ginger overwhelmed everything. I wouldn’t have this beer again, even if it were half the price.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Terrapin Monster Beer Tour Hop Selection IPA

The kittens are getting really big. Simcoe is looking like he’s going to be bigger than Angel (and he’s a really big cat). Citra looks like he’s going to be a little bit smaller. They’re still running around like crazy and getting into things, which is to be expected, but they’re also learning that they really like the couch and the bed to sleep on. Anways, time for the beer, which uses neither Simcoe nor Citra hops.

ABV: 8.4%

Style: American Double/Imperial IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Yearly showcase of our favorite hop! ‘Hop Selection’ Single Hopped Imperial IPA is a celebration of our favorite hop from the current harvest. Whether it’s an old classic, a new variety, or an experimental standout, this beer will continue to change yearly showcasing our favorite hop of the season.”

Random: The hop for 2014 was Ella. It also used 2-Row Pale, Vienna, CaraPilsner and Honey malts.

The beer poured with a one finger, white head that dissipated slowly and left a lot of lacing on the glass. The body was a hazy, dark orange with moderate carbonation visible. The nose wasn’t as intense as I would have assumed. It had citrus peel, but quickly went into sweet malt. It was almost like an orange gummy candy. The taste started with lemon and orange pith. It also very quickly went into floral hops along with a significant caramel sweetness from the malt. The alcohol was noticeable and astringent. The body was on the lighter side of the style with moderate carbonation. The finish was lengthy and sweet. A single of this set me back $3.50, which came to $.29 per ounce. This was a decent beer, but it was way too sweet for my liking. I wouldn’t have it again. There are too many better examples of the style out there.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Terrapin Maggie’s Blueberry Cobbler Imperial Farmhouse Ale

Now that we have three cats, it’s an interesting dynamic. The kittens are a bit of a handful and Angel is still getting used to them. They have a lot of energy and seem to get into everything. It’s definitely been fun so far. Anyways, let’s talk about this beer. It’s a limited release from Terrapin. It’s the first one from them that I’ve been able to try.

ABV: 8.55%

Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Maggie’s Blackberry Cobbler Imperial Farmhouse Ale is made with fresh blackberries and graham crackers for a taste you won’t soon forget. Reminiscent of the smell in Granny’s kitchen on a Sunday afternoon, this beer is liquid dessert for any home cooked meal.”

Random: Although I appreciate why breweries encase the tops of bottles in wax, but it’s still a pain in the butt to get off.

This beer poured with a one finger, white head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. But, it left a slight crown on top of the body. The body itself was a hazy, dusky brown color with moderate carbonation. The nose had a lot of bread and light coriander. There wasn’t much fruit to speak of on the nose. The taste started with yeast and then transitioned into light berries that didn’t offer any sweetness. There was light coriander and white grape as well as apricot. The booze was well-hidden. It had a moderate body and had high carbonation. It had a medium-long finish with yeast. It was $11.99 for the bottle, which came to $.55 per ounce. This beer wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great either. I wished it had more fruit to it.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Terrapin Side Project #25 Liquid Lunch Peanut Butter & Jelly Porter

When I was a kid, I loved peanut butter sandwiches. One of my childhood friends later introduced me to peanut butter and chocolate chip sandwiches and those were my absolute favorite. They tasted like a peanut butter cup to me. I was hoping that this beer would bring me a bit of nostalgia. Let’s see if it did.

ABV: 7.7%

Style: American Porter

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Cut off the crust and unwrap the flavor of this fruit-centric beer. Handcrafted using real raspberries, Liquid Lunch Peanut Butter & Jelly Porter combines all the elements of a familiar lunchtime snack.”

Random: I’m having a craving for a peanut butter sandwich.

This beer poured with a two finger, light brown head. It left some lacing on the glass. The body was a dark brown color with light carbonation visible. The nose was very fragrant with lots of grape jam and some peanut butter. The taste was filled with very tart, grape jam. It was almost to the point of vinegar. There was a touch of peanut butter as well, but the jam notes dominated everything. There was no balance to this beer, but at least the booze was hidden. I didn’t get a lot of roasted malts from the porter part either, which would have helped with the balance. This bomber was $8.99, which broke down to $.41 per ounce. I totally understand why Terrapin would put this beer about. They want to push the boundaries of beer and last winter, peanut butter porters were very popular. But, I just don’t enjoy this beer. I’m glad I got to try it, because it is quite unique, but I wouldn’t have this again.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Terrapin Midnight Monk

Since the game is on today, the supervisor and myself did not want to miss it even though we were working. I managed to get a stream up of it, but only in Spanish. It’s better than not seeing the game. So far, the game is really good. Saying Seattle just scored, it’s gotten even more interesting. Anyways, another Terrapin beer with another cute label. Let’s see how it went.

ABV: 9.8%

Style: American Black Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Take off your robe and slip into the night to get one step closer to the Holy Grail of all beers. ‘Midnight Monk’ Belgian-Style Black IPA will have your senses juggling all the complex flavor and aroma this beer has to offer.”

Random: I am not liking the weather today, especially since it made my truck 3 hours late.

This beer poured with less than half a finger of tan head. It dissipated quickly and left some lacing on the glass. The body was a dark brown, almost black color with heavy carbonation visible. The nose had roasted malts, raisins and piney hops. The taste started with alcohol, roasted malts and coffee. It transitioned into piney hops with some sap as well. It was pleasantly bitter. Coffee was present. The alcohol was well hidden in the beer, making it relatively drinkable. The body was thick with medium carbonation. The finish was long with coffee and pine sap. It was $2.30 a bottle, which translated to $.19 an ounce. The beer was only alright to me. The flavors were disjointed and transitioned awkwardly. I wouldn’t rush to have it again.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0