Terrapin Hopsecutioner

Why I tried this: DID YOU SEE THE NAME OF THIS BEER?!??!!?!? By now you should know I love IPAs!  That being said how could I pass on a beer called Hopsecutioner.  Especially a "Hopsecutioner" that has some hops laid out on the guillotine.  Pretty much enough said, no point going into any more detail.

Smell: citrus scent with some floral in the scent.  Slight malt in the scent that seems to round it out and make the hops less pungent.

Taste: Well not quite as hoppy in flavor as I would expect a beer called "hopsecutioner" to be.  The hops are there and noticeable but not nearly as strong as I had been hoping for or planning.   A bit more of syrupy malty flavor then I would of expected.  I didnt detect much of the citrus scent at all in the flavor.  The caramel malt flavor blending with the hops rounded this beer out a bit more then I would of wanted.  Dont get me wrong I liked this beer, in fact I have a 6 pack of it in my fridge right now, but I would definitely consider it a much more mild IPA.

Overall I would give this beer a rating of a quarter glass left.  It is a beer I will enjoy time to time when I go out.  This beer had a very good flavor and is enjoyable however I wish the hops were a bit stronger in the flavor and make themselves more pronounced.  I would suggest this beer to someone that is interested in trying IPAs before I brought out the big guns of delicious hop tea IPAs.



--Jon

Terrapin Sunray Wheat Beer

Why I got this: This beer was suggested to me by one of my favorite bartenders, Jackie. She typically recommends good beers to me so I went with it. On a side note Jackie also needs to shotgun a beer with Derrick and I again. I'm not exactly sure how to spell Derrick, Derek, or whatever so he's going to have to get over it.

Smell: Well I made the mistake of not smelling this beer before tasting it. Going in for the second sniff... This beer has a grainy, sweet smell, like a Belgian ale.

Taste: When I first started drinking this beer I absolutely did not expect at all a Belgian flavor. This beer tastes like a classic grainy Belgian beer. The flavor is a very very grainy malty bread flavor. The finish of this beer beyond the malts is somewhat sweet and sugary. This beer's title made me expect something a bit different going into it. The classic Belgian ale flavor and bite was a bit of a surprise to me but hey, what do I know.

This beer receives a quarter glass remaining. I was delightfully surprised by the flavor of this beer. This is a very good beer from Terrapin and I have loved many of their recent beers that I have had. While I enjoyed this beer very much there are plenty of beers I would rather have. If you are looking for a beer with the described flavors above that you haven't had this may be a good recommendation.



--Jon

Terrapin Hop Karma Brown IPA

Why I got this: I have enjoyed a few of the Terrapin beers from this brewery so when I saw this beer I figured it would absolutely be worth trying. I like IPAs but am not a huge fan of brown ales, and I have no idea what a brown IPA is, so here we go.

Smell: Malty scent with a crisp hop flavor. This beer has a pretty pleasant scent to it.

Taste: Right up front I got a crisp fresh hop flavor that was very pleasant. In my opinion the hop flavor of this beer is not overpowering at all, they are smooth and very consistent. After an enjoyable brief encounter with the hops, this beer slides in to the smooth malt flavors. The caramel malt flavors are fairly mild and there is a "toasty" flavor you can sense with the malts. Once you swallow the sip of beer you are left with a mild taste of the crisp hops.

Overall I would give this beer a quarter pint remaining. This beer was great and I really liked it, but it's not in my top favorites. I have gotten this beer several times when I went out to other bars and even recommend it to people that I think would enjoy it. I look forward to trying some more of the Terrapin beers at World of Beer UCF, they seem like a great brewery that makes some fantastic brews.




--Jon