Terrapin Georgia Theatre Session: Hoptaneous Combustion

Brewed by Terrapin Beer Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Athens, Georgia USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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This was the best of the Theatre Session, it is not super bitter and hoppy, but it is nice as a smoke double ale or something to that note.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a cloudy gold with a foamy white head. The aroma is candy orange slices, grass clippings and brown sugar. The flavor is very bitter, but well balanced. The palate is surprisingly smooth. Astoundingly balanced and tasty.

Hmm, not loving the combination of smoke and bitterness. Maybe it is the smoke that is a little too over the top. It is an ambitious effort to make these two strong flavors work together and either luck, plenty of trial and error, or real skill will get a palatable result. Unfortunately none of those were at play for me here. The aroma is a little citrusy but mostly charred wood. Flavor is chewy meaty smoke dominant and pretty forward on the first impression of the beer. Faint bitter finish with a little bit of pine.

Bottle @ Ravenous Pig. Thought this was quite unique and delicious!!! Blood orange pour produced a creamy eggshell head. Aroma is an amazing mix of smoke and citrus. Tangerine, pine, and ash find their way to the flavor as well. One would think that they would fight one another but they blend quite well. The alcohol is nicely hidden.

Strong aroma is quite hoppy with an overtone of grapefruit and a hint of yeast. It pours a clear golden amber with a fairly thick off-white head. Flavor is - WHOA!!! Fierce! Very hoppy but minimally bitter, firm malty undertone, grapefruit, yeasty and woody tones and hints of spice and honey. Ragged texture is quite tingly and leaves behind a persistent and lively fizz. This one’s a monster, so be prepared!

pour from the keg at brewvival on 2/26/11. bright golden pour with a 1 finger white head. big fresh citrus hop nose with a faint level of smoke. medium body with the smoke lingering throughout - does not dominate the beer. mainly a nice IIPA with the usual citrus hop notes - until the finish where the smoked malts come forward more circulating the bitterness and some light fruit notes.

Bomber from Ale Yeah!, poured into a large Terrapin goblet. I love smoked everything and even I was apprehensive about a smoked IIPA. How are these two flavors going to work together? Then I remembered Terrapin has not impressed me with any new beers as of late and I decided that this beer would probably not taste like hops or smoke. Well, thank you Terrapin for making me eat my words. This beer is brewed out of win. The aroma is very bold with rich IIPA notes of grapefruit, menthol, honey and grass with a delicate smoky background. I impressed with the awesomeness of the hop character, most hoppy beers from Terrapin aren’t this straightforward. Taking a sip improves the experience even more. The smoke is much more noticeable in the flavor and surprisingly goes very well with the resinous, bitter hops. The beer is incredibly savory with a finish of utter delight. Normally I’d complain there wasn’t enough smoke, but keeping the campfire flavor to a reasonable level kind of works in this situation. There is enough hoppy goodness to take over my palate and the meaty smoke is just an added bonus. It works similar to the way briny and smoky flavors combine in a good Scotch. I wouldn’t readily pay $11.99 for a lot of bombers, but this one I would again. This one I would.

Sampled at Brewvival 2011. Golden pour with fair whitish head. The IPA hop nose was a bit week. Smokey flavor with a hoppy finish. This was actually pretty good.

Terrapin Georgia Theatre Session: Hoptaneous Combustion. Session Four: Foil wrapped, boxed 22oz bottle, boxed w/o a Golden Ticket. Bottle #1762.

Yet another Fusion of two unique brewing styles from Terrapin. Orange color with the aroma of smoked malts. Citrus hops in the nose. Flavor is of bitter West Coast hops, alcohol, and than smoked malts. The smoke alone sets this beer apart from any other beer I think I’ve ventured. Sticky malt body, sweet caramel malt. Resin, citrus, floral, spruce hops and SMOKE. The only down side, the $12.99 price tag... Although, I want some more of these!

750ml bottle. I figured this was gonna be a big hoppy, smoky monster and that’s exactly what I got. The aroma was mostly hops mixed with smokey wood characters. The flavor is very big and robust. A lot of hops and malts in the mix, along with the smoky bacon flavor. Quite crazy, but it’s damn tasty, and not for the faint of heart.