Terrapin Rye Pale Ale

Fairly hoppy citrus, pine aroma with sweet malt firmly in the background. The body is a murky, though not opaque, faded orange/yellow and holds a lasting, thumb thick, white head. Big bitterness up front is mostly grapefruit rind with some very light herbal notes. The flavor (not the mouthfeel) is a touch watery int he finish and the malt side of things is again buried behind the hops. Still it does have a somewhat approachable feel to it. Fairly narrow flavor wise, but enjoyable enough. Kind of a Kindergartener’s hop-bomb.

Bottle from shp555. Aroma is light pine. Golden brown body. Thin palate. Caramel malts, and very light rye tastes. No hps really to speak of--but easy to drink.

12oz. Bottle Enjoy Before 1/13/07 Poured a slightly hazed golden orange into a pint glass. Moderate amount of large carbonation bubbles rise to the 1+finger white head that formed on the pour. The head quickly died down to a half finger creaminess. The smell from this beer is pretty enjoyable. Raw frains and husks in the background. There’s actually a pretty solid rye spiciness in the aroma. Which I guess should be expected since it is a rye beer. As it warms the smell turns identical to rye bread. There’s a quick squeeze of orange juice on top of all the rye goodness. This is an excellent smell my only complaint is the aroma could be a little more pronounced. The flavor starts off with the raw graininess along with a complimenting caramel maltiness. This falls to the back fairly quickly when the spicy rye makes it’s appearence. This rye follows throughout the drink and is joined by a sweet citrus orange hoppiness. On the finish the rye takes over again momentarily. The body is on the lighter side of medium which is where I believe it should be for an APA. The rye adds a nice dryness that lets the hop bitterness become more pronounced. This is a good sessionable ale. It would be very easy to sit down and enjoy more than a few of these at a time. I love rye beers and this is a good solid example. Very enjoyable. I wish they sold it around here. I’d pick it up often. I’d love to try a brewery fresh bottle as this one was close to the best by date. Thanks for the sample Mikesgroove. Notes: This was brewed for Terrapin Beer by Fredrick Brewing Co. of Fredrick MD. 2/10/07

Bottle courtesy of OhioDad...THANK YOU!!! poured a cloudy golden color. Very large head that lasted a while...Loved the smell...Smelled like bread! Tasted all kinds of hops and definitely the rye. Some citrus as well. Too bitter for me. Not a fan of the IPA in any form yet...

Bottle via shp555: Clear light copper color with an off white head. Aroma, citrus, rye, some spice, pale malts. Flavor, pale bready malts, some ryeish spicing. A lighter floral and citrusy hoppiness to it. Easy drinking, pleasant beer.

Clear, reddish amber in color with a thin off-white head. Smells strongly of floral, slightly citrusy hops. Slightly sweet, with a nice citrus hops flavor. Drinks easily, thin over the tongue with a lingering fizziness.

Tons of malt with a slight hop presence in the aroma.Pours light copper with a light off white head.Very light malt makes up the flavor.Mouthfeel is a little thin with a light malt finish.

Pours a clear golden to copper color with off white head. The aroma has sharp citrus – lime – tartness to it. Behind that a definite rye aroma can be detected. The flavor is just like the aroma with a citrus hop bitterness bite that steps boldly into a lime tartness. The hop bitterness lingers all the way through the taste. About midway malt sweetness and rye malt surface. The sweetness fades into the finish leaving the lemony citrus hop bitterness to linger there alone on the palate.