Terrapin Rye Pale Ale

Brewed by Terrapin Beer Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Athens, Georgia USA

Clear copper color with about an inch of nearly white foam. Good head retention, okay lacing. Hops - grapefruit and chlorophyll in the nose. Nice tart and tangy rye, a bit of caramel, and citrus hop combination. I get lemon and grapefruit flavors. Medium body, very smooth, nice carbonation.

From the bottle, pours a hazy reddish orange with very little and quickly dissipating head. Strong deep floral hoppy aroma, some caramel too. Taste is smooth and malty, with a little grassy hop notes, and the caramel flavor comes through more as it warms. Not nearly as hoppy as I would have expected from the aroma. This is a pretty good beer, unless you’re expecting a lot of hops in the taste.

Bottle: Citrus and hoppy, well balance though single minded. Tasteful, crisp and enjoyable. Another great Terrapin.

My first try of the Rye Ale’s. So far so good. Poured a slightly dark amber color and had a little foam that went away quick. Smell was good but a little light on the loafers. The taste and drinkability were really good. A very smooth beer to drink.

Pours a yeasty yellow with a nice foam cap. The rye leaves lots of lacing in its wake. Nicely balanced nose pits rye against the juiciness of flowery/citrusy hops. Chewy mouthfeel is unexpected. The hops go straight citrus in the body, with notes of lemon zest and oranges with a great caramel malt backing. This is solid from start to finish.

Clear golden pour, quickly receding white head, adequate lacing. Hops in the aroma dominate and are quite complex, showcasing floral, earthy and grassy, citrus and sour grapefruit idiosyncrasies all in a tight little package. Also noted are vaguely crisp rye malts(just seem flattened out in a way), toasted malts and honey. Flavor is more helpful in accentuating the rye and the spice and fruitiness it brings to the table. Palate is mostly soft and medium to light bodied. Finishes with zip, zing and vim and vigor. A lively little bugger.

This surely is a mellow, easy going pale ale, but there is something that continually strikes me when I partake...I have always felt like this beer is a heavy handed approach on blending hops, yeast, malt etc... Not that one flavor seems over the top in its robust character, it just doesn’t feel like a gentle touch, probably due to something in the bottling process, what this opinion applies to. Draft samples have proven delightful. A keg of this on a hot Spanish beach would be divine.

(12oz bottle) Medium off-white head atop crystal clear amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, rye, grapefruit, bread. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit/pine, some caramel, rye, bread. Fairly dry rye finish. Medium body, light acidity with some duskiness.

12 oz bottle. Pours golden, not as richly colored as some western pale ales and certainly not as thick and flavorful. Nevertheless its a capable beer.