Terrapin Side Project 90 Shelling Scotch Ale

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

Serve in Thistle

22oz bomber. Pours dark brown with a small, short-lived tan head. The aroma is malty with a distinct malted barley twang and some roasted grain notes like chocolate and toasted bread. There is also an almost fruity candy-like quality - like Karo dark or molasses. The flavor follows the aroma. The beer starts malt-sweet up-front with a slight level of fruitiness (not banana or bubble gum but a similar funky ester - but subtle, unlike a weizen of Blegian ale) and some dark grain character - molasses and toast. The finish is full with a very subtle bitterness and a good bit of malt sweetness - chocolate and more molasses in the finish. The mouthfeel is full in body with low-to-moderate carbonation. Overall, a very decent beer with a nice, hard-to-place quality that distinguishes from other Scotch ales. I think I would have liked a touch more roasty character, but still quite good overall.

Bottle at Tally Crew tasting: Poured a black brown with light head. Aroma is leafy and malt. Taste is sweet malt, right up my alley. Really enjoy this style.

3/18/11. Bomber. Hazy brown pour with a small white head. Rich caramel malt aroma with some mint as well. Rich malty caramel flavor with burnt sugar, a hint of smoke, and more.

The beer pours a surprising dark brown with not much head, retention or lacing. The beer is fairly clear. The aroma is light alcohol not a ton of other stuff going on here. The taste is a little scothy bur overall pretty boring.

22oz, sweet caramel aroma, sweet, sweet, sweet. Maybe a slight hoppiness to it. Not bad, maybe a slight oxidation. Still very good.

Poured into a snifter. 3.5 A: Pours a dark brown, nearly black color. One and a half fingers of creamy/frothy beige head with below average retention and a small ring of lacing. 4.0 S: Biscuity and grainy malts. Some toffee, brown sugar, and a STRONG candied plum aroma. Doesn’t stand out, but is very pleasant. 3.5 T: Really reserved for the style. There isn’t enough sweetness, which can be explained by the thin body by wee heavy standards. Malts are again grainy and biscuity with the same toffee, brown sugar, and plum. The problem is that all of these flavors other than the graininess are present in low quantities. 3.0 M: Ligher medium to medium body. There’s enough carbonation, but it isn’t spritzy enough and the beer lies heavy on the tongue. Otherwise, super smooth. 4.0 D: This isn’t the most flavorful, but it goes down super easy. I’d think nothing of drinking a few bombers of this by myself. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 02-13-2011 03:48:57

VOL 6::
22oz bottle, foil wrapped. not sure how I missed this rating and happened to have a bottle cellar-ed. Pours dark brown color, stable tan head. Aroma of dark fruits and heavy toasted malts, some soy. Very nice malt. Nice bit of oxidation in the nose. It is an aged bottle.
Flavor of dark toast, burnt barley grains, chocolate, watery coffee, and heavy burnt sugar. Lots of toast flavors in the finish. A bit stronger than I remember. Still very smooth, full bodied.

Bottle courtesy of Kinz on 04/17/2010 at the 11th Richmond RateBeer Gathering. Clear dark brown body with a small off-white head. Sweet nutty and malty aroma. Sweet malty flavor, some light pete character and a light caramel background. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

The pour reveals a cloudy brown color with a thin offwhite head. Decent aroma of fruits, caramel and malt. The flavor has toffee, fruits and malt, it’s a bit buttery too and very sweet. The body is medium with a liquorous texture and soft carbonation.