Terrapin Oaked Big Hoppy Monster - Terrapin Beer Company

MCDub

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

01-04-2013 20:44:07 | More by MCDub

twenty5

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2%

05-17-2013 15:25:35 | More by twenty5

YobroitsJoe

Maryland

4/5  rDev +2%

05-11-2013 13:07:36 | More by YobroitsJoe

BadJustin

New York

3/5  rDev -23.5%

05-11-2013 00:42:01 | More by BadJustin

mscott1975

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Poured from a bottle into a Dogfish Head snifter. The beer pours a dark, muddy brown with some crimson hues and a 1 finger head. The head didn't last very long and settles into a thin cap around the edges. Nice looking beer.

Smell: Strong roasted malt smell, almost smells like a barley wine to me.

Taste: Very big, malty, sweet, syrupy beer that coats the tongue. Definitely some hops that tickle the tongue but definitely more malt than hop in my bottle. I get some very subtle hints of vanilla.

Mouthfeel: Thick, sweet and syrupy. More carbonation on the tongue than I would have expected but not a bad quality for this beer. I think the carbonation is what really separates it from a barley wine type beer.

Overall: This is a good beer but not great. I almost get the feeling this beer isn't quite sure what it wants to be. With a name like Big Hoppy Monster, I would have expected more hop and less sweet malt. I'm not sure what the date is on this brew, so my guess is that the hops have started to fade a bit and the malt is taking over. I'm glad I tried it but glad I only bought a single.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 01:56:27 | More by mscott1975

shockrocker65

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +27.6%

05-07-2013 01:50:31 | More by shockrocker65

Hoptopher

Tennessee

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a 21st Amendment pint glass.

The apperance is a nice deep amber color. lots of sedement floating in this one. Thin tan head that fads fast.
Not a lot on the smell, some roasted malts not to heavy on the hops.
Taste is good. Some dark fruit taste like plums. Not to boozy for the ABV. The taste definately out performs the smell. There is some hop presence that helps balance out the roasted malts.
There could be a little more in the carbination department, but I don't have a problem with it.

Overall a pretty good beer that I would have again, but not gonna go out of my way to find it.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 22:43:52 | More by Hoptopher

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

2012 Vintage recently purchased but unfortunately less than fresh.

A - A huge amber colour with a golden orange glow along the bottom. A thin layer of tan coloured head formed on the pour and slowly receded to a ring around the edges of the glass.

S - Huge caramel and oak aromas with some lighter floral and toffee notes. Fairly sweet overall, as expected.

T - Oak/woody flavours are dominant with a huge sweet caramel, toffee and brown sugar presence. Some floral notes in the background with almost no bitterness present from the hops. Tannic with a somewhat noticeable alcohol presence.

M - Medium body with moderate carbonation. Slightly too much carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2013 14:23:41 | More by TheSevenDuffs

irish01980

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

05-03-2013 23:07:32 | More by irish01980

Mattyb79

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

05-02-2013 22:30:47 | More by Mattyb79

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.84/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Pours into pint a lightly hazy dark crimson color. Short-lived head looks coarse and beige.

Oak, grapefruit hops, seared bread, earthy pine. Caramelly, too.

Dank hops yield resin and fermented citrus. Malt-strong, with a light roastiness. Grapefruit peel, minerality, oak spirals, tannic bitterness, and fusel. Not as fruity as I had hoped. Very mucky and oily, even in the feel. Bright carb stirs things up, but the body just wants to slither across the tongue. Quite the potent kick. Oakiness doesn't help, as the booziness just clings to the wood on the palate. Sweeter caramel and toffee notes push through and start to dominate, as the beer warms.

A beast of a beer. No secret in the name. Strong ale tendencies. Chunky and butch. Whole lotta beer in one glass. A bit showy.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2013 02:23:54 | More by thecheapies

ajtorres311

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

05-01-2013 15:19:04 | More by ajtorres311

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

I picked this one up because I remember the original Hoppy Monster being pretty darn good.

This version is okay. Firm sweet tone dominates with some nice typical amber character showing through. But it all seems kind of a clogged mess in that the boundaries of things seem muddled and it strikes me as a bit of a one dimensional thing.

I have no idea why the original Hoppy Monster is now retired and this has taken its place. Seems silly to me.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 03:36:33 | More by RblWthACoz

tut2528

Illinois

3.69/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: pours a dark brown with a touch of rustiness. it creates about 1 fingers worth of head formation that that has a slight yellowness to it. the bubbles are actually much larger than to be expected... almost bead-like bubbles.

S: decent earthy hop profile, burnt sugar, sweet molasses, berry fruitiness, and a subtle oak character.

T: quite an interestingly balance here. fruitiness, and sweet malt/toffee comes through at first and the after taste is composed of a grassy hop profile. really not getting much of an oak character here

M: medium bodied, leaves a bit of a caramel sweetness on the palate with touch of grassy hops.

O: meh... i will admit that the alcohol is very well hidden as it sits in at 9.10%. but not the biggest fan of the balance as I continue to drink this. the sweetness if almost candy-like and therefore I feel the palate is in constant battle between the hops and this sweetness. oak is also very subtle

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 00:13:20 | More by tut2528

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

04-20-2013 11:50:52 | More by Oakenator

OldTime

Georgia

4/5  rDev +2%

04-20-2013 03:47:03 | More by OldTime

GratefulEdd

Alabama

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

04-20-2013 03:16:57 | More by GratefulEdd

Qwest_35

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -17.1%

04-19-2013 22:12:20 | More by Qwest_35

johnyb

Florida

4/5  rDev +2%

04-19-2013 21:41:02 | More by johnyb

GrantBrennan

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2%

04-14-2013 18:20:18 | More by GrantBrennan

ncstateplaya

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

04-11-2013 13:37:54 | More by ncstateplaya

reizorc

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

04-11-2013 12:40:47 | More by reizorc

Larrydoherty

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -23.5%

04-09-2013 20:51:17 | More by Larrydoherty

RandyBoBandy

Florida

4/5  rDev +2%

04-07-2013 01:56:32 | More by RandyBoBandy

Chaney

District of Columbia

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Huge fan of Big Hoppy Monster, so I've been wanting to try this one for a while.

Served in a Port City snifter.

A: Poured an extremely dark, blood red color. Seriously, this was almost black. Not much head.... just a few bubbles.

S: Seriously, this was pretty faint. Just a bit of melted cherry lollipop and some oak.

T: The taste was actually pretty good. Pretty complex, with it's caramel component and it's rich, candy-coasted booze. The oak top the hops out of "Hoppy Monster" though.

M: Kinda boozy, but I didn't mind it. Splotchy lacing and tamped down sweetness.

O: Not bad, but I pretty the hops from it's little sister.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 02:09:13 | More by Chaney