Terrapin Oaked Big Hoppy Monster - Terrapin Beer Company

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BA SCORE
88
good
-
243 Ratings

rAvg: 3.92
pDev: 12.5%
Reviews: 78
Hads: 165

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Brewed by:
Terrapin Beer Company

Georgia, United States

Style | ABV
American Amber / Red Ale | 9.10% ABV

Availability: Rotating. bottle (53), on-tap (23), growler (2).

Notes:
75 IBU

View: Beers (34) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by ncvbc:

ncvbc

North Carolina

4.55/5 rDev +16.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Deep ruby with brown highlights. Smaller off white head without much lacing. Smell is remarkable. The oak is in no way overpowering and adds another level of complexity to this already great beer. Brings out more of a pineapple scent on top of the base smell. Still caramel and that lovely brown sugar. Also pine and light citrus hops. Seems like there are even hints of coconut. Very light oak and wood presence. Just lovely. Taste is much of the same. This is one beer that I almost wish there was more oak presence, which is seldom the case as many are overdone. Still, very nice and gives the regular flavors a chance to shine while adding complexity. Great mouthfeel with a good level of carbonation. Moderate bitterness balanced with the malt sweetness. Not too thick and just about perfect. I could have had a couple more pints of this one. It is easily approachable and the oak flavor is in no way dominating. Very, very great beer. Who would have thought Big Hoppy could get much better? It does.

Serving type: on-tap

12-03-2008 16:38:51 | More by ncvbc

More User Reviews:

jgran737

Pennsylvania

3.1/5 rDev -20.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

2012 Bottle poured into a DFH Snifter

A: About a one finger head that quickly dissipated. Dark and rich in color, pretty much what you'd expect from a barrel aged ale. No lacing to speak of.

S: Really need to let this guy warm up to pick out those smells. A very nice oak smell right off the bat that overpowers the other smells until it warms up. Once it got a little warmer, I was able to pick out some malt and a little bit of hops, however, just doesn't bring much to the table in this category.

T: Exactly what you'd expect. Oak / Malt immediately followed by a slight hop presence. Not much burn, but this bottle has sat around for awhile. Overall it's a very sweet brew.

M: Not much to speak of. Medium body, small burn, with a pretty spot-on carbonation for this brew.

O: I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it and definitely wouldn't pick up a case of it, but it was a nice change of pace and I'd probably consider getting a pint if I saw it on tap somewhere. Not Terrapin's best offering, but not their worst either.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2013 03:47:14 | More by jgran737

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.79/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

2012 12oz bottle into a snifter. Deep ruby with a finger of rich and frothy light mocha head. Robust look that leaves sticky swathes of lace down the sides of the glass. The aroma is an even mix of green citrus, oak and toasted grains. The taste is more strong citrus backed by a combination of sticky caramel and toast. Oak is throughout, leaving this dry and a bit tannic in the finish along with a good bit of lingering bitterness. Mouthfeel is fuller bodied with a prickly carbonation that then gets more creamy and slick feeling underneath. Alcohol is moderate, adding a sweet spiciness to the proceedings. Not bad. I get the feeling that this might have been a little better fresh.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 16:23:11 | More by Kegatron

rhhjr

New Jersey

4.25/5 rDev +8.4%

05-23-2013 00:36:43 | More by rhhjr

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

4/5 rDev +2%

05-20-2013 23:49:47 | More by mikeincharleston

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