Terrapin Hopsecutioner - Terrapin Beer Company

rpjonesga

Georgia

3/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

When I found out that Terrapin was adding an IPA to it's portfolio, I was very excited. As a resident of Atlanta, I always look forward to supporting local breweries. However, I feel that Terrapin missed the mark with this one.

High Points:

Smell - The smell out of the bottle is quite hoppy which raises your expectations on the taste of the beer. There is lots of citrus in the nose from the five hops. Nice!

Appearance - The beer is crystal clear with a nice foamy head. Not a problem here.

Not so High Points:

Taste - The taste of this beer just doesn't measure up to the nice hop aroma and my expectations. The malt sweetness is a bit lacking and the hop flavor isn't quite enough for me either.

It seems to me that this beer cannot decide what it wants to be. It isn't a hop bomb like a Stone beer and it doesn't have a strong enough hop/sweet malt mix to be a well balanced IPA (think Fort Collins Rocky Mountain IPA or Sweetwater IPA). I think that Terrapin should have kicked up the hops and the malt in this one. I will probably buy it again but I can think of 20 other IPA's that are superior.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2009 14:24:15 | More by rpjonesga

shrek806

New York

3/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

poured into a tulip glass, a nice orange hue on the light side with a finger of slowly dissolving head leaving minor lacing

Smells of maybe just a hint of citrus-not a lot of nose to this one at all

Tastes bitter with a faint hint of citrus and pine and an alcohol finish

Mouthful- bubbly with an alcohol sting

Drinkability- not a lot to this one. maybe

3.5/2.5/3.5/3.5/3.0

my guess= an APA

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2011 23:35:52 | More by shrek806

PeterIngemi

Massachusetts

2.98/5  rDev -23%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle I to a dfh snifter.... No bottle on date, but it says drink by the third week of January so I am assuming it must be closer to fresh then old. Although I have no idea how long of a code terrapin puts in these things.

A: pours a nice hazy orange amber with about half a finger if white head... Head dissapates quickly, leavs some lacing.

S: uh oh, the nose is very malty, there are some citrusy notes, but I'm not getting much hops here, I'm getting more caramel and bready malt aromas...

T: sadly not much different then the aroma, there is some citrus and light bitterness, but I am getting mainly bready and caramel malt flavors.

M: doesn't seem bad, medium body, with low medium carbonation, and what seems like it was meant to be a dry bitter finish.

O: I'm dissapointed, after all the good things I heard about terrapin, not that this is supposed to be their greatest release, but still. I feel as though this beer is past it's prime... And gas deffinatly lost mostly all it's hops.... Which leads me to two things.
1) terrapin puts much too long of a enjoy by code on their beer, with this supposedly having a good three months left of shelf life,
2) if this is a reasonable representation of the beers intended form then terrapin should deffinatly reformulate this one...
Either way it's too bad and I am dissapointed.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 00:31:33 | More by PeterIngemi

AlexFields

Tennessee

2.93/5  rDev -24.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

The best by date is December, and it's July...not sure how Terrapin does their freshness on hoppy beers but I hope it isn't more than six months out and so I'm assuming this one is pretty fresh.

Very pure golden amber color, nice and clear but pretty typical for an IPA. The head is thin and fades pretty quickly.

The nose is pretty sweet, not a lot of hops but some enticing candy aromas and some floral and weak citrus notes. Taken by itself, the smell is very nice. Considering that the beer is an IPA, it's not very promising in terms of what kind of hop profile you might expect.

Okay, it's hoppier than the nose led me to expect, but not by much. Not a lot of complexity in the hop profile, just some light bitterness with a bit of sugar thrown in somewhere. Maybe a little flower, maybe a little orange citrus, but really you have to search hard to find anything interesting.

Not really sure about the mouthfeel, there's noticeable fizz in the mouth but not a lot of body and no head retention. Not terrible but not very impressive either.

Overall, the beer is plenty drinkable but hardly oustanding. Not very hoppy, not very citrusy, but fortunately not very malty either. I'm going to finish the glass but I'm not going to buy it again anytime soon. Decent but boring.

5.8/10

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2011 18:25:27 | More by AlexFields

syrupjoe

Minnesota

2.93/5  rDev -24.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz bottle into pint glass.

Pours a crystal clear deep gold color with no particulates and an almost white head.

Pepper and vegetal notes on the nose. With a sharp, green, dankness to it. Wondering if there's anything but hops in here!

Sweet, metallic taste on the uptake. Hops not as forward as in nose. Somewhat caramel tasting malt profile... this isn't nearly as hoppy of a taste as I expected.

Moderate carbonation with a crisp but somewhat sweet mouthfeel.

Overall an okay IPA but really disappointed in the lack of hops after the explosive nose on this one. Probably won't seek out.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2011 23:44:48 | More by syrupjoe

NittanyBeerFan

Pennsylvania

2.9/5  rDev -25.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured into a nonic pint glass, light orangey/copper amber color with about a half inch of head. Lacing is minimal.

Smell is mainly grassy and some piney hops. There isn't much hop bitterness.

The flavor of this beer was mediocre at best. The malt backbone was the dominant flavor in this beer, though there were some notes of pine and grassy hops. The bartender agreed with me that this was a bit toned down and not nearly worthy of the name.

Even so, it was pretty decently textured and carbonated. Aside from the disappointing flavor, this beer was pretty standard for an IPA. The texture was spot on, but I couldn't see myself drinking this again.

Serving type: on-tap

01-31-2010 21:59:15 | More by NittanyBeerFan

mtalley999

Maryland

2.88/5  rDev -25.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle poured into a leffe chalice.

Pours a dark amber color with little head that dissipated very quickly. Decent lacing on the glass.

I get mostly a piney aroma on the nose, along with something I can't quite make out. Maybe a little earthy?

Taste is pleasant. Some piney hop flavors and some hop bitterness, but really not that much. Mouthfeel is pretty thin.

Overall a decent IPA, but disappointing for a beer with the name Hopsecutioner. Would drink it again if offered, but not something I'm going to seek out.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2011 01:11:06 | More by mtalley999

AdamGarcia

Pennsylvania

2.85/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle served in tulip pint.

A: Pours a rather clear orange-ish copper. A relatively small, but fluffy, ivory head comes from a semi-vigorous pour. Head displays decent retention. Nice lacing.

S: Sweetish almost bready smell...cornbread maybe? Nearly a complete lack of hop character in the scent. wtf?

T: Piney up front followed by just a bit of mango. Malty carmel sweetness. Peppery spice from the hops. Finishes a bit too sweet for an IPA...reminds me a little of orange kool-aid.

M: Soft and coating, but a little thin. Too watery.

D: Not a very interesting beer, but it is fairly easy to drink. Also, it drinks at a little lower than 7.2% abv.

I remember enjoying this beer more when I've had it on tap in the past, but I found this go 'round to be completely underwhelming. Maybe the bottled version is inferior, or maybe it's just not as good as I recall. Either way, its not a bad beer, but there are so many good IPA's out there that this one doesn't do anything to separate itself from the pack.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2010 03:42:45 | More by AdamGarcia

BB1313

Ohio

2.85/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

This was my first offering from Terrapin. 12oz bottle poured into a standard pint glass. This is a great looking beer! It has a hazy burnt orange w/ a nice white fluffy head and sticky lacing. I'm picking up orange, tangerines, and a good amount of pine. The aromas are slightly faint. Although the flavors are nice, they're very subtle, which really hurts. The taste doesn't linger on the tongue, it more-less dissapears. Somewhat bland for the style, not bold at all. Now the mouthfeel on this beer is great! It's very smooth and creamy w/ just the right amount of carbonation. Drinkability isn't bad, but loses a point for being so straight forward, but the alcohol is masked, which is a plus.

Well, I suppose I expected a little more. Now granted this wasn't the freshest batch, I still don't think I'd be super impressed if it was fresh. I'm still looking forward to trying more from Terrapin. It's just that in the world of IPAs, there are too many better offerings.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2011 03:32:10 | More by BB1313

Gtreid

Florida

2.75/5  rDev -28.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

12 oz. bottle poured into an oversized wine glass. I will say, this is some pretty cool artwork on the label.

A: Pours a deep copper, almost apple juice color. The pour drops a finger of off white head that fades pretty quickly and dosen't leave much lace.

A: Hoppy, citrus and pine. Maybe some sugar cane or honey. A hefty amount of caramel malt balances the nose.

T: Falls a little short for me here. The malt overtakes the hops in the brew. An IPA should be about the hops, but not in this case. Finishes sugary and dry.

M: Medium to heavy body. Small carbonation makes for a syrupy mouthfeel.

D and overall impression: Drinkability is on the lower side here, I just couldn't get past the overuse of caramel malt. Overall, not very impressed with this one. I wish they would have dialed back the malt and let the hops take center stage, but oh well. Not one I'll be trying again anytime soon. Skal.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2010 13:55:54 | More by Gtreid

Seanibus

California

2.7/5  rDev -30.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is a strange beer - it promises a blast of hops, but it delivers a musty, earthy taste that actually tends to emphasize the malt far more than is probably appropriate for an IPA. If anything, this beer reminds me of Fat Tire from New Belgium, which is a malty brown ale.

Pours a dirty amber with a slight head that falls away fairly quickly leaving little lacing. The aroma is earth and a bit sour. The hops are evident, but it is hard to determine what they are - along with the earthiness comes a sharply overripe flower smell. The flavor is musty and earthy, with a toasted malt bite and an overripe floral, citrusy hop taste. There is a sharp lemony bitterness at the end, though it falls away to a fairly sour finish. The mouthfeel is slick and a little prickly.

I am not so sure I am on board with this beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2010 20:34:39 | More by Seanibus

JBIII

Georgia

2.55/5  rDev -34.1%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

umm. Wow. Not quite sure how to describe this one. It's like a watered down versuon of the Dogfish 60. Not even the 90, but the 60 . It's a fairly smooth for a 7.3% IPA, but not the best! If you're thinking of drinking this beer, go with a Dogfish 60 instead. If you're looking for a real high gravity IPA, with lots of flavor...go with the Dogfish 90.

Serving type: on-tap

01-31-2011 01:59:37 | More by JBIII

ClayToporski

Pennsylvania

2.55/5  rDev -34.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: hazy copper color. Then little amount of head dissipated quickly.

S: A little orange, grass, floral notes.

T: Bitter all the way through. I feel the malt overpowers the hops. I get some orange peel, but I am not really impressed with the overall balance of the beer.

M: Average. Refreshing. Medium Body. Decent Carbonation.

D: an average beer with tons of hops bitterness, but none of the floral citrus notes. Not well balanced. I would not buy this.f

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2011 02:49:45 | More by ClayToporski

SpeedwayJim

New York

2.48/5  rDev -35.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Poured from a 12oz. bottle with a best before date of June 28th. into a Captain Lawrence pint glass.

A: Standard pour yields a 1.5 finger, creamy, semi-fine, white head with moderate retention. Beer is a clear orange... and when I say orange, I mean the most orange that orange can get! Lacing is outrageously ample. Thick, web-like froth covers the glass in layer upon layer. Just giving it a swirl creates new foamy patterns. Excellent.

S: Peaches, citrus, slight astringent hop aroma. Creamy overtones blend all the flavors together but also serve to tone them down, making them lack clarity.

T: Opens skunky sour with an ethanol-like scent that invades the nostrils through my mouth. Piny hop character finally appears towards the middle but there's a weird sourness that just won't go away throughout the whole experience. Astringent hops towards the end that leaves a lasting impression on the palate. Also some citrus notes make an appearance at the end. A very aggressive beer with no balance which is ok. However, given the odd sourness present, this just tastes a bit weird and unpleasant.

M: Light bodied, moderatly carbonated, but very coarse. Watery in the mouth but goes down rough. Thirst-quenching comes to mind. Harsh on the back of the throat with a messy finish that lingers for just a second.

D: I'm a fan of balanced IPAs but can definitely appreciate those over-hopped, one sided creations also. However, this is not one of them. A slight sourness was present throughout the whole beer which made it taste out of the ordinary in a bad way. The mouthfeel, while appropriate for the style, doesn't help matters here, accentuating the slightly sour hop character. I'll skip this next time.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2010 21:34:07 | More by SpeedwayJim

Aiptasia

Florida

2.25/5  rDev -41.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

This APA was my first selection of a truely hopsy beer by Terrapin. Suffice it to say, it wasn't my favorite.

A: Poured a light brown color with decent head and little to no lacing, typical of APA's.

S: Hops up front with alcohol notes. Undertone of hopsy florals.

T: Not my favorite. A bitter flavor most notable from the hops. Not sweet. Slightly acidic and alcoholic and over the top hops. Definitely out-of-balance on the far hopsy side. Only saving grace is the flavor is dry and doesn't linger.

M: Full bodied and dry. Carbonation is fizzy and gassy.

D: Not one of my favorites. If you really like hopsy APA's or IPA's, this might be right up your alley. It wasn't up mine.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2011 01:09:20 | More by Aiptasia

PDXHops

South Carolina

2.05/5  rDev -47%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Well, I promised to give this another try on tap, so here goes. Served in a nonic pint glass, Hopsecutioner is light amber with a modest head and lazy lacing. Comments from my bottle review added for reference.

Bottle: Aromas and flavors are certainly pleasant, but entirely too tame, particularly in the hops department. Malts are crisp, a little nutty, a little sweet. Hop presence is light citrus with a small bite of piney bitterness. Frustratingly restrained. Finishes rather dry, with some crisp malt and a hint of booziness being the only lingering flavors. Medium bodied, moderate carbonation.

Tap: Sad to say, but an old bottle was not to blame before. This is simply a bland IPA. I'm curious about the reasoning of building such a mild beer at such a sizeable ABV. Exceedingly tame aroma with gentle notions of pine, citric and tealike hops. Taste is similarly frustrating; this stuff is lacking in any defining characteristics. Primary aroma and flavor seems to be alcohol. Terrapin is very much hit and miss for me, and I'm afraid this has to go in the 'miss' category. Not so much horrible as horribly boring.

Serving type: on-tap

08-25-2011 19:23:23 | More by PDXHops

wvsabbath

West Virginia

2.03/5  rDev -47.5%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 3.5

Serving type - bottle

Appearance - Golden tan/yellow, looks like grapefruit juice, no head

Smell - I dont smell anything? No hops or citris. No spices, o man, im worried now

Taste - I knew with the smell i was gonna be disapointed. This is like the most mild ipa ever. Virtually no kick or bite. You get a little hop juice taste at the end but thats it. Im amazed this is 7.5 %, id guess 3-4% This is a joke

Mouthfeel - Not much feel. No bite, palette acts like your drinking crystal light.

Drinkabilty - Well, its so bland, you can slam these down, but at 7.5 it would sneek up on you. This is like a beginners ipa. Theres no way id buy this again when they make hopzilla.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2010 05:41:11 | More by wvsabbath

BarrytheBear

Wisconsin

1.98/5  rDev -48.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Another generous extra from jpmclaug. Thank you, Jason! I had this beer once in a blind tasting and I will attempt to review this with a fresh perspective. The previous results were, shall we say, unimpressive.

Near amber pour with loads of fizzy carbonation. I can just sense a malt bomb coming.

Ugh, here comes the caramel malt. What is more disconcerting is the unmistakable smell of vomit when swirled vigorously in the glass. Akin to riding past the trash dump while someone blows chunks onto your dashboard. Seriously, what the hell is going on here?

Oh Hopsecutioner, if only there were an immediate and swift response by some necessary-at-times-like-these bureaucratic agency that came to your house, gave you a stern lecture, and permanently removed your moniker forever more. I want to be slayed by hops, not gently kissed by tangerine and manhandled by a filthy, groping malt monster. Why???? Argggghhh

The mouthfeel is odd and strangely carbonated and this weird cloying sweetness and the feel of being sick pervades the experience. This is a fail for me.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2010 22:47:21 | More by BarrytheBear