Terrapin Hopsecutioner - Terrapin Beer Company

mechamifune

North Carolina

3.33/5  rDev -14%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 12oz bottle (just delivered to sam's in durham) into delirium tulip. Pours a copper/ruby color with almost no head. Slight physical evidence of carbonation.

To my surprise only a very light sense of hop frangrance, with the malt more evident in the smell than anything else.

Taste is, for me, very light on hops... very strong malt backbone, almost to the extent that it doesn't taste like a ipa... certainly a far cry from a west coast ipa as i have heard this beer referred to as. Due to the malt presence the mouthfeel is a little heavy, though not real strong sense of alcohol. Very light sense of carbonation. Not hard to drink, but my level of desire to drink more is pretty low... i like my ipa's crisp, citrusy, and intense in the hop profile, and this is pretty far removed from that. .

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2010 03:42:33 | More by mechamifune

oberon

North Carolina

4.15/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a standard pint a mix of a burnt orange-like and alighter amber shade,a thinner wispy head that was gone pretty quickly atop.Big grapefruit in the nose with some apricot,a toasted malt notes sticks out as well.A little prickly in the mouth wich surprised me a little,flavors are more of a rounded hop flavor than an in your face hop punch,grapefruit and tropical fruit flavors with a hint of leafy/mint,a toasted lightly sweet caramel base holds up into the finish.Really nice flavors with a different sort of hop profile,pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2010 21:31:29 | More by oberon

shivtim

Georgia

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From a Terrapin mix-pack. Overall it's a very nice IPA.

Poured out of the bottle. Slightly hazy clear deep copper orange. Sticky, small white head. Nose is quality pine hops. Taste is a little bit one-noted, but it's a very good note. Lingering grassy hops. Good mouthfeel and drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2010 02:26:57 | More by shivtim

Proteus93

Virginia

3.83/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Clean golden, head about a finger tall, quite white, with more lacing on towards the bottom of the glass. I suppose it was perhaps not a properly cleaned glass?

S: I find the aroma to be a highlight of this brew... wonderfully floral, which also seems to offer a pleasant balance to the citrus scent. A soft malt backbone is present, just enough to keep things in check.

T: Citrus hops, though not as pungent as I might have thought it would be. A soft malty balance gives it a little toastiness, with a touch of bitterness on the finish that seemed just a bit short-lived.

M + D: Medium body, though I find it to be a rather mediocre mouthfeel. It's nothing particularly wonderful... crisp, but not in the wildly refreshing way, a little oily, but not a nice and slick feel. Just straight forward, palatable, and fine. It's a pretty decent IPA, and certainly something I'd gladly order on draft or buy again... not among the greatest, perhaps, but good stuff nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2010 04:07:27 | More by Proteus93

kiddynamite920

Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Transparent copper/gold with a fairly thin inch or so of head. Has more of a pale ale color and appearance.

S: Smell is malty with a big hit of grapefruit and floral hops.

T: Taste is full of grapefruit and citrusy/grassy hops. Malt nose doesn't come through on the palate. Grapefruit is the main flavor going on here, with some passion fruit/bitter orange flavors. Very nice and crisp tasting.

M: A bit thin and fizzy feeling, great amount of carbonation though. The hops and citrus notes seem to pop along with the bubbles.

D: Great drinkability, crisp and clean and refreshing. Very well made beer as usual from Terrapin.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2010 02:25:23 | More by kiddynamite920

nickfl

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours with one finger of white foam on top of a somewhat hazy, dark orange body. The foam settles at a moderate pace and leaves decant lace.

S - Grapefruit hops with some pine. Caramel and toffee malt with significant sweet malt character.

T - Fruity hop flavor up front with notes of orange and pineapple. Some red apple notes in the middle with brown caramel and toasted malt. Finished with some pine and caramel as well as moderate bitterness. A little lingering fruit but otherwise pretty clean in the aftertaste.

M - Medium body, moderately high carbonation, and a slightly sweet finish.

D - Nice hops and a good malt character. The hop aroma is quite well developed, thought the hop character in the finish is a little bit weaker. My only real criticism is that the finish is a bit watery, there just isn't quite enough malt or bitterness to make the beer fell as substantial as I want it to be. Nevertheless, it is well balanced and drinkable with a great hop character. I've been hoping for an IPA form Terrapin for a while now and this one is quite good.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2010 04:48:57 | More by nickfl

cassanoj

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Tulip glass, citrus orangey, little head, a bit of lacing.

Smells like pale hops, floral bouquet, very citrusy, some fig, fresh and earthy.

Taste a solid amount of pale hops, pine, grass, citrus. The floral, perfumey notes come through. Pretty well balanced, maybe a bit more malt would do the trick.

Mouth feel is crisp, full, bitter.

The only way I can describe this beer is... pretty good. No more, no less.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2010 22:17:14 | More by cassanoj

NYCWheatFanSC

New York

3.35/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - pours a surprisingly dark transparent amber, a small quickly receding off-white head fades to leave minimal lacing.

S - Tart melons, with some hints of pine.

T - Not sure if this is an older bottle or what, but I'm just not getting the hops on this one. A stronger than stylistically usual malt backbone just takes over, with only a hint of bittery bite at the end of the quaff.

M - Perhaps a slight bit creamier than many other regular-offering IPA's I've had, but nothing too spectacular.

D - I enjoyed this, but wouldn't seek it out again. The maltiness makes it a bit heavy for what I'm looking for in an IPA, especially given the lack of a robust hop profile that I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2010 02:08:41 | More by NYCWheatFanSC

GJ40

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled from a 12oz bottle in a hotel glass. Purchased at Five Points Bottle Shop in Athens, GA. Best by date shows third week in June.

A - Copper with a great clarity and a small off white head. There's some decent lacing as the glass empties.

S - A nice blend of caramel malts and citrusy hops. It works very well.

T - Lots of grapefruit bitterness but that's closely balanced by a toasted malt foundation. The bitterness lingers quite a while and seems to end with a dryness that doesn't fit. It's a lot dryer than the aroma indicated and than I'd normally expect from a Terrapin brew. I like it but I don't love it.

M - A moderate consistency with a low to moderate carbonation.

D - This is a solid, flavorful, easy to drink beer. I love its intent but it needs a bit more to measure up to Sweetwater IPA as the east coast's west coast IPA.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2010 18:26:25 | More by GJ40

dedrinker

Kansas

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Meh. I just haven't really found truly great beer brewed in the South or South Eastern U.S. It's all mostly decent to pretty good.

This is a serviceable IPA with a muted hoppy quality on the front and back. Well balanced, but just not very memorable in light of the significant quantity of front line IPAs America can boast of.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2010 07:16:14 | More by dedrinker

blackie

Virginia

3.8/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a: dogfish pint, fluffy eggshell head on a honey amber beer, high retention and nice lacing

s: sugary grapefruit hop profile with a range of juicy tropical fruits stands on a pale grain base with mild caramel, tealike, nice

m: smooth light-medium carbonation on a medium body

t: grainy pale malt forms a nice base but is a bit flat in flavor, lighter caramel, with a candied citrus hop profile moving to some pine in the end, bitterness elevated but reasonable, perhaps more balanced than the name might suggest, tasty regardless

d: good for a few

single from Bruisin' Ales, Asheville

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2010 04:33:23 | More by blackie

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.22/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a light copper with some orange hints. The smell is quite hoppy at the offset, with the few citrus notes being dominated by more spicy and floral hops. The taste is similar with a bit of spice again coming from the hops. Mouthfeel is fairly full-bodied for an IPA without much of a hint of alcohol. Drinkability is quite high--an intriguing brew with a rather unique hop profile, almost reminding me of Ruination light.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2009 01:10:14 | More by Thorpe429

Vonerichs

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The body was a pale orange with a nice fluffy two finger head.

Citrus hops resembling tangerines, a light toasty scent, and a caramel malt to round it out.

The taste was a letdown compared to the scent. It was overly bitter but more in a texture way vs a flavorful way, which restricted the citrus hops from coming through. It had a soapy taste.

The mouthfeel was chalky and heavily carbonated.

A decent IPA that started out strong, but the more I drank it the less impressed I became.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2009 22:04:14 | More by Vonerichs

ffejherb

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to gfb108 for sharing a few bottles of this with our group at Brass Rail on 12/14/09.

A - Poured a clear, sparsely carbonated orange/amber body with a slim white head that reduced to a patchy film, thin ring of retention and spotty lace.

S - Citrus oil and a hint of pine paired with a grainy malt character and sweet caramel notes. This is exactly what I like about an IPA!

T - Flavor offers a balanced blend of toasted grains and caramel malt with a prevalent citrus rind character and a hint of pine. Hopsecutioner is more hoppy and sticky than I was anticipating, yet it retains a pleasant, well-balanced flavor.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a kind of slick, oily and slightly syrupy texture. Finishes with a slight lingering bitterness on the palate.

D - Hopsecutioner is simply a tasty straight-up IPA that is well-balanced and flavorful. While it doesn't slay you with hops, it does have a pronounced hop character and pleasant flavor.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2009 15:41:29 | More by ffejherb

SaCkErZ9

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is served from a grolwer from Charleston Beer Exchange in Charleston, SC. Pours from the grolwer into a pint glass a clear copper color with a small white head. The head quickly recedes into a film and leaves a very thin veil of lacing.

Aroma is hoppy yet strangely musty. Smells like someones under arm or pit sweat. Not exactly redemming but oddly enough, not a complete turnoff. Citrus and grapefruit hops with minimal malt presence in the nose.

More of that armpit juice flavor but a sweetness follows. Quite bitter but well balanced, even without much of a malt flavor or feel.

This one is in the hoppy realm. It is bitterly hoppy without being over the top or out of whack. Nicely carbonated but finishes stark dry. Slighlty thin on the mouthfeel but I think the dryness is to blame for that. Not a bad beer. I actaully like it pretty well because I dig slightly-out-of-balance-towards-the-hops type beers.

Serving type: growler

12-29-2009 20:52:08 | More by SaCkErZ9

avalon07

South Carolina

3.28/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a bright amber color and a clear texture. There was a small amount of foamy head that quickly dissipated, but some good lacing.

S: A nice, sharp hoppy smell, along with traces of citrus.

T: Had a little hoppy bitterness to it, and a little citrus element, but mainly this was a thin, almost watery beer. Decidedly average. Maybe I've just gotten too used to the super-hoppy West Coast IPAs.

M: A good amount of carbonation with a slick finish. Light-bodied.

D: A wildly uneven beer that I would not want to try again.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2009 13:19:07 | More by avalon07

nms1987

North Carolina

3.88/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Silly name. Good beer.

Deep bronze in color, clear and filtered. Fine head.

Welcoming, fruity nose. Not a whole lot of sharpness and no alcohol on the scent.

Great palate. Juicy, fruity (tangerines?) hops with just a bit of a piney bitterness to keep things in check. Not a monster of an IPA but real interesting. A joy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2009 07:44:22 | More by nms1987

gamanley

Connecticut

4.4/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear amber-orange with minimal, white, head that receded quickly. The smell initially reminded me of sticking my nose into a bag of hop pellets. Lots of grassy and piney hop aromas maybe a little grapefruit in there as well. Medium body with a good amount of carbonation finishes dry and a little warm. Taste is dominated by hops as expected. Lots of grapefruit hop flavor and some pine. Very west coast IPA like. Very drinkable and I love the upfront hop flavor.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2009 06:19:49 | More by gamanley

tpd975

Florida

3.58/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a nice burnt orange hue with a tall creamy head. Nice retention and chunky lace.

S: Very sweet aroma, lots of caramel and fresh orange juice. There is a real floral bouquet behind the sweetness.

T: Sweet up front. Caramel, orange marmalade, and sweet grapefruit. Nice floral notes in the middle with a dash of bitter in the finish.

M: Medium in body, smooth, good carbonation.

D: Pretty drinkable. Pretty tasty too.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2009 02:40:21 | More by tpd975

Reagan1984

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed a couple glasses of this last week in Atlanta. I really enjoyed this IPA and the fresh Grapefruit/citrus character.

Each pint came with a finger of tight almost creamy head that did collapse rather quickly. While this was not served on cask, the entire beer had a cask quality to it. The look the mouthfeel... everything. Really nice. The beer was a hazy brown/amber color with just a touch of an orange highlight.

Aroma was fantastic. Bright, fresh, citrus with a slight malt/cracker/bread component in the background.

Flavor followed the aroma in many ways including being fantastic. This was a fresh beer, no getting around it. Bright, vibrant and clean. The citrus just attacked you with just the right amount of balance from the malt profile. More of a cracker/biscuit quality vs. straight bread. Balance that I like, which is to say leaning hoppy.. but still balanced.
Some more pine in the flavor than there was in the aroma.

Again, seemed cask like in its mouth feel. Tiny subdued carbonation, almost a creamy mouth feel.

I loved it and wish it was available where I live.

Serving type: on-tap

12-26-2009 13:21:01 | More by Reagan1984

boralyl

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours an inch of fluffy white head that has a good retention and leaves some nice lacing. The beer is copper colored and clear.

S - A little bit of citrus and sweet malt. Overall, though, the aroma is pretty underwhelming, which is disappointing.

M - Medium in body and well carbonated.

T - Hops up front, very earthy with some floral notes. There is the smallest presence of sweet malt, but it's mostly hidden by the earthy flavors. It finishes fairly bitter and dry.

A good IPA, but for this combination of hops, I would have preferred more of a malt presence. Regardless, Terrapin proves once again to me that they can brew a fine beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2009 00:49:08 | More by boralyl

kwakwhore

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

My second review this week of a Georgia IPA, first Sweetwater and now this one:
Clear golden pour with a small white head which dissipates fairly quickly but does leave good lacing on the glass.
Smells of citrus and hops.
Good upfront hop bite is followed by a definite hit of bready malt and then the hops have their way with my tongue again. Grapefruit bitterness reigns supreme here.
Pleasant mouthfeel with nice carbonation.
Going down the hatch pretty easily so good marks for drinkability. Another solid offering from Terrapin. Not their best beer, but a very respectable effort.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2009 03:34:41 | More by kwakwhore

bluecoffee

Pennsylvania

4.88/5  rDev +26.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This fine beverage got me to enter my first review. I am for the most part a hop-head so of course am familiar with countless ipa's, this one is certainly in the top three in my book. It is a well balanced, dry, fresh hoppy beer (though it doesn't say it is dry hopped) It at worst will not disappoint any ipa drinker. One would never guess it comes from the "south" as it has the west coast taste we fellow hopheads love.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2009 19:26:39 | More by bluecoffee

cbros

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Serving type- 12 ounce beer poured into a mug.

A- Pours an orange gold color with a small one finger white lace. There is no cling to the glass and the head disipates quickly.

S- I get huge flavor notes of citrus hops you can smell it right after opening the bottle.

T- I get huge flavor notes of citrus hops with its piney tastes and somewhat bitter aftertaste. I very nice IPA, remaniscent of a West Coast IPA versus one that is produced in the southeast.

This is a very solid IPA and one that I was suprised to taste since it comes from a southern brewery. I was expecting a more milder tasting IPA but this reminds me a lot of the IPA's that are produced on the west coast and for me that is a good thing. Very well balanced and easily drinkable, a nice addition to the Terrapin family and one that I would have again.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2009 01:02:51 | More by cbros

stoutfiend27

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into pint glass

a-crystal clear amber color..no haze at all...small one finger head that fell quickly...good level of bubbles..a really good lookin beer

s-fresh citrus hops and grapefruit.. a little resiny pine in the back....malt is there to hold it together slightly...

t-grapefruit and lemon upfront...the pine resins kick in afterwards and let a little malt in to bring it back together...finishes bitter and piney

m-a little thin and watery for my liking but it is acceptable..carbonation is spot on though

d-could drink a sixer and not regret it...abv is hidden completely and the flavor profile is good enough to make me want some more

overall a solid offering from terrapin...looking forward to the remaining five out of my sixer

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2009 23:16:30 | More by stoutfiend27