The Iron Tankard
Terrapin Beer Company

The Iron TankardThe Iron Tankard
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From:
Terrapin Beer Company
 
Georgia, United States
Style:
Imperial Red Ale
ABV:
9.4%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.9 | pDev: 8.72%
Reviews:
41
Ratings:
65
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 07, 2022
Added:
Apr 08, 2010
Wants:
  23
Gots:
  12
Iron Tankard is the first of four beers in Terrapin's Georgia Theatre Sessions. It is brewed with a generous portion of crystal malts for a full body and is lightly hopped. This malt forward beer has flavors of dark dried fruit, mellow alcoholic warmth and is unfiltered for your listening pleasure.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Georgia Historic Trust for Historic Preservation Fund to rebuild the Georgia Theater. To make things even more interesting, there is one Golden Ticket hidden among each of the Georgia Theater Sessions brews.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mondegreen:
Photo of mondegreen
Reviewed by mondegreen from Georgia

3.42/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
On cask at Terrapin's 8th Anniversary

Pours a dark greyish brown with a dense head. Smells of sweet malts and dark fruits esters. Taste is sweet and spicy, but not deep enough for an old ale. Very nice malt bill, I'm looking forward to aging it for a few years to see if it grows a little in complexity. The mouth is too thin for the style, I need my old ales to be viscous. The thin body and sweet flavor is a bad combo for drinkability. I have three in the cellar, let's hope time is good to them.
Apr 18, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.87/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
The Iron Tankard from Terrapin Brewing. Purchased from a small store in Athens, GA, for an unknown price for a 650 mL (22 oz) bottle. On room temperature shelf at store, stored at 37 degrees at home. Reviewed 07/08/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottle appears undated but is bottle number 3708/4884, hand-written on the label, of Session One of the Georgia Theatre promo series. Served at 42.6 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King Snifter. Final temperature 54.5 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 12), muddy.
Body – Milk Chocolate Brown, opaque. When rear-lite, same.
Head – None (Aggressive center pour). A few tiny bubbles continually break the surface. After I finished the first glass and poured the rest, it produced a 0.4 cm wheat cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Very weak malt. No hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4 – Fermented raisins with a bit of acetic acid twang, no malt, no hops, no yeast. No ethanol (9.4 % ABV according to BA, NOT marked on label or box) aroma or taste. Mild gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, watery, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 For being god knows how old, this has held up well. How old is it? Well, they had recently moved into the new location on Newton Bridge (2007) but hadn’t sold out to Miller-Coors yet. Under state law at the time, they couldn’t even tell me where I could buy their beer. So yeah, this one has been sitting around for a while.
Aug 07, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by scott2269 from Ohio

Jan 28, 2017
 
Rated: 4.17 by DangerDawg from Ohio

Jan 28, 2017
 
Rated: 3.93 by wethorseblanket from California

Jan 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by sendbeer from Georgia

Aug 24, 2014
Photo of Jadjunk
Reviewed by Jadjunk from Georgia

3.55/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
"Circa 1889, the cornerstone on the first YMCA in the South was laid at the corner of Clayton and Lumpkin streets in Athens, Ga. In the basement of the building was a 168 square-foot indoor pool dubbed the "Iron Tank." When the guys in the pool got rowdy, their splashing would often douse the kerosene lamps that lit the subterranean tank. True to its roots, the Georgia Theatre is still the kind of place where the lights go down when the guys get rowdy around a "tank" ard. Iron Tankard, an old stock ale, is the first brew in Terrapin's Georgia Theatre Sessions." Brewed in the style of an Old Ale, this limited release brew was released alongside three other Georgia Theatre Sessions beers from 2010. Available in 22 oz. bottles and previously limited draft.

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle to a Terrapin snifter. Served above 56º Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a thin creamy tan-white head over a hazy medium brown body. Retention is low, lacing is light and spotty. 3.25

(Smell) Grain booze at first, warming yields a fruity yeast profile of licorice and figs amongst a moderate syrup and bready caramel malt sweetness and body. Hints of vanilla and maple generate further depth to the aroma. Potency is medium-high. The booziness is seemingly inevitable but aside from this glaring sharpness, the aroma is spot-on for the style. 3.75

(Taste) Light bready grain malt and alcohol are joined by a subtle maple sweetness. Very boozy overall, with the grain alcohol called out by a fairly simple malt and yeast profile otherwise. Hop profile is faded. 3.5

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, chewy and oily. Carbonation adds some froth yet keeps the texture fairly smooth and undistracted. Body is shy of medium for the style, medium/heavy overall. Alcohol presence is high, very focal in this beer. 3.5

(Overall) A fairly boozy but generally enjoyable old ale even at its grand age. Don't expect a lot of complexity or depth beyond the alcohol and malt profile, but for many who enjoy an old ale there should be something worthwhile to enjoy in this beer. 3.5

Terrapin Beer Company's
Georgia Theatre: The Iron Tankard Old Stock Ale
3.54/5.00
Mar 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by BrkfstOfChmpns from Georgia

Oct 30, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Keith_R from Georgia

May 08, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Zach136 from Georgia

May 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by mikeincharleston from North Carolina

Apr 24, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by jsanford from Georgia

Mar 01, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by t0rin0 from California

Feb 27, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by rolive from Georgia

Nov 28, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by jeffthepony from Georgia

Sep 21, 2012
Photo of bamadog
Reviewed by bamadog from Ohio

3.87/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Terrapin is a great brewery, probably one of my all time favorites so I'm pretty pumped to be cracking this. Review is from notes taken on 8/23/2012 and poured from the bottle to a snifter.

Appearance: Looks good on the pour -- a little viscous (hoping it's got a chewy mouthfeel); body is a nice deep caramel brown with a touch of ruby to it; body is murky and cloudy; starts with a short 1/4 finger head that is a light and creamy tan; thin streams of carbonation bubbles up near the sides keeping the thick ring at the surface alive and well.

Smell: Smells good enough to drink -- plenty of sweet, sweet caramel with some hints of butterscotch; a warm spiciness lingers in there as well; smells kind of like a target candy with those awesome creamy centers; slight whiff of alcohol.

Taste: Not bad, but it's slightly disappointing as it falls a touch shy of what the nose presents to me; flavors are a touch watery, but they do match up with the nose in terms of sweet caramel and a sweet creaminess as well; there is still a fair bit of bitter, slightly citric hoppiness in it; alcohol provides a bit of a bite in the back as well. Solid overall, just not as good as I had hoped. Better than average, still.

Mouthfeel: Body is a touch lighter than medium; has an ever so slight watery aspect to it -- reminds me of my stouts when I homebrew -- just doesn't come out quite like I'd like it to; carbonation is spot on -- lively, prickly, but not sharp; alcohol provides a warming sensation through the slightly thick and moist sticky coating sticking around on the palate.

Overall: I wouldn't turn it down, and honestly, if Terrapin put it out annually in four or six pack format, I'd age it for a few years and do a vertical to see how it does with some more time on it. I think with another year under its cap, the hoppiness would round out a bit more and make this beer a solid B, B+.
Aug 24, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by imperialking from Illinois

May 11, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by billn3 from Georgia

Apr 24, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by MrHolland10 from Georgia

Mar 02, 2012
Photo of GeezLynn
Reviewed by GeezLynn from Colorado

3.72/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Bottle 1869/4884

A: Dull, rusty brown body with a short-lived white head.
S: Smells very sweet, heavy on the caramel malt. Fruity, like apple pie apple sauce without spices.
T: Very malt-driven and fruity. Shows apple/pear, with some tartness and a touch of roasted malt. There is also a brief sweetness and a flash of pine somewhere in there. The light roast mentioned carries through the slightly dry finish.
M: Medium bodied and sticky. Carbonation is small but still plenty of it.

Pretty good beer for a worthwhile cause (Athens is an awesome place). Not an amazing beer, but plenty interesting. To me this tastes like it could still go a few more years.
Feb 22, 2012
The Iron Tankard from Terrapin Beer Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 65 ratings