Terrapin Golden Ale - Terrapin Beer Company

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.58/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served on tap at Barcade in Jersey City, NJ

A: Pours a clear straw yellow in color with very light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a quarter finger tall bright white head that reduces to a medium sized patch of thin film and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light amounts of lemon/citrus along with some adjunct malts (corn and grain) and a light amount of light fruit (apple) sweetness.

T: Light flavors of cracker and adjunct malts (primarily grain) with some light amounts of sweetness. There are very light notes of lemon/citrus and green apple.

M: Slightly heavier than light bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth and creamy.

O: Very easy to drink and definitely sessionable - the best aspect of this beer is the mouthfeel.

Serving type: on-tap

10-06-2012 20:02:40 | More by dbrauneis

metter98

New York

3.33/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Barcade, Jersey City, NJ

A: The beer is clear straw yellow in color and has a very slight amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a large patch of white bubbles on the surface and a thin collar around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light aromas of lemon, corn and grainy malts in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of green apples along with hints of corn and other adjunct malts.
M: It feels medium-bodied and a little smooth and creamy on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer tastes similar to an American Blonde Ale but has a creamier mouthfeel.

Serving type: on-tap

10-06-2012 12:49:46 | More by metter98

kylehay2004

Florida

3.6/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed while at the brewery in Athens, ga. Single finger frothy head on a clear and Golden body. Wheat and bread aroma mostly. High carbonation and medium body, refreshing. Touch of noble like hops greater than expected for a cream ale. Very drinkable but more on the pilsner side than cream ale side which is fine with me as cream ales are not my favorite genre.

Serving type: on-tap

12-21-2011 22:51:57 | More by kylehay2004

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

3.03/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

As billed, its a very pale golden body. Lively carbonation, and enough white froth on top to pass for a healthier colored macro-lager.

Grainy aroma with some wet hay. Nothing "wow" but not off-putting either.

Sweet grains on the tongue, with just enough hops to take the sweet edge off, but not enough to make their own real impression.

Light-to-light-medium mouthfeel. Could be just a tinge fuller.

Very drinkable for a macro drinker. A craft beer person probably wouldn't want more than 3 at a session.

A decent intro/cross-over beer for macro drinkers. Not enough here for a BA lawnmower beer.

Serving type: on-tap

02-19-2010 00:05:21 | More by RonfromJersey

GeezLynn

Minnesota

3.4/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had this on tap 8/14 at Shorty's in Atlanta.

Yellow straw, with a white head. A few sniffs of this prove rather unremarkable - sweet corn and wheat aroma with some light hops also apparent. Flavor matches smell - faint orange and lemon character. Mouthfeel is pretty good - smooth, full body for a lighter beer, with ample, but not excessive carbonation. This beer is not bad, but falls into (the upper end of) that standard Golden Ale category, intended to offer a conservative, play-it-safe alternative to BMC beer.

Serving type: on-tap

08-15-2009 19:42:01 | More by GeezLynn

chaz410

North Carolina

3.63/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is a good example of an average golden ale.

The appearance is of almost any normal ale, nothing special or negative here.

The smell is good but it's not special in any way

The taste is very nice, it's crisp balacned, and a little citrisy at the end of the swallow.

Serving type: on-tap

10-15-2008 03:09:06 | More by chaz410

glid02

Georgia

3.6/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Got this on-tap at the Terrapin Brewery.

Pours a golden color (as the moniker would indicate) with a half-finger coarse white head that soon dissipates into a thin ring around the glass. There's not much going on the lacing department.

Smells alright. There's a big grassy aroma that mingles with a mild sweet malt smell.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Sweet malt flavors up front followed by grassy undertones and finishing with a slight noble hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a good thickness, but the carbonation is a little more pronounced than I would like.

Drinkability is good. Straight from the top the grassiness is a bit much, but as it warms it smooths out a bit and it goes down easily.

Overall this is probably in the bottom half of my favorite Terrapin brews, but it's still a solid offering. Worth a shot.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2008 04:31:38 | More by glid02

gabeerfan

Georgia

3.58/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a very clear golden yellow. Little head that fell to a thin, spotty cap. Small carbonation bubbles.
Subtle aroma. Bready grain, a little light brown sugar and earthy hops.
Tastes very similar to aroma but the sweetness comes through a little more as do the hops. All flavors became more pronounced as the beer warmed.
Very light mouthfeel. Finishes clean.
Very drinkable. Subtle flavors and somewhat low ABV make this a good session beer.
I've been on a lighter beer kick lately due to the heat in GA. Not my favorite offering from Terrapin, but it is still a good beer. Great for the summertime cookout or after mowning the lawn.

Serving type: on-tap

06-27-2008 17:48:48 | More by gabeerfan

dhd1491

Georgia

4.05/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Mellow Mushroom has this brew on tap now. Perfect timing, as far as I'm concerned. As the weather gets hotter, very few ales go down as easy or are as refreshing as this one from Terrapin. This is not the beer for deep contemplation of complex taste nuances. This is a thirst-quencher extraordinaire.

Clear light golden pour with a nice firm white head that laces down the glass as you drink. Medium carbonation. Pleasant mild aroma. Malty and slightly sweet with no off tastes. No BIG tastes to mention period. Just easy drinkin'.

Serving type: on-tap

05-02-2008 20:12:56 | More by dhd1491

biggmike

Mississippi

3.25/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had this on draught at the Emerald Coast Brew Fest in Pensacola, FL and then later in bottle. Poured nice golden color with decent head that disipated fairly quickly. Aroma is a bit fruity though not real strong. Taste has some light citrus flavors and malt, but is not very strong. Decent warm weather beer, but not anywhere near the quality of their Rye Ale.

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2007 15:44:39 | More by biggmike

Cyberkedi

Georgia

3.63/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The color is golden and clear. Taste is nice, with fruity undertones and hardly any bitterness. Texture is smooth and simple. This is a beer more for drinking with lunch or dinner, or while watching a sporting event or yapping at a party, than for serious enjoyment; still it is a decent brew. Terrapin has yet to disappoint me.

Serving type: on-tap

03-13-2007 01:48:24 | More by Cyberkedi

psinderson

Pennsylvania

3.08/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Draft poured into pint glass.

Appearance: This looks like a light BMC brew, pale yellow. When it arrived, there was no head left, but evidence of lacing.

Smell: Not much here, but it reminded me again of a domestic lager. No typical ale-like fruitiness.

Taste: Sorry to repeat, but this tasted like a domestic lager. A bit more hoppy than that, but that was the only difference to me.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body, good carbonation.

Drinkability: Very drinkable, much like...I don't think I need to say it again.

EDIT: I just now read that this is a cream ale and that it typically is much like a light lager. I guess it matches style well, but I'm keeping my ratings.

Serving type: on-tap

11-25-2006 14:43:35 | More by psinderson

sammy44

Alabama

2.8/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a pint glass from a tap at Hooter's in Marietta, GA.

This is the only "cream ale" I have ever tried and I was largely unimpressed. Pour a Budweiser charge $4.75 for it and you have this beer. The smell was largely of macro lager grains. The appearance was a transparent straw yellow with a one inch head. The head reduced down quickly to a film on top of the beer that laced very little. The mouthfeel was good with good carbonation and very fizzy. The taste was typical macro lager grain and adjunct. I did think that drinking three or four at a sitting would be easy enough but why would you want to?

Serving type: on-tap

01-13-2006 19:12:47 | More by sammy44

aracauna

Georgia

3.15/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Ok, when you think of cream ales you don't really think of much. And the truth is, they aren't really much. Terrapin does, however, take a mediocre (or worse) style and do something interesting with it. Spike is obviously a fan of hops and this beer is no different. Still, while a light, smooth beer like this could quickly become unbalanced by hops, the beer only has just enough to tease you and still keep the beer balanced. More than I expected.

Serving type: on-tap

05-10-2003 01:20:51 | More by aracauna

Tone

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy, gold color. 1/4 inch head of a white color. Good retention and decent lacing. Smells of wheat, hops, slight sweet malt, slight pale malt, hint of cream, and hint of pine. Fits the style of a Cream Ale. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of pale malt, slight sweet malt, hint of metallic, hint of hops, and a hint of caramel malt. Overall, better aroma than body or blend.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 20:29:06 | More by Tone

rangerred

Tennessee

3.35/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a hazy light orange with barely a quarter finger head. Just a little head retention and no lacing.

Corn is quite prominent in the aroma along with a very slight bit of DMS. Some wet grass and hay comes through.

A little apple and orange up front in the flavor followed by corn and a little bit of cooked vegetables. Mild hop bitterness with a little bit of grass. Drying mouthfeel that is very refreshing.

Overall, a pretty middle of the road beer but good for the style. One I would pick up on occasion if it were available near me.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2013 23:49:05 | More by rangerred

outdoor7or24

Georgia

3.18/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle poured into pint glass.
A: 2 finger clean white foamy head, carbonation, light golden straw color
S: crackers, corn and grains, herbal
M: medium and creamy
T: crackers, grains, wet light hops, grass, earth tones,
O: creamy refreshing brew, light and easy drinking

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 03:42:30 | More by outdoor7or24

justincolts

Indiana

3.1/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I bought this largely based on the sweet label, me being a Deadhead and all. I was heading back from Wanee 2012 to Indiana and we stopped in Dalton GA. I was in the festival mood so I picked up this, a Sweetwater 420, a Sweetwater Road Trip Ale, which I won't review because it was in the hotel, but it was decent.

It pours a pretty solid gold color, more golden than a typical ale,slightly above average looking. It has a thin head, which dissipates quickly. The smell was kind of weak, maybe my olfactory is off. The taste is that of a typical summer ale of decent quality, but has a kick of light citrus, creamy, highly drinkable on a summer day, or any time really. Mouthfeel is smooth, not a lot of texture but if you want a refreshing beer that isn't a crappy light beer, this is a decent pick.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2012 02:17:17 | More by justincolts

JWU

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz. bottle poured into a tumbler glass.

A- a clear bright yellow/gold. Half finger worth of head that leaves a bit of lacing.

S- biscuits and crackers with some mild herbal hops and sweetness. Smells pretty nice.

T- The taste is pretty "cracker-like". Saltines, and a bit of Ritz. The earthy, herbal hops are quite restrained, but can be detected on the backend. Quite crisp. There are some fruity/citric notes in there as well, but very restrained.

M- Light to medium bodied. Fairly carbonated. Dries a bit on the back end.

O- Being that most of the cream ales I've had have been trash, this one is pretty good, but still nothing to write home about. Certainly better than your average macro.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2012 18:44:13 | More by JWU

kdawg105

Georgia

5/5  rDev +45.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Excellent Ale! It is very refreshing as the bottle says! It has smell of grain and hops something not really used to smelling with a normal Ale of its style if you know what I mean. Anyway it has an excellent taste beautiful balance of malts and hops making the mouthfeel smooth and creamy with a grand finish!

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 20:23:25 | More by kdawg105

JohnBeerRun

Georgia

3.28/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I tried this beer on a beach trip to panama city. Being from georgia I had to try it. The look of this bite was interesting so I gave it a shot. Just like the name the color was golden with good head. The taste was good and rich and the feel was thick like a beer should be.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2012 15:05:28 | More by JohnBeerRun

Jayli

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +19%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Consumed 1/27
Poured in to a pint glass

A: This beer pours a crystal clear golden color with a two finger of bone white sudsy head. Head recedes rapidly leaving spider webbed lacing.

S: Nose is grain, corn, and a light fruitines.

T: Taste starts with a slightly fruity grain, pale malts, corn, and a good deal of breadiness. Some apple notes, and light orange, perhaps more of a manderin flavoring are present throughout.

M: Light body, medium carbonation, crisp, clean, with a touch of a slick finish.

O: Goes down easily, tasty, not filling, mild kick, nice representation of style. On my most recent trip to GA, this became my go to after work beer as I was prepping for the next day. Easy drinking and this would definitely go in to my "go to, poundable" beer categories.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 04:30:27 | More by Jayli

iadler

Minnesota

3.2/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle poured into a tulip glass. Thanks jsanford for this!

A- Straw colored with a one finger head that dissipates fair quickly. Leaves a bit of lacing.

S- Sweet malt, some grains, and lemon. Not a whole lot going on in the aroma.

T- Sweet malt, grain, mandarine and lemon notes and a bit of green apple.

M- Light to medium body and carbonation. Crisp mouthfeel. A very drinkable session beer.

O- A nice beer to have on a hot summer day while grilling, but nothing really stands out with this beer. An average brew.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2011 04:43:01 | More by iadler

BrewCrew2010

New York

3.63/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A: A clear blonde body with some "floaties". Head is white, dense, and light wall of lacing.

S: A clean and crisp aroma of pilsner malts, lemon, grains, and grassy hops. Simple and straight forward, but kind of reminds me of BMCs.

T: Upfront flavor is some lemon notes and grains, followed by sweet pale malts. Definitely picking up on some honey sweetness as well.

M: Crisp and refreshing; light body; lively carbonation.

O: This one is a step up from BMCs, but barely in my opinion. It would be easy to put a 6 pack down rather quickly, but it's overall flavor and characteristics are easy to forget. I probably would get again for tail gating or bbq on a hot summer day, but wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2011 03:04:25 | More by BrewCrew2010

brentblackwell

Georgia

3.13/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Very golden (hence the name), noticeable carbonation, not much head. Clear. Looks light.

Smell - Not a very strong aroma. Slightly fruity, I think, but very slight.

Taste - The flavors aren't very strong. Hops and malts are present, but neither stand out. The hops are more noticeable, but just slightly so. As a session beer, it's clearly not a strong-tasting beer. But, as far as these types of beer go, it's better tasting than others.

Mouthfeel - Thin & smooth. It's crisp, thanks to the carbonation. It clearly strives for refreshment, and it achieves it.

Overall - It's the kind of beer you take outside with you on a hot day. It's very refreshing and when serving that purpose, it's quite good. As a session beer, Golden Ale is quite nice, but it's not something I'll reach for when I'm wanting to truly taste beer. There are just not enough flavors present. But I'd toss a 6 pack into a bucket of ice and take to the lake without thinking twice.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2011 05:58:30 | More by brentblackwell