soooo remember that trip to Atlanta last year.. well it turns out I forgot some of the beer I had brought back with me! Oops! And those 2 beers happened to be IPAs... well, shit. Did they hold up?
Terrapin - Hop Karma Brown IPA
a 6.0% ABV 65 IBU melding of a hoppy Brown and a west coast-style IPA. Copper/nutty brown pour and an off-white/pale tan head. Just what you'd expect from the style - chocolate, faint coffee, and nutty notes, with some piney and citrus hops on the nose. Surprisingly, for a lower ABV IPA, the age hasn't affected this that much. It may have lost some of the citrus notes, but a hefty amount of pine still remains and may actually go better with the Brown Ale flavors now than it did when it was fresh. Rich nutty malts, some sweeter caramel, pecan and chocolate notes.. there's a little burnt coffee/molasses under it all that balances out the rather (still ) strong bitterness. Great balance, each style plays off each other incredibly well. A slightly different beer when fresh, but still another reason why I wish Terrapin was distro'd up here.
- - 7 Hops!
7.3% ABV and 78 IBUs. I'm not the biggest proponent of 'you must drink a beer incredibly fresh or else it's no good' mindset. Yes, a lot of IPAs are for sure better within the first month of their life.. but they're never actually BAD after 4, 7, 9 months.. That being said, I'm a touch worried about this one simply because of how long it's been since I was in ATL. Still a nice hazy golden orange pour, minimal head.. tons of citrus and tropical fruit hops in the nose, subdued pine and herbs and toffee-sweet malts. Yes, they've probably faded a bit, and this beer is not the hop-bomb that the name and description suggest, but oh, don't you worry baby birds.. the hops are still very much present. Floral hops mainly in the body with touches of citrus and pine from sip to sip. It's got an herbal, grassy, earthy character that stands out from the lighter pale malts. Not an Imperial by any means, so the malts don't need to be crazy big, but they're still a bit timid in this beer. A very good IPA, probably better when fresh for sure, but still very good... age ain't all that bad!
- - 7 Hops!
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