100 Beers, 100 Days: Day #6
Terrapin is a smalish brewery based out of Athens. I like some of their beers, in particular the Rye Pale Ale and the Wake ‘n’ Bake coffee stout, so I thought give this new one a shot. The bottle has a funky image of the terrapin mascot frolicking on top of a sunflower, and it mentions that the beer is brewed with tupelo honey.
The beer pours with very little head, even after giving the bottle a good swirl, and the head disappears except for a ring around the edge after a minute or so. It’s straw colored with a little bit of an orange tint, and beautifully cloudy, like a glass of golden pale fog. The smell is full of honey, wheat and bananas. It feels light in the mouth, starting with a surprising bite from what carbonation there is, giving way to a taste that about matches the smell—wheat, bananas and a distinct taste of honey—and finally fading into some grassy, earthy notes and a lingering sweetness. I didn’t taste any clove or spiciness that would also come from what apparently was hefeweizen yeasts. I think that flavor may have lost its way in the honey, but I didn’t really miss it. SunRay is lighter and smoother than a Hefeweizen, and Terrapin never claimed that it was one. It’s certainly worth a try.