I love hops, I can't get enough of them. From a clean and crisp bitter
German Pils to a blistering Double IPA that trashes my tastebuds for
the night, I love it all. Well, except for Amarillo hops, but that is
a different story all together. Big Hoppy Monster uses Ahtanum,
Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Warrior which is quite the blend of new
and classic hops. I personally think Cascade goes great with other
hops and not alone, the same thing goes for Simcoe. Balance is another
quality I seek, Imperial Reds seem to have that for the most part and
with more beers fitting into this style we'll eventually have to
create the Imperial Red here on BA.

Lots of tiny tan bubbles, I poured this one hard. There has to be some
body to this brew as the bubbles are rising a bit slower than
expected. Amazing head retention, deep chestnut color with a good
clarity. Big aromatics from this ale, malt drops a semi-burnt caramel
tone with toasted grain and the hops bring herbal and citric tones. A
hint of fruit in the nose of figs and plums. Big creamy full body hold
a bit of smoothness from the moderate amount of carbonation. Lush malt
up front with deep caramel, toasted bread and dried hay flavors. Hops
jump in quick with a very balancing bitterness, mellow citric is
strewn everywhere with a hints of wild flowers and blond tobacco.
Alcohol is warming but not hot at all, fruity with fig and dried plum
flavors. Finishes bittersweet but a bit more sweet than bitter.

Yeah, its contract brewed but not for long as they are waiting for
their license. Terrapin has proved over the years, as well as other
beer marketing companies, that good beer can be produced through
contract brewing. Big Hoppy Monster is a perfect example of that, very
well balanced but enough hops to go around for me. I was a bit
surprised of the size of the malt backbone, in a good way as well.
This is one tour I want to follow as Terrapin seems to be a brewer to
watch.

(Sample from the brewery)

For more reviews:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profi ... 2372/20232

For more info:

http://www.terrapinbeer.com