Terrapin Alt
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Bottle was a 2006 GABF left-over that was given to me as a reward for my volunteer efforts. Thanks a million to GABF and to Rock Bottom Brewing for the opportunity. Entered into judging in category #49 (German Brown/Dusseldorf).

Pours a finger of tan fine head over a rust-brown liquid with minimal haze. Smells dry cocoa with a touch of soured caramel. Minimal grassy. Tastes delicious. Well done. Starts a bit dry and grassy from hops. Hops are 'dirty' like tettnanger. Nutty aftertaste with a smidge of chocolate rounded sweetness tempered by the minimal dry of the chocolate.

Md heavy body. Thicker than I expected for the style. Terrific drinkablility. Not a heart-stopper, just a nice beer on an easy fall Friday afternoon.

Poured a lovely dark amber color with a weak off-white colored head that disspiated quickly and left behind very little lacing. Aromas of whole grains and roasted malt were dominant. The taste was relatively flat with minimal flavoring. Both hops and malt were seemingly balanced, but neither flavor proved distinctive during any point of a particular sip. A very soft & somewhat subtle roasted character was present but it seemed very stagnant and stationary; unable or unwilling to evolve and bring out more in the rest of the beer. Rather thin in texture and feel. I didn't really want to finish my 16 oz. mug, but I needed something to wash down my food with. This beer seemed more like a poorly designed Amber Ale than an Altbier; lacking in many areas including texture and drinkability, therefore making it an an uninspiring and rather bland beer.