Side Project #24 Turtleneck
Terrapin Beer Company

Side Project #24 TurtleneckSide Project #24 Turtleneck
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From:
Terrapin Beer Company
 
Georgia, United States
Style:
Winter Warmer
ABV:
8.4%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.62 | pDev: 9.67%
Reviews:
26
Ratings:
129
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 31, 2017
Added:
Dec 01, 2014
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  31
Terrapin’s 2014 homebrew contest winners have created “Turtleneck” spiced winter warmer. Initially brewed in the backwoods of Athens, Georgia, or someone’s kitchen, this gingerbread cookie inspired beer was artfully crafted by a crack team of Terrapin employees. Since no gingerbread men or women were harmed in the making of this beer, we hope you will enjoy with a clear conscience.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BirdsandHops:
Photo of BirdsandHops
Rated by BirdsandHops from Oregon

3.55/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Jan 12, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of ordybill
Reviewed by ordybill from Georgia

4.08/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22 OZ bottle into a pint glass. The appearance is a clear dark mahogany with a medium sized off-white head. smells like gingerbread and tastes the same. very nice.
Mar 31, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by jeffthepony from Georgia

Dec 27, 2016
 
Rated: 3.74 by jak from North Carolina

Oct 06, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by IckyT2012 from Florida

Apr 19, 2016
Photo of DavoleBomb
Reviewed by DavoleBomb from Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Poured into a snifter.

3.0 A: Deep mahogany brown, nearly black color. About one finger of short lived beige head. No lacing is left.

3.75 S: Wow, this really does smell like a gingerbread cookie. Sweet and biscuity with cinnamon, brown sugar, and clove. When cold the potency is lacking, but it really comes into form as it warms up.

3.5 T: Just mildly sweet and well balanced. Gingerbread, cinnamon, clove, brown sugar, molasses. Prune, date, and fig fruitiness.

4.0 M: Medium to heavier medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Pleasantly creamy and super smooth.

3.75 D: Tasty beer, it delivers what it promises.
Feb 26, 2016
 
Rated: 3.68 by Bung from Michigan

Feb 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by BeerForMuscle from New Jersey

Jan 28, 2016
Photo of AmeriCanadian
Reviewed by AmeriCanadian from Tennessee

3.08/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
For full disclosure, I'm not a huge fan of Terrapin beers. I feel like they're a maker of many (beers of different types), but a master of none. So I didn't have high hopes for this selection, and it fell largely in line with others. Hard to grade it against the Winter Warmer category since there is such a wide range of interpretations for what a Winter Warmer beer should be. So the best I can do is to measure it against what I think it's trying to be -- a dark, spiced, sweet brew that makes you think of gingerbread cookies. The beer is indeed dark, but thin, with a big-bubbled head that dissipates quickly and leaves a minimal lacing. Smell is earthy, malty sweet, molasses, with ambiguous (nutmeg? clove? not getting any ginger) spice notes. Taste is largely the same: bready malt, sweet caramel, little espresso bitterness, and a very slight spicey bite. There is a cookie element in there, likely from the grain and sugar, but I really don't get gingerbread, specifically. Mouthfeel is fine, a little thinner than I'd like for a winter warmer type of beer. Not a bad beer by any means. But not something I would seek out again given how many excellent winter-friendly beers there are in the world.
Jan 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.17 by harryhops from Delaware

Jan 07, 2016
Photo of TBoneJones
Reviewed by TBoneJones from Texas

2.88/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Looks headless and dark. Smells nearly off-putting. Taste is light caramel and bread, with some spice hints. Nothing like the other gingerbread beer I just tried, although that one was under the milk stout category, which I think suits gingerbread much better. But this was just lacking in itself as far as flavor in general. It seemed bland to me, just plain plain caramel malt and then just a downhill slide from there. I'll leave it at that. Winter warmers aren't my favorite style, however this didn't come off like the gingerbread warmer I expected. I like the brewery's other ales I've tried. This one just much less.
Jan 07, 2016
Photo of Jadjunk
Reviewed by Jadjunk from Georgia

3.15/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
"Terrapin's 2014 homebrew contest winners have created 'Turtleneck' gingerbread winter warmer ale. Initially brewed in the backwoods of Athens, Georgia, or someone's kitchen, this gingerbread cookie inspired beer was artfully crafted by a crack team of Terrapin employees. Since no gingerbread men or women were harmed in the making of this beer, we hope you will enjoy with a clear conscious." Brewed in the style of a Winter Warmer with Gingerbread flavor added. Available as a one off release in 22 oz. bottles and on limited draft.

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle to a snifter glass.

(Appearance) Pours a fizzy foam head of a light caramel tan color over a medium brown body with high clarity and sparse carbonation. Retention is below average and lacing is light and spotty. 3.25

(Smell) Chocolate, caramel grains and a faint note of toasted ginger atop it all. Fairly light bodied and simple delivery, with an underwhelming presence of ginger in the aroma. Potency is moderate. 3.25

(Taste) Thin caramel malts body, faint toasted bread malts, soft chocolate and caramel body, trace stone fruit juice, finishing on shallow notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Although ginger is perceived in here, I don't find it nearly as bold as the other spices, and certainly not leading the flavor of this beer to anything near gingerbread. 3

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, thinly syrupy, lightly chewy, medium dry. Carbonation is mild, generating a medium frothiness and a mildly crisp finish. Body is medium for the style, medium+ overall. Balance is slightly sweet over earthy bitter or spice. Alcohol presence is low and there are no off characters. 3.25

(Overall) It's a decent, incredibly easy drinking lighter-bodied Winter Warmer ale, although I am hard-pressed to notice ginger or gingerbread flavor standing out in this beer above that of other winter warmers. The winter warmer flavor is lacking in general, and this beer's thinness leaves a lot to be desired. Arguably one of Terrapin's least impressive Side Projects to date. 3.25

Terrapin Beer Company's
Turtleneck Gingerbread Winter Warmer
3.15/5.00
Jan 01, 2016
 
Rated: 3.69 by BcOneSeven from Michigan

Dec 17, 2015
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.18/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
$ 7.64/bomber ($ 0.347/oz) from State Line Liquors, Elkton, MD
Undated bomber at 42 degrees into snifter
Aroma – no ginger, no hops, no malt
Head small (< Two cm, aggressive pour), light brown, frothy, rapidly diminishing to two mm partial ring and no layer
Lacing - none
Body dark brown/black, opaque, effervescent
Flavor – not gingerbread, in fact not much flavor at all, a hint of brown sugar, kind of a musky aftertaste; no malt, no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate medium, watery, soft

Appearance 3.5, Aroma 3, Flavor 3, Palate 4, Overall 3.25
Dec 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.58 by SFC21 from Florida

Nov 29, 2015
Photo of rogacks
Rated by rogacks from Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Had this from a year old keg. Fantastic!
Nov 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3.63 by CalebM from Florida

Nov 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.57 by Pens1967 from Louisiana

Nov 06, 2015
 
Rated: 2.75 by mportnoy from Pennsylvania

Nov 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by crow from Illinois

Oct 23, 2015
Side Project #24 Turtleneck from Terrapin Beer Company
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 129 ratings