Terrapin Hop Karma Brown IPA
The Terrapin Hop Karma Brown IPA is a head on collision between a hoppy west coast India Pale Ale and a malty, complex brown ale. Brewed with 5 varieties of hops and 7 different malts, this hybrid style represents the best of both worlds. PEACE, LOVE and HOPPINESS
3.5
599 reviews
Athens, United States
Community reviews
The hoppiness of an IPA with the sweet balance of a brown. This beer is full bodied and dark, lots of flavor, but smooth.
Pours a clear brown with one finger head and light lacing. Herbal, piney hop aroma with toast malt and some caramel. Mildly sweet up front and turns moderately bitter with a long bitter finish. Medium body with moderate carbonation. Clean on the palate. This is drinkable. Not bad at all.
Pours a deep brown with a khaki head. Smell is caramel, oak, and a light hop. Tastes slightly of hops with hints of roast and molasses. Very smooth, good brew.
Pours dark mahogany with tan head and nice lacing. Aroma of roasted malts. Taste is much different. Still has some roasted malts, but it is loaded with bitterness...piney and delicious. A bold and tasty version of a brown IPA.
Bottle. Dark brown with a tan head. Malty aromas with caramel and hops. Roasted malt flavors that finishes smooth and bitter.
12 ounce from four pack bought at Asheville Whole Foods. Big brown pour. Kind of a sweet sherry taste. Some say citrus but more sherry and brown with slightly hoppy style. Different.
Draft at Crispy’s. Amber body with tan head. Moderately hoppy but not overwhelming. Good but not all that memorable.
Poured from a bottle. Deep brown with reddish tint; khaki head and that disapates fairly quickly, but leaves some splotchy lacing. Aroma is bready, toasted malt, and a bit hoppy (orange). Taste is moderately sweet with a long bitter finish that is somewhat dry. The body is lighter than i was expecting - just south of moderate. Overall, goes down smooth, but there is active carbonation that makes this beer slightly fizzy. A decent beer.
Deep rich toffee colored pour. Small tan head. Some lacing. Citrusy, malty aroma. Nutty, malty, citrusy taste. Sweet with a bitter finish. Good.
Bottle from trade with jrob21. Marked best by week 3 of July. Pours dark brown with a small head that quickly fades, leaves a little webbing. Smells nice, like liquid candy. Sweet caramel, nuts, light fruit, lightly burnt sugar, grassy hops. Taste has a nice sweet caramel and nutty taste up front with a strong hoppy bitter finish. Some fruitiness comes through too, raisins and red fruit. Thin to medium body. Mouthfeel is a little fizzy, a little overcarbonated I think. Overall, really nice flavors and aroma but the below average mouthfeel keeps it from being great. Still very enjoyable.
Pours brown with tan head. Aroma is dark and rich malts laced with bitter hops. The flavor has both of the malt and hops but I would say it puts more of an emphasis on the malt. Their definitely is a hop presence, but I would say the sweet smoky malt character is really what carries this beer.
I like black ipa’s and this is very close to those. Nice malty taste with just enough hop. Very enjoyable.
It pours dark brown with a tan head that leaves a perfect ring of lacing. The aroma is primarily the malt with just a hint of hop undertone. The taste is quite similar. It’s like a rich brown. Pretty full in body and rather complex. I think this "hybrid" works! It’s different, tasty, and pleasant on the palate. Surprisingly well balanced and well done!
Pours a brown ale (clear, brown) and smells like an IPA (citrus, pine). The IPA comes through a little stronger with the taste, with the grapefruit up front and a slight bitterness of the hops on the finish. In between, some malt from the brown ale. It's a nice combination.
Pours milk chocolate brown with a light tan head. Aroma heavy malt with hints of hop. Oily mouth feel with a dry finish. Less hop character then I would expect from a Brown IPA it lends itself more toward a straight up brown ale. Delicious and solid.
bottle pours dark amber with big head. Aroma roasted malt and grassy hops. Taste is bitter roast, easy drinking, pretty good, like a hoppy porter
Bottle courtesy of Biggsbowler. Pours a nice rich brown with a decent off white head that fades quickly. Aromas are citrus and floral hops, then a nice caramel dose and finally some bread. Flavors are mellow citrus hops, then a big dose of caramel malts, followed by some burnt sugar sweetness and a finish that is grassy and bitter. Palate is a little thin and undercarbonated. Overall, this is an excellent beer if taken by itself, but the style is an oxymoron in and of itself; let’s call it and India Brown Ale which makes more sense than any other moniker these beers go by. Still nice to drink.
Very dark brown with a frothy light beige head. Decent lacing. Aroma of spice, chocolate, roast, and biscuits. The taste is roasted and a little chocolaty bitter and a little off. Medium bodied; a little creamy and a little dry. Ok.
Disappearing thin beige head. Aroma is strong toasted toffee & biscuit, some malt. Flavor is again toasted biscuit & some caramel. Finish is slightly dry with some bitterness. Interesting combo with IPA & Brown ale, but seems to work.
---Rated via @jxray76 on Twitter
This would be my 2nd fav IPA with the turtles. This is just behind hopzilla and in front of hopsecutioner. The brown ale meshes well.
22oz bomber. Pours a deep brown color with a finger of tan head. Aromas of grapefruit, caramel, pine, and roasted malt. Tastes is similar. Grapefruit, mild pine, roasted malt, mild bitter finish, with a hint of caramel.
Bottle->SA. Medium brown with 1/2 inch khaki head. Aroma: dirty hops over malt. Taste: metallic malt, hops, burnt sugar. Eh.
totaaly bitter and a little far from brown ales. Nice brewed indeed but these gfuys are very into hops.
I like it. could be my favourite offering from my not-so-favourite-think-it-is-somewhat-overrated-not-quite microbrewery. Pours a see through brown with a thin white head. the weight/ mouthfeel darkness is reminiscent of holy city porter. good aroma- lots of hops. taste is hoppy and sweet all at once- well balanced. Much better than the much less interesting brown all from bells brewery. definitely get the piney/ citrusy west coast hops on the palate balanced with a nice sweetness from the dark malt. Little bit of pepper on the palate. Overall a good offering. 12 oz bottle from zillies.
Appearance: Pours brown, letting minimal light through. Not much of a head on this beer, a mere thin cap of white swirls.
Aroma: Sweet brown sugar-like malts, lemon zest and just a nice citrusy hop nose.
Taste: Caramel or honey covered toast, citrusy hops. Cereal, light amounts of chocolate.Finishes with peppery hop spice.
Mouthfeel: Active carbonation, medium bodied. A little peppery roughness.
Overall: A very easy to drink hop forward beer.
12 ounce bottle. Clear deep mahogany brown color topped by a big rocky beige head. Fragrant toasted malt aroma with notes of brown sugar and plums. Rich toasted malt flavor with a spicy, peppery hop backdrop. Slightly tangy with a chewy dried fruit resonance. Reminiscent of toasted nuts and raisins. Overall, a very tasty and unique combination of complex malts and hops.
12oz bottle. Mahogany brown pour with a thin head of spotty lacing. Aroma is very malty, with plenty of nuttiness and some nice fresh west coast hops hiding in the background. Flavor is rich brown ale with a hop punch that comes from behind. Had I not known to expect the strong hop presence it would have surprised me. This was all brown all with a pleasant addition of well-executed hop accents.
Bottle. Pours clear ruby brown with a medium tan head and nice lacing. Aroma is pine, caramel, roasted malts. Flavor is the same, touch of coffee. Light sweet, light bitter. Medium body. Not bad.
Great beer, starts a bit dry on the palate and then the maltiness from the brown ale sets in. A bit of a sweet finish with great mouth feel and a bit of bread, caramel, coffee taste well counterbalanced by the hops
From a bottle. Pours very dark brown with a frothy white head. Hints of coffee flavor and smell. Smooth, with slight bitterness. Not too exciting but easy to drink. Medium body and light carbonation.