The Terrapin Beer Company had me extremely intrigued by the name of their Imperial Red Ale, called Big Hoppy Monster. Weighing in at 8.3% ABV, this is one to conquer. Billed by Terrapin as a Red Ale, I was ready to taste the beast and prepared to do so with my pint glass and 12 oz bottle.

The pour was nice and clean. The brew was a quite hazy, dark auburn color with an off-white (light hint of brown color) head. I didn’t get too much head on this pour, about less than a finger. At any rate, it smelled great. I instantly got a nice hoppy smell up front followed by a sweetness of the malt. To me, it smelled like a citrusy-grapefruit. It wasn’t overpowering but it was pretty nice how the smell went from hops to sweet malt the more I whiffed.

I tend to really like Red Ales so I was very interested to taste this and I wasn’t disappointed at all. The mouthful was a solid medium thickness with a nice moderation of carbonation. I got a pretty distinct and pleasant hop taste up front. This was followed up by a nice sweet grapefruit taste. The finish had a solid malt backbone. I think I even got the absolute slightest hint of a toffee flavor. There was so much going on though. It was: hops, sweet grapefruit, malty-toffee finish. A really nice trail and just a pleasure to drink. It went down smoothly and is definitely a sessionable beer.

Well, I was impressed. It may not live up to a name like “Big Hoppy Monster” – I mean, there wasn’t really as much of a hop scent or flavor that you’d expect from the name. It’s a bit of a misnomer but overall, a really easy drinking beer. The alcohol is hidden pretty well so be careful with this one.

Overall: 8/10