More than a few years ago, I stopped by Five Seasons Brewing for a few pints. At the time, their brewer was Brian “Spike” Buckowski, he now of Terrapin Brewing Fame. One of Spike’s most famous creations was the celebrated Big Hoppy Monster, a beer that you can now get on tap and in the bottle. But for a time, you could only get it on tap at Five Seasons; I have fond memories of owner Dennis Lange giving me a sample fresh from the conditioning tanks.

Terrapin recently opened a new brewery in Athens, Georgia, but for the past few years they have been bottling beer under contract in Maryland with Frederick Brewing. The bottle I’m tasting now, part of the 2007 Beer Tour, was bottled at the latter; it will be interesting to compare with the 2008 brewed here in Georgia.

Terrapin calls this an “Imperial Red Ale”, and it is indeed a lofty brew of regal proportions it is. In truth, I think it something along the lines of a barleywine (I’m not a big fab of tagging every beer with the Imperial moniker as seems to be the current fad). Here are the stats that Terrapin provides:

Malt: 2-row pale, Munich, Crystal 20, Crystal 30, Crystal 45, Crystal 77.
Hops: Ahtanum, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Warrior.
IBU's: 75
O.G.: 21 (Plato)
ABV: 8.0%

Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster pours to a deep reddish brown color with a thick and creamy head formation and an herbal, grassy hop nose. This is a big bodied beer, on the way to being a barleywine even, and of course the first thing that hits you is lots of sticky, chewy, caramel-laden, chocolaty malt. It’s rich and luxurious and decadent on the tongue. But wait, Bruguru, you say, this isn’t Big Malty Monster, this is Big Hoppy Monster-so where’s the hops?

They’re certainly here, friends, and they make their presence known with much alacrity after you sip. Initially, they give a perfumey, floral character as well as a spicy pepperiness. After swallowing, however, the grassy, slightly citric character emerges, ending in a long, dry bitter crescendo that lingers on the tongue for some time after sipping.

There’s some alcohol warmth here, too, which also helps to dry the finish. Big Hoppy Monster is big in a lot of ways-big on malt, big in alcohol, and big on hops. It’s a truly wonderful beer on tap or in the bottle. My only gripe is that at $7.99 a four-pack, it's a bit overpriced. Still, a very worthy brew indeed; four and a half stars worthy. Try one today, won’t you?