Surprise beer! Who doesn’t love a surprise beer? I know I do. It was a surprise for me anyway. You see, for March of 2018 Terrapin beers are featured as beer of the month. There are usually 4 selections, and sometimes a fifth as a surprise. Well, here it was March 15th (day after my birthday!) and the surprise beer is Terrapin Panama Krunkles Pineapple-Papaya IPA.
Now, I love pineapple so this beer was right up my alley. And being a Thursday night, you get a free logo glass with purchase, and tonight it just happened to be a Terrapin Panama Krunkles glass! Way cool! Beer geeks today go for the modern hop varieties that throw off tropical fruity notes, so adding real tropical fruit is officially a thing.
Terrapin says on their website:
Continuing his world brewing tour, Krunkles is back with another fruit-forward IPA. “Panama Krunkles” blends the tropical juiciness of pineapple and papaya for this Central American-inspired beer.
Ingredients, from the website:
HOPS: Warrior, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Citra, Galaxy, Amarillo
MALTS: Pale, Ashburne, Carapilsner, Wheat, Honey Malt
Terrapin Panama Krunkles Pineapple-Papaya IPA has an alcohol content of 6.5% by volume with 77 IBUs. The latter may sound like a lot, but remember its going up against fruity sweetness even post ferment. I paid $6.13 for a 32-ounce mug. In cans, the beer is exclusive to the IPA Survival Kit 12-pack, which runs $15.99 at Total Wine.
My mug of Terrapin Panama Krunkles Pineapple-Papaya IPA arrived a beautiful golden amber color with a minimal head and, as one might expect, strong tropical fruits in the nose. Taking a sip, I get sweet juicy papaya and pineapple in the palate, the latter dominating. Sweet in the finish with some bitter grassy hops coming through and lingering at the very last. A bit sweet to my taste and more a fruit beer than an IPA, but I love the pineapple here.
I’m giving it four stars out of five because hey, they tell you in the name it’s a pineapple papaya IPA, so I’m looking for pineapple and papaya and some hops ala IPA. I got all of those, so there you go.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft