Terrapin Beer Company made quite a splash at the end of 2012 with their Liquid Bliss Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter. The brewery will be looking to replicate that success with Mosaic, their next Side Project offering that is set to hit Alabama shelves and taps in March.
Side Project 19: Mosaic Single Hopped Red Rye Ale will be a beer all about the hop this brew is named after. A newly cultivated hop variety, Mosaic hops make for all of the hop additions in this ale. This hop is described as a "powerful combination of pine and fruit" that is rich in notes of "mango, lemon, citrus, earthy pine, tropical fruit, herb[s], and stone fruit". These big hop flavors should meld wonderfully with the spicy rye character comprising the other half of Mosaic. Here is the full label description of this beer from the brewery:
Freshly harvested from Hop Breeding Company, LLC in the Yakima Valley, the hops used in Side Project 19: "Mosaic" came freshly picked from the fields of Perrault Farms, to our brewery, and into your glass. Known as hop HBC 369 before its official naming in 2011, Mosaic is the daughter of Simcoe (YCR 14) and a Nugget-derived male. To get the best of all worlds from this new Humulus lupulus, we used 100% Mosaic throughout the brewing process to utilize all the flavor and aroma that this world-class hop has to offer.
Spike's words of wisdom "If variety is the spice of life then hops are the life of beer!"
Mosaic, like all Side Projects, will be a limited, one-off brew distributed in 22 oz. bottles and on draft throughout Terrapin's distribution network. You can expect to find it at some point in March at craft beer friendly bars, restaurants, and retailers in Birmingham, Huntsville, and other parts of the state that regularly see Terrapin's more limited offerings.
If you are fan of juicy hops and looking to explore a brand new hop variety, it sounds like Mosaic will be the beer for you. I will update here with more accurate dates and locations as Mosaic's release draws closer. Prost!
Comments