Terrapin Beer Company

Terrapin Beer Company is a U.S. beer company located in Athens, Georgia.

Details

Terrapin Beer Company was founded by [http://www.terrapinbeer.com/people/spike.php/ Brian "Spike" Buckowski] and [http://www.terrapinbeer.com/people/john.php/ John Cochran] . The two men actually wanted to develop their own brewery, in 1998, before they had their own beer. After finally developing a beer the two were contemplating names when Buckowski, a Grateful Dead fan, mentioned Terrapin. The name comes from "Terrapin Station," which is a Grateful Dead album. After three years of talking to bankers and investors to no avail, Spike and John realized the only way to start Terrapin Beer Company was to begin as a contract brewery.

It released its first beer, the [http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/rye.pale.ale.php Terrapin Rye Pale Ale] , in Spring 2002 at the [http://www.classiccitybrew.com/brewfest.html Classic City Brewfest] . Six months later this beer, which was sold only in Athens, Georgia, was awarded the American Pale Ale Gold Medal at the 2002 Great American Beer Festival. With demand for Terrapin growing daily, the Rye Pale Ale was soon made available to beer fans in Atlanta, Georgia as well. Soon after, Terrapin was chosen by producers of "Blue Ribbon" on Turner South to be featured on a TV special about breweries in the South. The viewers of this show voted Terrapin as the Best Brewery in the Southeast by an overwhelming margin of 72%.

By April 2004, the company had released [http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/golden.ale.php Terrapin Golden Ale] as its second beer. Only two weeks later the Golden Ale won a Silver Medal at the 2004 World Beer Cup. Terrapin's unofficial motto became: "2 Years, 2 Beers, 2 Medals!"

When a Georgia state law capping beers at 6% alcohol was overturned in 2004, Spike and John turned their attention to creating a line of seasonal beers that pushed the envelope of traditional brewing. It was this desire to challenge the palates of beer drinkers everywhere that led to the creation of the Monster Beer Tour. The seasonal brews consist of [http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/hoppy.monster.php Big Hoppy Monster] , [http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/wake.bake.php Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout] , [http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/rye.squared.php Rye Squared] , and [http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/all.american.php All-American Imperial Pilsner] .

After months of anticipation, Terrapin's new brewery in Athens, GA is now operational and open for tours. Located at 265 Newton Bridge Rd. in Athens, GA, the new brewery is 45,000 square feet and gives Terrapin lots of room to expand. Tours are offered Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 5:30 -7:30.

References

External links

* [http://www.terrapinbeer.com/ Terrapin Beer Official Site]
* [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:ShZvsmisuUgJ:onlineathens.com/stories/112404/foo_20041124003.shtml+turnersouth+blue+ribbon+beer+terrapin&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us Athens Banner-Herald Newspaper Article]
* [http://www.beerinfo.com/index.php/pages/terrapinlease.html "Terrapin Signs Lease for New Brewery"]