Terrapin Beer Company
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Terrapin Beer Company is a U.S. beer company located in Athens, Georgia.
[edit] Details
Terrapin Beer Company was founded by Brian "Spike" Buckowski and 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 Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, in Spring 2002 at the 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 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 Big Hoppy Monster, Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout, Rye Squared, and 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. The first official tour will be Monday, February 11th from 5-7pm. Tours will take place every Monday and Thursday from 5-7pm and the second Saturday of each month from 2-5pm.
