Terrapin Side Project The Dark Side

Formerly brewed at Terrapin Beer Company
Style: Foreign Stout
Athens, Georgia USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter, Tulip

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Dark brown black, with a chocolatey aroma. Taste was the same with a thick and cloying fruity perfume that I found mildly revolting. I will have to try a bottle, since the taps may have been foul, though they were new.

Black with a lasting tan head. Aroma of licorice, malt, ink and soy sauce. Sweet flavour of licorice and roasted malts, with notes of soy sauce, caramel and toffee.

Black color/ light brown head. Smoky, fruity, belgian yeast, black licorice aromas. Full bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. Sweet black licorice, belgian spice flavors with some wine, tobacco.

lots of dark and charred malt flavor. a very definite smoked malt character as well, even though it’s not mentioned on the label, i think they may have tried to add a subtle amount for complexity.

Appearance: black with a miniscule head; top heavy draft pour. Small bubbly collar. Swirls with nothing much else.
Nose: tart and a bit bright; play off each other. Prunes, plums, and dates along with black root. More tartness leads into licorice with sour milk nipping at the back. As she warms up the nose really opens up with more sour followed by dry earthy black chocolates. Black earth, potting soil.
Palate: very clean mouthfeel; thin but not detrimentally so. Lots of sour lactose character which bleeds into and taints wonderfully all her dark fruits, pitted, and also complimentarily tart. Yeasty Belgian influence thanks to the Belgian yeast strain used. Burnt wood and earth late in the finish along with slightly charred baker’s chocolate. Tartness big in the middle; dries top of tongue while sides of tongue and cheeks tingle. Plum skins and grape skins. Just as the nose, her palate sours up as she warms up. Little apparent carbonation; not flat, just clean and well attenuated. Barnyard and horsey underneath.
Final Thoughts: very good. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what I got was fantastic. Reminded me of the Madrugada Obscura from Jolly Pumpkin, another soured stout. Brisk, refreshing, and thirst inducing. I could drink her on a regular basis and never grow tired.

Poured a very dark brown into my goblet; rather short, cream-colored head with only a bit of lacing, and what was there was not terribly sticky. The smell was nice--roasted malt, a bit of chocolate, and hints of Belgian yeast. I expected a bit more of the Belgian yeast presence, but while there were a few esters, not nearly as much as I would expect from something labeled a Belgian stout. Overall, the lack of yeastiness was somewhat made up for by the fact that I was a fan of the malt profile. The taste was very similar, with the yeast not coming out much at all until the brew was verging on room temperature. The mouthfeel was fairly light for the style, and there wasn’t too much of an alcohol presence. Drinkability was nice, as the flavor continued to develop, but wasn’t terribly complex. Overall, a nice addition to the Side Project series. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 01-15-2010

Humle og grape, træ, harpiks,lakrids, sødmalt, rolig, lidt sød og lidt bitter. Tæt kort skum.

Pours deep black with nice lasting tan head, aroma is nice chocolate, roasted malt, nuts, touch of coffee. Taste is velvety, with chocolate and molasses up front, leading to a roasted bitter finish with a nice dry component. Really tasty, drinkable.

Bottle at a recent BA/RB tasting. Colour... nearly black with no head. Nose... just like devil’s food cake! Palate... thick and chewy with zippy CO2, toffee, light bodied coffee and burnt grain with a lengthy finish.

Bottle @ Papsø-Grand-Tasting, September 2010. Pours black with a creamy beige head and lacings. Nose is sweet of roast and cocoa. Dry and roasted coffee flavor. Smooth. Good.