Terrapin Midnight Project Depth Charge Espresso Milk Stout

Brewed by Terrapin Beer Company
Style: Sweet Stout
Athens, Georgia USA

I enjoyed this more then I feel my rating lets on. Great coffee character mixed with a ncie milky chocolatness. A little thin, that never really wows you but at the same time is very conistently tasty from pour to finish. Some nice notes of espresso, a good hoppiness, and all so smooth. Very nice. Another treat from secret santa 09.

Bottle via trade thanks to PALMEJ1 on BeerAdvocate. Pours darkest brown with a one finger tan head and decent retention. Aroma is espresso with cream, roast, and chocolate. Coffee notes predominate. Flavor is mild roast and loads of coffee with cream, along with some milk chocolate. This is a really, really coffee-loaded beer. Not recommended if you’re planning to go to sleep right after. This will get you wired. Medium body, not as quite creamy as I expected. A little coffee astringency, but not more than it should be. Drinkability is pretty high.

Draft at Kingpins. This is a nice, full flavored stout without being overpowering. One that isn’t watered down, but also one that feels like you could have 2 or three without feeling bloated. Nice.

Nearly black. Tons of really nice smelling coffee and chocolate in the nose. Flavor is an absolute coffee bomb with superb chocolate notes. The lactose is nice in this beer. Amazing depth for a fairly low abv beer. Well done.

22oz bottle @Pauls Gathering-pours a rich dissipating light brown head and black color. Aroma is espresso, roasty. Taste is espresso/roasty/sweet dark malt, secondary acidic hops bite.

Enjoyed via draft in an English pub glass. The beer pours an opaque pitch black, with a moderate thick tan head. The nose gives very strong notes of espresso coffee grounds. There are some underlying notes of crystal malts, and a bit of roasted character, but these items are overshadowed by the aforementioned strong espresso character. The palate again shows strong espresso character, along with a more perceptible level of English character malts. The use of roasted malt is also detectable, but it seems that it was either used in small amounts, or is muddled by the combination of the espresso and the residual sweetness added by what seems to be a touch of lactose. In general, the beer lacks the strong and often palate-busting roasted character of other stronger stouts. It is smooth, and extremely drinkable. A great effort.

Rich and flavorful brew. Plenty of creamed and sweetened coffee, milk chocolate and soft roast. Moderate bitterness in the finish (bitter chocolate and light grass). Nicely balanced. A bit sweet for my buds, but fitting for the style. Nip of fruity alcohol in the finish. Overall, I found it rather enjoyable. One of the best milk stouts I’ve ever had.

On draught at Funky Buddha (Boca Raton, FL): Pours black with a soft, pillowy, tan head. With a full on coffee assault to the nose, you can actually smell each individual grain that make up a coffee bean. There’s an outstanding balance between the chocolate/coffee/vanilla/hazelnut flavors and the stout itself. It’s sweetness does not overstate the true chrarcter what of a stout should taste like (which is what I found to be the problem with Bell’s Java Stout). Drinkability: Enjoyably sweet and satisfying. Rebuy: Definitely. #228 on 29112009, DG.