Terrapin Substance Abuse Ale

[2006 Draft @ UJ’s Manatawny] Opaque black color with a small tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of light coffee, bourbon, roasted malt, smoke, chocolate, sherry, vanilla, light soy, and a bit of alcohol. Taste of coffee, roasted malts, dark chocolate, smoked wood, sherry, dried fruits, vanilla, and light bourbon with a little alcohol in the finish.

Tap at Union Jacks Barrel event. Pours a deep brown almost black with a smaller bubbly tan head. Aroma of coffee, cocoa, vanilla, oak, molasses and nuts. Flavor of coffee, vanilla, oak, chocolate, caramel, bourbon and mixed nuts. Well done!

(Sample Date: 8/18/2009 Source:Capital Ale House - Downtown) Oak, roast, and chocolate hints of whiskey. Black with small tan head. Chewy thick body. Roast and chocolate give way to oak and whiskey. Sweet malt oak and woody astringency balance nicely. Finish is dry and warming. Excellent!

Served on draft at Beer Run in Charlottesville, VA. Pours a very dark brown color with a thin head. Huge whisky notes in the aroma along with maple, vanilla and lightly roasted malts. Taste is roasted malts, maple, raisins, coffee, whisky and a lightly hopped finish. Big alcohol warmth. Med-full bodied. Oily glass-coating texture.

On draft at the Capital Ale House Terrapin Release party. Shared with Maniac and Maltdawg. Jet black pour with traces of wispy brown head. Nose is not too pungent, but rather a mild blend of cocoa, vanilla, roast. Flavor is fantastic, not boozy, but definitely some mellowed alcohol from the jack barrel. Dark cherry fruits with chocolate roasty finish. Big full chewy body is perfection. Amazing Imp Stout with a fantastic name to boot!

Draft at the Brick Store 12th anniversary. This is what dreams are made of boys and girls! Pours absolute black with a rich, creamy tan head that quickly dissipates. Aromas of roasted coffee, chocolate, with some light notes of whiskey. Flavors of dark coffee and chocolate with hints of oak, whiskey, and vanilla. The original Wake-N-Bake is a great beer, but aging it in the Jack barrels has made it even better. Creamy, full body beer that goes down really smooth.

Appearance: Pours an onyx black body with a thinnish, dissipating, tan-hued head. Smell: Predominately, it’s a nose of roasted malts soaked in gourmet coffee and bittersweet chocolate bits. Particularly mild, mingled notes of the Tennessee whiskey. Slight hint of oxidative wafts. Vague, indistinct fruitiness, though this certainly grows at it warms a touch. Taste: Dark, roasty malts express fully sweet flavors of chocolate, chilled coffee, and dark caramel. As with the nose, the whiskey tastes are fairly light, yielding soft hints of vanilla and oaken barrels. Still, there’s some light hints of age and oxidation to the malts, which just leaves me thoughtfully wondering how old this keg is exactly. Well-restrained roasted malt bitterness. Finishes sweet and fruity with a few drops of fine sherry. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium-low carbonation. Smooth, oat-laced mouthfeel. Drinkability: This one goes down tremendously easy. A very admirable brew from Terrapin and one they need to start pumping out to the thirsty masses on a regular (or even semi-regular) basis.

Well, to say I’ve been wanting to try this one would be an epic understatement. Tapped to commemorate the opening of the Brick Store 12 years ago. Is there any way it could live up to my expectations? In a word, YES! It poured much like the regular Wake ’N Bake - completely black with no light passing through. There is a surprisingly big, creamy mocha head on top that recedes very slowly and leaves some decent lacing. The aroma is wonderfully balanced and I was surprised by a couple of things. First, it is much sweeter in the nose than I was expecting. There is not nearly as much coffee as the regular WNB and there is not only the chocolate sweetness but also plenty of vanilla as well. Secondly, the bourbon is much more integrated into the nose than many beers aged on whiskey. Great nose. The taste is spectacular, and it takes all of the complexity and balance of the nose and amps it up a bit. There is all the sweetness of the chocolate, vanilla and even caramel up front before a light roasted malt presence takes over. The finish is where I bumped this up vs. the aroma as the coffee bitterness is actually present and balanced by a smooth whiskey burn going down. So damn tasty. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a solid soft carbonation and super, super smooth with the oatmeal still present in the mouthfeel. Well, this is certainly the best Terrapin beer I’ve ever had and, unlike the Big Sloppy Monster, the barrel aging has done wonders for the base beer. One of the best beers I’ve had in recent memory and the best possible way to celebrate the Brick Store’s anniversary. Terrapin needs to make some more of this stuff...now.