Terrapin Substance Abuse Ale

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

Name: Substance Abuse
Date: January 27, 2007
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brewfest, Atlanta Cask Fest
Appearance: black, scant tan head
Aroma: strong coffee and bourbon aroma
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich whisky and coffee flavor, plenty of alcohol, a bit too much bitterness in the finish

Name: Substance Abuse
Date: March 29, 2008
Mode: draft
Source: brewery
Aroma: light whiskey and chocolate aroma with a touch of roasted and light coffee
Flavor: chocolate and whiskey is the dominant flavor with the coffee receeding into the background, lots of vanilla sweetness

Name: Substance Abuse
Date: April 05, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: trappeze
Aroma: lots of oak in the aroma
Flavor: flavor still has the strong bourbon and chocolate, the coffee has almost faded away, plenty of oak

Name: Substance Abuse
Date: June 27, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
bourbon has faded and blended into the chocolate, very rich chocolate, light oak,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

rated at the Atlanta Cask Ale tasting in Jan. 2007. Pours dark and thick, just like the Wake and Bake. This was one of the better whiskey barrel-aged beers out there. There’s enough malt and coffee to handle the bourbon without getting overwhelmed.

On cask at the 1/27/07 Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting: Pours a viscous opaque with a thin, wispy coating of dark tan head. Has a complex sweet caramel malt, oaky bourbon, roasty coffee and dark chocolate aroma. Body starts fairly full with a nice balance of sweet malt and oaky bourbon toward a lingering coffee bean and dark chocolate finish. My favorite beer of the Cask Ale Tasting, which was also the favorite of the judges.

Tie for my favorite of all ACAT’07 beers. Seperate flavors mesh after aging, and open up nicely. "Spike" Buchowski brewed a novel but still well-rounded beer.

Atlanta Cask Ale tasting ’07 Pours black with a small brown head. Coffee and whiskey dominate the aroma. Smooth with a sweet whiskey finish. One of the better ones at the tasting, Well balanced as all of the aroma and flavor components have a chance to play here with none overpowering another.

Pours a dark brown color with with a brown head. Aroma is malty with coffe notes in it. Beer is surprisingly complex for all the stuff in it. Nice coffee up front with some warming whiskey notes toward the end and finishes with some alcohol.

A highlight of the Cask Ale Fest for me. With all the crap they do to this beer you would expect it to knock you on the floor. It is surprisingly subtle in all its characteristics but you slowly taste the beer, then the coffee, then the whiskey, finishing with a slight alcohol taste. Leaves a slight sugary film on your lips. Very nice from these guys.

This won the Cask Ale Tasting in Atlanta this year. (2007) Very dark and oily. I smell the coffee and clearly smell the Jack. Not unbalanced, but the whiskey is prevalent. Very tasty beer.