Terrapin The Dark Side Belgian Style Imperial Stout - Terrapin Beer Company

bamadog

Kentucky

4.2/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I got this in a trade some time ago, no idea when as I never kept track of that kind of thing, but I kind of wish I did so I could thank whomever it was. I cracked this bad boy and snuck a whiff from the bottle and was very pleased and impressed. Review is from notes taken on 5/9/2012 and poured from the bottle to a snifter.

Appearance: Pour looks nice and viscous as it hits the glass and the body is deepest, darkest brown like freshly brewed coffee stirred with motor oil; starts with a 1/2 finger dark tan head that fades pretty quickly to nothing but a thin and incomplete skim; body is, of course, entirely opaque; a few random spots and swaths of lacing left behind.

Smell: Tons of chocolate, and it ranges from syrupy sweet to some bittersweet baker's chocolate; lots of roast coffee scents and a strong hint of some dark and very ripe fruits. I can't wait.

Taste: Hmmm... not quite as good as the nose led me to believe, but it's still very good; lots of chocolate as the nose shows, but it's a very creamy, almost milky, chocolate; the earthy and bitter roastiness takes a backseat to the creaminess, but it's present; the fruitiness is also present -- raisin and/or fig-like flavors; touch of alcohol, but to be expected in something that is approaching the 9% mark.

Mouthfeel: About what I expected based upon the pour -- fairly viscous, but as mentioned in the taste, it's a smooth and creamy thick, and reminiscent of a milkshake; grit is left all over the teeth, and there is a thick coating covering the palate; belly is left a little warm.

Overall: A very solid beer, with the smell being the best part about it. Terrapin has never let me down; and I know that Founders won the bracket a couple of years ago, but Terrapin would be in my final four.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2012 01:51:55 | More by bamadog

JamesWn

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -10%

02-28-2013 21:50:26 | More by JamesWn

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +2.8%

02-28-2013 02:41:42 | More by t0rin0

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

3.16/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Poured from a bomber into a Victory tulip

A- pours black with a one finger brown head that quickly fades away to nothingness. Well, that was underwhelming.

S- lights hints of cocoa and soy sauce in the aroma. Not a huge fan

T- very light cocoa, slight Belgian sweetness as well. Meh

M- medium bodied on the thicker side of the spectrum

O- not...great, and I can't imagine that drinking it fresh would have made much of a difference

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2013 23:33:07 | More by bigfnjoe

AlexFields

Tennessee

3.5/5  rDev -10%

01-07-2013 02:16:11 | More by AlexFields

AgentZero

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -16.5%

12-06-2012 20:48:56 | More by AgentZero

oline73

Maryland

3.88/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this at the November Baltimore BA tasting. Served from the bottle into a tasting snifter.

Appearance: The beer pours almost black in color with hardly any head at all.

Smell: Just a bit sweet with a note that reminds me of tomatoes. I'm getting some malt that adds dark fruit and some roast. Just a bit warm from the alcohol.

Taste: Sweet and malty up front. I'm getting some molasses and dark fruit. The sweetness is balanced out nicely by the roasted malt. The age has smoothed this beer out nicely. The finish is sweet and malty.

Mouthfeel: The body is just on the syrupy side of medium with lots of smooth, tingly carbonation. The finish has just a touch of dryness to it.

Overall: This is a very smooth beer at this point. I really enjoyed the molasses note and thought this beer was quite easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 21:58:33 | More by oline73

axeman9182

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev -1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle, chilled down from cellar temperature and poured into my Brooklyn Brewery tulip.

Terrapin's The Dark Side Belgian Imperial Stout pours jet black, with just barely two fingers of mocha colored foam crowning the beer.Head retention is alright, but there's just a light ring of lacing left at the top of the glass. The nose has lots of bitter dark chocolate, as well as a supporting aroma of raisins. The flavor starts out much the same, with a strong dry cocoa presence. From there a bit of oxidation comes into play, bothmoe pleasant, sherry notes, as well as some more cardboard-like impressions.The subtle dark fruit notes make their way in for the close. It's not just raisin this time though, as figs are also appreciable. The mouthfeel, while still on the full end of the spectrum isn't quite as viscous as many other imperial stouts. This perception may at least in part be due to the higher than normal carbonation, which nonetheless has a creamy feel to it that's a welcome departure for the norm. I have to say, I didn't expect The Dark Side to have held up this well for three years. Judging by the oxidation, I'd say this beer's probably already peaked, though it's still drinking very nicely right now.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 07:10:13 | More by axeman9182

mendvicdog

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

11-06-2012 19:40:53 | More by mendvicdog

duceswild

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -10%

11-04-2012 17:04:10 | More by duceswild

acurtis

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -10%

09-23-2012 17:58:39 | More by acurtis

jda007

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +15.7%

07-20-2012 01:58:46 | More by jda007

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

4.23/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Received in trade from brentk56, thanks for the opportunity!
Pours a solid black with a huge tan head that Slowly subsides and leaves lots of stickies. The aroma is not what I expected, lots of caramel, chocolate, earth, and dark fruits, not much roast or Belgian yeast inspired esters. The flavor compensates with a bit of roast coffee and chocolate up front. Some caramel and dark cherries and raisins round out the flavor nicely but still not much in the way of Belgian inspiration. Medium to thick body with a spirited level of carbonation and a sweet creamy tart fruity type mouthfeel. This is a nice stout, it has a foreign extra meets quad kind of feel to it. The Belgian influence is subtle, but it works. This was probably a little better when fresh, I wish I hadn't lost this one in the back of the stack.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2012 02:15:35 | More by johnnnniee

birchstick

Missouri

4/5  rDev +2.8%

07-11-2012 03:04:00 | More by birchstick

Dope

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: A pitch-black pour with a small but thick light brown head. Fades somewhat slowly, leaving decent lacing.

S: Wonderful fruity yeast smell with lots of banana in particular. As it warms, dark fruit like cherry, fig and raisin override. Roasted malt pokes through with some bitter char, coffee and chocolate.

T: Loaded with fruit up front. Again, raisins, figs, cherries, maybe apricot and grape? Hints of banana. The roasted malt kicks in in the middle with some coffee and chocolate mainly. Bitter char, earth and some toffee lingers in the aftertaste with just hints of the fruits. Bits of spices here and there as well.

M: Medium bodied, silky smooth.

O: Not a TON of belgian yeast but the fruitiness is quite prominent. Mainly like a super fruity RIS than a belgian stout but not every beer fits nicely into a category either. Unique and tasty.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2012 03:05:01 | More by Dope

Mattybz28

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +2.8%

05-05-2012 16:50:16 | More by Mattybz28

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -10%

04-24-2012 06:59:10 | More by ygtbsm94

whartontallboy

New York

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

04-15-2012 05:03:01 | More by whartontallboy

kylehay2004

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Two finger dark tan head with good retention and nice lacing on a near jet black body. Very nice dark fruit and molasses aroma with a burnt toast. Very flavorful with about as strong of a fig and apricot flavor as I have had with an additional mild chocolate and coffee note in tr middle. Otherwise it is dark fruit from start to finish. Medium body and moderate to high carbonation. Overall very flavorful and more drinkable than I thought.

Serving type: on-tap

03-25-2012 02:44:02 | More by kylehay2004

Zachb4au

Alabama

4.75/5  rDev +22.1%

03-16-2012 18:39:10 | More by Zachb4au

hippityhophead24

Tennessee

3.5/5  rDev -10%

02-09-2012 03:19:34 | More by hippityhophead24

rapidsequence

Virginia

4.35/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22 oz bottle. I think Chris brought this for me. Its 2 or so years old I think.

Appearance: Black, but not thick and dark. Slightly red around the edges. Light brown head with poor retention. Spotty lacing.

Smell: This beer has a great combination of chocolatey malt and dark fruit. Belgian yeast notes are very understated. If I didn't know it was a Belgian stout, I'd probably just think it was a nicely dark fruity stout. Anyway, more stout than BSDA, but good.

Taste: I really like this. The two styles combine so well that its hard to separate the parts. Again, like a rich, malty, chocolatey, and slightly roasty stout with underlying dark fruit. The finish does have some spicy and yeasty flavors that clearly make this "Belgian" tasting. Just really, really delicious.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation for a BSDA, but very well done for a Belgian style stout-- soft and creamy. Feels pretty big for 8.5%.

Overall: An excellent Belgian stout. It avoids the "too roasty" problem these beers often have. A hybrid that quietly combines two styles without being too obvious about it. Well done.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2012 02:43:01 | More by rapidsequence

ricksrealm

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -10%

01-20-2012 13:32:47 | More by ricksrealm

tclapper

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +2.8%

01-16-2012 03:58:57 | More by tclapper

IdrinkGas

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -10%

01-04-2012 08:58:12 | More by IdrinkGas