Ding Points: 68.50
Pour: 70.00, Nose: 60.00, Palate: 70.00, Mouth: 70.00, Global: 70.00
Tasting Notes:
Here we go with Side Project #18 from Terrapin, a ‘peanut butter beer’. The usual, 22 oz, gold-foiled presentation for the Side Project series. The whole series can be viewed on Terrapin’s web site, here.
The beer pours an attractive, dark, chocolate brown pour with a nice looking mocha colored head that is about two fingers high. Retention and lace are not great, but I suppose adequate.
For all of the fanfare of peanuts and chocolate, the nose is disappointingly neutral.
The tastes are interesting. Essentially this beer is a very light, very drinkable, slightly chocolatey porter. There is no powdery bakers chocolate notes as in some chocolate beer, rather it’s a very simple and gentle milk chocolate feel. The chocolate is definitely there, but it is fairly reserved. The peanut element on the other hand, is largely absent. I get a hint in the finish and the aftertaste, but it’s nothing to speak of.
The beer is so subtle, that it reminds me a lot of an English beer. It has elements of a traditional English Mild (color, light body and general neutrality), and an English Porter (creamy mouthfeel and tastes that are not overwhelming). I bet this will leave many American drinkers that are anticipating liquid peanut butter cups, cold.
As it warms the chocolate builds but the nutty element never truly cuts in for me. Not much sweetness here either, which is a good thing I feel. The chocolate in no way large, but it is the bigger factor when compared to any peanut character that one might be looking for.
I bet that some people will be disappointed by the subtlety of this beer. This is not a liquid chocolate and peanut butter extravaganza as the label suggests, and I am quite pleased by that!
Other: 6.7% ABV. American Porter.
The text that some of these breweries put on their bottles just makes me laugh sometimes. “A river of self-indulgent righteousness.” And then they get pissy when people call them out for self-hyping an underwhelming product. Let the beer speak for itself.
Yep, daft isn’t it? You are 100% right about their own hype, too. This is NOT a liquid Reese’s cup, which is what you would expect if you read Terrapin’s description. Ironically, because it *isn’t* the embodiment of the Terrapin description, that’s the reason I thought it was OK.