Terrapin Beer Company | Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout

Terrapin Beer Company out of Athens, Georgia brings us a winter seasonal treat that for many of us is truly a favorite.  Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout is another sweet stout offering.  What sets this one apart from other brews such as Riverhorse Milk Stout and Southern Tier Double Milk Stout is that Moo-Hoo, as the name suggests, is brewed with chocolate nibs.  (Get it?  Moo-Hoo...Yoo-Hoo?)  Terrapin uses Olive and Sinclare gourmet chocolate nibs and shells along with lactose sugars to achieve a truly tasty treat.

Before we get into the beer review, just a quick word on Terrapin.  If you are a fan of Terrapin products you may have noticed for quite a while that the line has been pretty much non-existent in our area for quite some time.  Terrapin has been going through some financial issues that have actually led to part-ownership rights being sold to, cough cough, Miller-Coors brewing company.  A division of the mega brewer named Tenth and Blake Beer Co. has purchased less than 25% ownership of Terrapin.  This sounds bad but actually it will be quite beneficial to the growth of Terrapin.  Under the guidelines they will remain an independent brewery and will be bailed out of an all-encompassing debt that has kept them from brewing many of their specialty beers as well as over-all distribution.  A vast majority of Terrapin's production in recent months has only made it to the localized region around the brewery.  Now that they have been bailed out they will be able to expand their production capacity and hopefully their beers will be more readily available in our area.

 Ok, lets get started...Moo-Hoo (Poured into a Sam Adams perfect pint glass from a 12oz bottle), as you would expect from any quality stout pours a jet black color with half finger brownish head that quickly disappeared with a decent hazing left behind.  Nothing too special here but there is a small plume of bubbles still rising up in the center of my glass after about ten minutes...this is a good sign.  Good creamy lacing creeps down the sides of the glass.

The aromas rising trough the middle of my glass are of strong coffee and dark cocoa.  There is no alcohol content listed on the bottle, but it is slightly detectible in the smell.  Chocolatey roasted malts are also at the forefront here.  Just an over-all very pleasant aroma.

The taste is of sweet dark chocolate and robust coffee.  The lactose sugars and cocoa nibs blend together well with one offsetting the other to provide a balanced taste...not too sweet yet not too bitter either.  This works quite well.  The alcohol is detectible but not over-powering.  The roasted malts are there but are somewhat hidden behind the cocoa and the sugar.  Decent carbonation remains even though the head has completely disappeared by now.  With the mouth feel being on the lighter side, this is an easy-drinker compared to many other stouts.  This is a great stout that I always look forward to this time of year...and now that Terrapin has expansion plans I wont have to worry about not ever seeing it again.  Pick this one up before it's gone for another year.  Personal 8.5/10 and style 8/10.

Southern Tier | 2X Stout

Southern Tier 2X Stout...When we heard about this one we were definitely excited! Considering how good the Blackwater series is (Java Stout, Chokolat Stout, Oat Stout, ect.) it was probably a given that this brew would be another winner from Southern Tier Brewing. Where as the previously mentioned brews are only available in bombers, this new offering is in six packs.

This double stout is actually a milk stout or a cream\sweet stout. Milk stouts are brewed with lactose sugar which as you guessed is derived from milk. These sugars are unfermentable so during fermentation they remain in tact and add a sweetness and body to the finished product. Mmm sounds delicious.

So onto the beer. Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. Dark as night as I can't see through it as I hold it up in front of the computer screen...just like it should be. After the pour about a half inch of brown froth was left behind which quickly disappeared after a short time with minimal lacing. I was really expecting more from the pour as the sides of my glass are pretty much clean.

What the pour lacks the aromas make up for...dark roasted malts, coffee, espresso and dark semi-sweet chocolate are easily detectible here. They do a good job of masking the higher alcohol content as this one comes in at 8%. Things are already looking up: even though the head didn't stick around for long, the aromas are still very strong and inviting.

As you would expect from a milk stout, this one is definitely on the sweet side but not too sweet. Think coffee with milk and a couple spoon fulls of sugar. The chocolatey roasted malts also shine through and are not over powered by the lactose sugar. For a double stout I find this one to be rather smooth and easy to drink. Not too thick but thick enough. Sweet but not too sweet. Although if you are looking for any bitterness as some stouts do have, you will not find it here as the lactose sugars hide any hints of bitterness quite well.

Out of curiosity I looked up the score on Beer Advocate and was surprised to see that it didn't score as high as I thought it would. I am most definitely enjoying this one a lot and feel that this is a more than solid representation of a milk stout. If you like stouts, regardless of the style, Southern Tier 2X Stout is a must try! Personal 9/10 and for a milk stout 8.5/10