Terrapin Salted Caramel Imperial "Moo-Hoo" Stout

For some reason, when I picked this up, I remembered really liking the Moo-Hoo this was based on. Turns out, I only kind of liked it. I then thought that I liked the brewery in general, so no harm done. Again, it turns out my memory isn't that great. They've had some standouts, but they overall aren't in my top tier of brewers. I'm not going to let that get me down, though - I have beer to drink.

The predictably dark ale has a slight hue of mahogany to it to round out the blackness. The light tan head sports tiny bubbles that don't come out in force, but those that come out tend to hang around. I expected to smell chocolate or caramel in the aroma, but I only smell the salt and a bit of a metallic fizz in addition to some dark fruits and maybe some earth.

First sip is smooth and warming. The beverage itself is cold, but the 8.5% ABV feels more potent than it actually is. The smoothness of the caramel and malt allow the beverage to slink down the gullet in an assiduous and respectful manner. While I'd expected bitterness, the beverage seems very well-balanced, and I can't stress enough just how smooth the beverage feels. It's like chocolate and caramel velvet.


Tip-in is salt and sticky caramel with very light carbonation prickling. The middle is still smooth, but it's punctuated by a harshness of light carbonation dazzling the roof of the mouth while chocolate, caramel, dark fruits, and earth mull about underneath. The finish is a tiny bit bitter from the chocolate, and it trails off into the light smoke and dark earth with a little bit of salt.

Bottom Line: A pretty good dessert beer.

3.25/5