Terrapin - Left Hand Depth Charge

I don't do a whole lot of reviews here on my blog but in anticipation of Surly's 4th anniversary beer, I thought I would break this one out. Depth Charge is an Espresso Milk Stout and Surly 4 is going to be an Iced Double Espresso Milk Stout. Stylistically these sound like similar beers. But there is only one way to find out just how much they have in common.

Let's drink them!

Depth Charge is a collaboration beer from Terrapin in Athens, Georgia and Left Hand in Longmont, Colorado. Here is what Terrapin's website says about the beer:

"The second in the midnight project series. Left hand brewer, Ro, joined Spike at the Terrapin Brewery in Athens to cook up this espresso milk stout in July 2009.

Be wary of the calm before the storm. This creamy, deeply delicious milk stout will seduce you into submission while the explosion of hand roasted gourmet espresso will blow you into next week. We Shall Drink in the breweries. We Shall Drink in the pubs. We Shall Drink in the comfort of our homes. We Shall Never Surrender.

Brewed with a blend of espresso roasted coffee beans made just for this project by Jittery Joe's Coffee, Athens, GA"

That's quite the build up. Let's see if it stands up. Beer Advocate reports this beer has a 7% ABV. Oops, perhaps I shouldn't have let this one age for six months. I got this beer in a trade from fellow beer blogger Rusty Diamond last fall and I wonder what it would have been like then.

Well, let's get to it.

Aroma: Lots of bitter coffee. Some milk chocolate and cocoa aromas, like the smell of powdered hot chocolate. There are no esters or hops and surprisingly I don't get the sweet lactose I was hoping for. All good smells, no flaws evident.

Appearance: Very dark, opaque. Dark garnet when held up to a light. Pretty clear actually. Clear and opaque... huh? Frothy brown head. Very tight bubbles, rocky head commences. Fades slowly.

Flavor: Again, mostly espresso/coffee, harsh not smooth. Bitterness from both hops and dark malts. Dark chocolate and finally some lactose sweetness. Some nice hop flavors, more lactose as it warms.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body, some roasty astringency but not offensive. As expected, no heat. Somewhat creamy and loads of pleasant carbonation.

Overall I enjoyed this beer, I would certainly drink another one, and another. But since I like milk stouts and coffee beers so much I was expecting a lot. More lactose sweetness would have been welcome in both the aroma and flavor. Also, I would have enjoyed a smoother coffee flavor instead of the bitterness here. Coffee beers are usually one or the other and I used to think that the cold press coffee beers were the smoother of the two. But I've had some cold pressed coffee beers that were bitter as well. Go figure. Another please!

Questions I'd like to throw out to the beer drinking community are these: 1) Does coffee bitterness increase over time? 2) Does lactose sweetness diminish over time? I would love to know your experiences and determine whether or not time had anything to do with the imbalance of this coffee milk stout.

Slainte!

DA

PS Surly 4 review will be forthcoming. Release party is February 23rd at The Blue Nile. Stay tuned.