Terrapin Side Project Number Nine-Dark Side

Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark

Terrapin Beer Company, in Athens Georgia, has released their latest Side Project Series beer, The Dark Side.  Dark Side is the ninth beer in the series and is billed as a Belgian Style Imperial Stout with chocolate and dark roasted grain flavors.  I figured this would be a good beer to drink after decorating the house for Christmas on a cold and windy Georgia day:

Once again, the crew over at Terrapin beer Company have brewed a great beer.  Dark Side is a bold flavored Stout with a nice mix of chocolate, coffee, and fruit.  The beer pours “stout dark” with no hint of light getting through.  Carbonation and lacing are very good and drinkability is excellent, especially considering the 8.5%ABV.  Once again, the beer got better as it warmed up a bit.  Out of the fridge Dark Side was good but once the beer got to 50-55 degrees the flavors blended together better and it seemed to “bounce” out of the glass.  If you like dark beer like Stouts and Porters, do yourself a favor and drink the beer warmer rather than colder.  Compared to the other Side Project beers, Dark Side ended up my 2nd favorite, just below Monks Revenge (#5) which came out in March.

Here is the score:

1. Appearance- 9 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 8 points (out of 10)
3. Taste- 18 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 9 points (out of 10)

Total 44 (out of 50) Points- A (very high) 4 Mug Rating