Last December, I
got an e-mail from the folks at the Terrapin Brewery announcing the latest
in their series of one-off brews, something they call the Side-Project
series. The current brew, fourth in the series of releases, was called
Dos Cocoas Chocolate Porter and would hit store shelves just in time
for Valentines Day. Now that's marketing!
Side Project beers are only released once, though if they are popular enough
one assumes they might make a repeat appearance, perhaps as a regularly
produced brew. This edition really piqued my interest, however, mostly
because of the seasoning: chocolate! Chocolate beer is nothing new, of
course, and you've probably heard of, or even tasted examples the likes of
Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock.
Terrapin uses real Ecuadorian cocoa to make Dos Cocoas. In fact, they use
two kinds, cocoa powder in the brew and cocoa nibs on which the beer was
aged. The base beer, a porter, sounded like the perfect match to add depth,
and I was expecting a glass of chocolaty beer goodness when I got my hands
on this one.
First, though, I would have to get my hands on this one. That proved to be
the trick, since Dos Cocoas disappeared off store shelves faster than any
Side Project beer I had seen since the first one. Apparently, I wasn't the
only one who wanted to try this one. After hunting far and wide, however, I
managed to score a bottle about two miles from my home (ironically enough).
Here's what I thought.
Terrapin Dos Cocas Chocolate Porter pours to a dark brownish black
color with a light creamy tan head formation and a lightly chocolaty nose. A
sip reveals a surprisingly thin body, thinner than I expected for a special
one-off beer like this. There is definitely chocolate, though, smooth and
creamy like dark chocolate pudding, silky and seductive in its own way. A
hint of fruity raisin as apparent, too. It marries nicely with the roasted
malt chocolaty flavor, and emerges again in the well-balanced finish, too.
That said, I think I'd like a bit more of it here (ok, I'm a chocoholic),
and definitely more body. Not that this is a bad beer, mind you, it surely
isn't, and I'd be happy to have it regularly available to me. But as a
Side-Project, and one I paid $6.50 for a 22-ounce bottle of at that, I'm
expecting more, and I didn't get it. A Young's Chocolate Stout would have
done me better, and at about half the price.
I'm glad I tried it, and if you see a bottle, you should too. But all in all
this "Side Project" strikes me as more on the average side than the
spectacular.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For
reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft