Terrapin White Chocolate Moo-Hoo

I’ve said this more times than I can count; I love winter seasonal beers! I was also thrilled a little over a year ago when Terrapin was able to re-enter the Tennessee market after the completion of a brewery expansion. At about this time last year I realized that craft beer in our fair town was really beginning to change as I purchased a four pack of one of my favorite Terrapin brews Wake-n-Bake. There have been plenty of other breweries that have come into our fair state over the last year, not to mention some limited edition brews – and that’s awesome. A huge thanks goes out to the brewers, distributors and purveyors of these fine drinks for making that happen for us. I know that Tennessee isn’t the most favorable state when it comes to beer sales (anything above 6.25% ABV is considered a spirit – really?) or alcohol sales in general for that matter – we certainly lag behind our fellow states of Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama….yes, they have surpassed us BUT we are still getting some pretty fine beer thanks to many dedicated souls – our sincere thanks for that.

Tonight though, I want to focus on one of the several limited releases this week; White Chocolate Moo-Hoo. I’ve known this beer has been in the pipeline for a while. The regular Moo-Hoo is a great beer and I look forward to it every year but white chocolate? Naw, can’t be. Well, it is and limited at that. I’m not sure of the stats but I know that while fabulous Knox-vegas got some, we didn’t get a lot…the point though is that we got it. At the time of this post there might be a bottle or two still floating around out there but I kinda doubt it. It will be on tap – or is on tap – at a few spots though so keep your eyes peeled and ears to the ground.

So, the beer: you’ll note in the picture a bottle of regular Moo-Hoo in the background – I wanted a baseline, so we’ll be tasting these side by side. On the nose the biggest difference I can tell is just a little more chocolate/sweetness on the nose of the white chocolate version – while they both smell pretty sweet the regular Moo-Hoo has just a little more of a coffee note. On the white chocolate version that coffee note is replaced by the wafts of white chocolate.  Technically, being a sweet stout, there’s not as much body on these beers as some other stouts. However, on the tongue the difference seems to be that the malts on the regular Moo-Hoo are much more pronounced than the white-chocolate version. Being that dark chocolate notes can be brought out of malts, I’m wondering if the addition of the white chocolate muted those malts a bit. Perhaps they needed to be told to keep their pie holes shut because this beer is GREAT!

Final Snobs: This is another great beer from Terrapin that I’m thankful I got to try. It stays true to the original while bringing just enough difference to the table to stand on it’s own. Great job guys.

I also want to send out a huge thanks to John Cochran, Brian “Spike ” Buckowski and their team at Terrapin. Thanks for continuing to push the envelope and for believing in the Knoxville market. Secondly, a big thanks to the folks at Eagle Distributing, especially Jeremy Walker who is definitely one of the brilliant minds responsible for our evolving beer culture. Finally, thanks to beer shops like The Market in Maryville, The Casual Pint, Corks Wine & Spirits, Bearden Beer Market and Vic’s Beer Store for carrying these products and often amplifying the voice of our local craft beer enthusiasts. It’s certainly a season to be thankful and we’re thankful for you all.

Cheers!