Phlux Capacitor
Terrapin Beer Company

Phlux CapacitorPhlux Capacitor
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From:
Terrapin Beer Company
 
Georgia, United States
Style:
American Strong Ale
ABV:
9.8%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.65 | pDev: 15.07%
Reviews:
54
Ratings:
190
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 23, 2020
Added:
Apr 30, 2012
Wants:
  13
Gots:
  11
Time traveling in at number 16 in our “Side Project” series of beers is “Phlux Capacitor.” This wood aged Bully is brewed to an unknown style from another dimension. Rumor has it that this beer was first invented on the planet Vulcan on Saturday, Nov. 12, 1955. The recipe was discovered here on Earth on Saturday, Nov. 12, 1985 at 10:04 P.M., scribbled on the back of a sports almanac inside an abandoned DeLorean. It is said that the speedometer in the car was frozen at 88mph and it took 1.21 gigawatts of power to jumpstart the car Back To The Future! We hope you enjoy our interpretation of this totally fictitious ale…Aged on French Oak.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BlackBelt5112203:
Photo of BlackBelt5112203
Reviewed by BlackBelt5112203 from Michigan

3.77/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
22 oz bottle poured into a pint glass at cellar temperature.

L – Ruby brown color with a 2-finger tan frothy head. Really nice retention but no lacing. Clear with lots of carbonation bubbles.

S – This beer has so much going on in the aroma: rich malt scents with caramel, toasted bread, molasses, and brown sugar notes as well as dark fruits like cherries and plums, earthy leather, and a healthy dose of oak. This smells terrific.

T – Unfortunately, the taste doesn’t follow the nose so much. It starts off sweet with caramel malt, molasses, brown sugar, and a little bit of plum. Then, a sharp oak and alcohol astringency takes over. There’s some spicy and citrus hop bitterness at the finish, but the intense amount of oak just about takes over the taste as soon as it appears. There’s not as much balance or complexity as the nose suggested.

F – Medium-bodied with good carbonation, a sticky, sharp, and astringent mouthfeel, and a dry, spicy, and slightly bitter finish. Woody dryness and astringency lingers and blends with the warmth from the alcohol.

O – This isn’t a bad beer, but it could definitely be better. I was expecting so much more after the outstanding aroma. The main pitfall is that the oak is overdone. Woody dryness can be a really nice addition to a beer if it’s subtle. The strong oak presence adds an unpleasant astringency to the beer and hurts both the taste and the mouthfeel. I found that it became more bearable if I sipped it like a glass of scotch instead of drinking it like a beer. If Terrapin held back a little on the wood, this beer could be very, very good.
Sep 30, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of pathman
Rated by pathman from Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
05/23/20 bottle @ home
May 23, 2020
Photo of descobar
Reviewed by descobar from Florida

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
released in mid 2012. it pours amber/brown with a thin and quickly dissipating head. cloudy to the eye. smells are dominated by dark fruits, raisins in particular combined with malty sweetness, toffee and some caramel. there a hint of alcohol as well. this is a medium full bodied beer, with a rich texture and moderate carbonation. astringency is strong on the palate. taste is raisins, honey sweet malts with some vanilla and wood notes. bitterness is at first diminished, but then combines with the significant astringency and grows well into the finish. - good candidate for aging but it might be past its ideal point. a hint of oxidation was detected in the flavor though not in the aroma - enjoyable nevertheless.
Dec 03, 2016
 
Rated: 3.79 by JMS1512 from New Jersey

May 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.27 by ShanePB from Pennsylvania

Mar 08, 2015
 
Rated: 3.6 by wethorseblanket from California

Feb 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by JNForsyth from Pennsylvania

Dec 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.28 by belgbeerdrinker from Colorado

Oct 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Sanchezrox23 from Virginia

Sep 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by ncstateplaya from North Carolina

Sep 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by KevinGordon from North Carolina

Aug 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by golf4collet from West Virginia

Jul 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Jul 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by burnzgtm from North Carolina

Jun 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Latarnik from New Jersey

May 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Dreizhen from District of Columbia

May 18, 2014
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

4.08/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Like a bull in a china shop, Terrapin's Side Project 16 unleashes its brash and boastful taste on the palate with a flood of malt flavor, a pang of hop bitterness and the woodsy rusticity from oak- As this trifecta of taste pummels the palate, it seems to do so with some love and care.

Pouring a dark and russet brown, its rusty and reddish hues dip and weave through its heavy haze. Building a dense sand-stained head above, its tightly woven froth is in it for the duration, trailing with concentric rings at each sip.

Deeply malty with toffee, toast, brown sugar and a hint of molasses and maple, its savory and sweeter tone is supported by bready underpinnings, seemingly of spice-cake or rum-cake. As notes of orange peels and sawdust waft about the nose, that fist sip is seeming more and more intimidating.

All that malty-sweet goodness of the nose is assured in taste. Those cake-like flavors are delicately laces with spice, toast and nuttiness to allows roasted chestnuts and French toast to come about. The middle balances with citrus tones of grapefruit, oranges and tangy verbena flavor. As the sweetness breaks apart slightly, its finish allows for a sharply resinous finish to dry the palate and bitter it up a bit. Lighter oaken echoes swirl about the palate as the malt further lifts and the hops latch onto the throat.

Full bodied and long to resist any fading, the bread and sweeter textures accompany the hops and oak deep into the finish. Its spicy alcohol bite and oaky powdery texture offers a slim sense of lightness even though its cake character continues in lighter capacity.

Reminding me of Stone's Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale, the balance, power and controlled chaos is both impressive and scary- both for the brewer and for my own taste buds.
Apr 10, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by robwestcott from Indiana

Feb 14, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by jsanford from Georgia

Feb 01, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by krl2112 from Illinois

Jan 10, 2014
Phlux Capacitor from Terrapin Beer Company
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 190 ratings