Mexican Chocolate Imperial Moo-Hoo
Terrapin Beer Company

 

 

 

Pours ebony with a 1" tan head, which lasts. Heavy lacing.

Aroma of chocolate, roast malt, pepper, vanilla.

Taste is chocolate, cinnamon & other spices, hot pepper, vanilla, roast malt, dark fruits, astringent.

Full body, light carbonation. semisweet finish with a lingering pepper burn.

Now this is a great stout.

2020 Reserve
Can erupts when I open it... shame! Eventually settles to a small tan frothy head, decent legs, jet black color

Nose big chocolate, dark chocolate, cocoa, hint of cinnamon and spice, creamy burnt lactose, coffee, roast, a bit of a fruity note, weird burnt spice

Taste brings a bit of pepper heat with cinnamon and chocolate, a touch of yeasty fruity continued fermentation in the can unfortunately, lots of dark chocolate and cocoa, some roast, burnt marshmallow and lactose, little vanilla, baking spices, hint of licorice late, finishes a little sweet mostly dry sticky, touch of alcohol warmth late and more cinnamon and pepper-like heat

Mouth is med to fuller bod, low carb, light warming alcohol, mild pepper and cinnamon spice

Overall it had potential and wasn't bad, but continued fermentation in the can, and eruption kinda ruined it a bit. I just picked this up a couple months ago on our trip to South Carolina.

 

16oz can poured into a snifter

A- pours black in color with a one-finger foamy dark khaki head that reduces to a ring

S- initially pick up pumpkin spices on the nose; cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, maybe some clove, it reminds me of a pumpkin stout. Undertones of chocolate, pepper and milk sugars

T- an array of spices up front, similar to a pumpkin beer; cinnamon leads the way, followed by nutmeg and allspice. Mid-palate gives some chocolate notes, as well as sweet milk sugars that gives a bit of a vanilla flavor. The finish brings out some green pepper notes, as well as the pepper heat. Lingers of cinnamon, chocolate and pepper

M- medium body with moderate carbonation produces a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a warming finish, with just a bit of heat lingering after

O- drinks more like a pumpkin stout with peppers, enjoyable nonetheless

 

 

Look: Very typical Imperial Stout, Deep Dark Brown. Pour with a decent head that dissipates to a thin ring around the rim with good lacing on the glass.
Smell and Taste: Chocolate and vanilla with a trace of cinnamon and a hint of heat from the peppers. I added the pepper heat here instead of listing under the feel because of the higher weight for the Taste score. Missing the taste of peppers but you can definitely feel the warmth.
Feel: Lactose sugars add to the smoothness of this brew. A pleasant hint of heat from the peppers. Missing the taste of peppers but you can definitely feel the warmth. Heavy as you would/should expect from an Imperial Stout. Paired well with a spicy grilled pork chop. Will defiantly drink again.

 

Another very interesting and tasty offering from Terrapin...

Unlike other Mexican Chocolates whose heat is very detracting from the overall experience, this one is muted, in a good way. There's definitely some spice and kick to this, but it's not that burning heat that takes away the tasting of other flavors, like the cocoa. I was disappointed with the smell, as it was practically non-existent (like smelling water) but the rest of this was very good.

A bit of a gusher, but manageable. Big, uneven, frothy brown head; pretty good retention, but once it starts to collapse, it goes quickly, leaving moderate lines of lacing behind.

Interesting nose, which blends fairly traditional stout notes of red grape, char, toast, coffee, and brown sugar with very spicy peppery notes - more than simply cinnamon. There is a real, vegetal peppery heat present.

A bit thin on the palate. Lively and smooth, but could use some more thickness.

The peppery heat from the nose translates very well to the palate. The chocolate is dry and bitter, the cinnamon restrained but present, all smoothly aided by a vanilla-like cream note. It isn't too hot for the spice-averse to enjoy, but it's got enough heat for pepper-heads to really appreciate - think, somewhere in between early iterations of Mexican Cake and Prairie Bomb!. For my preferences, I really enjoy the vegetal, organic, wonderful spice.

The heat builds over time, as expected. The chocolate isn't overly sweet, which may not be to some tastes, but I think shows wonderful restraint, especially if your expectations are in order. A wonderful Moo-Hoo variant, and very impressive.

 

Inky black with a fast settling head, this stout has smells of milk chocolate. Flavors are of cinnamon, chocolate malt, and finishes with its share of heat. Like a mini Hunaphu, this is a spicy stout that is a one and done. Can't see drinking a second.

L: dark brown/black, big thick tan head
S: I get a little chocolate
T: spicy, slightly sweet, cocoa
F: good mouthfeel, really coats the whole mouth
O: this is good, I usually don’t like beers with chilies in it, but I’m glad I got this

Terrapin Beer Co. "Mexican Chocolate Imperial Moo-Hoo"
16 fl. oz. can coded "VINTAGE 2020"
$6.99 @ ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Wildwood, FL

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's poured an opaque brown-black body beneath a finger's width of tan foam. When held to the light a glimmer of dark brown can be seen at the base of the glass. The aroma is chocolatey and spicy. I think I'm smelling cinnamon and nutmeg. It's interesting but it's not that bright. This isn't cold, just chilled, and I honestly feel like I should be finding more. On to the flavor... it's rich with dark malt, apple and pear and dark-skinned fruit. There's definitely some spice to it as I'm feeling some heat after just a sip or so. I don't think I'm tasting any chili flavor but I can't tell. There is something going on there but it might be hops. I get a little hint of vanilla, and some milk chocolate, but it's mostly darker chocolate. It's somewhat interesting, but at the same time it seems a bit muddled and confusing which takes the fun out of it, and now that I'm more than a few sips in the yeast is really building in both my mouth and on my lips. There's a bitter edge to it that reminds me of when you toast chillies for too long but I'll assume that I'm just coming up with that connection because of what I'm drinking. Regardless, it has a firm, dull bitterness to it. Overall I get sweetness and dark malts upfront with dark chocolate and caramel followed by orchard fruits that lead into more raisin-like notes as the heat rises and it gets a bit bitter and grassy/earthy towards the spicy finish. Sorry for the run on sentence. In the mouth it's medium bodied and crisp with an effervescent, fine-bubbled carbonation. The acidity from the chillies adds to the bite. So, what to say about this overall? I think it's a bit out of balance. There's a lot of heat to it but that doesn't bother me, it's the seemingly limited amount of sweetness to balance it that's a problem. Or is it that the chocolates notes aren't as bright as they could be? Ahh, but it just occurred to me, this is a Moo-Hoo beer, which probably means that they're adding stuff to an existing beer base rather than creating a new beer altogether. Does that matter? Maybe not, but this isn't the best Mexican "stout" that I've ever had. I like it but I'm not thrilled with it. For fans of the style I'd suggest you give it a shot, but try a single can before buying a 4-pack.
Review #7,132

 

 

CAN: 16 fl oz pull-tab aluminum can with a red, gold, and brown label. 2020 Reserve. "Vintage 2020" from the underside of the can. No canned on date or best by date.

"In collaboration with Olive and Sinclair." 8.5% ABV. "Ale with natural flavors" (that never bodes well). Lactose sugar is added. "Combines the flavors of cinnamon, chocolate and intricate spices reminiscent of a rich mole." "Mexican Style Imperial Chocolate Moo-hoo." 4-pack ran me $15.99 USD plus tax at a beer store in New Orleans, LA.

Served chilled into a dimpled mug.

I did dig the original Moo-Hoo when I had it first, so I'm optimistic going in.

HEAD: Khaki tan in colour. Not robust, but not thin. Could be creamier and softer to better effect. Retention is good for the ABV - ~8-10 minutes.

BODY: Opaque black (predictably). No yeast/lees are visible within, but of course it's opaque. Still, it looks filtered inasmuch as I can discern.

Appears well carbonated. It's a decent looking milk stout but lacks the gilded sheen observed in the heads of the best milk stouts (or imperial milk stouts) and the head needs more of a soft creamy texture to really stand out.

AROMA: Merely mild in terms of intensity, but I do pick up on specialty chocolate malt, obvious dark malt sweetness, and a some baked bread on the back end.

Through my hyposmia, I struggle to find any cinnamon, cassia, spices (e.g. mole-like chile, nutmeg, or cumin), actual chocolate (i.e. not mere chocolate malt), or anything additional like vanilla bean.

Doesn't scream Mexican chocolate to me by any stretch, and it seems reticent overall for a milk stout in general. Even the lactose sugar's sweetness is aromatically absent, but I regard that as a plus actually.

I don't find any roasted barley, coffee-like roast, or any other bitterness contributing flavours (there's no charred malt or burnt sugars, no smoke, etc.).

Suggests a meek milk stout that disguises its ABV well but doesn't bring the Mexican chocolate flavours as much as its marketing would like us to believe. I can't say I'm optimistic going in to my first sip...

TASTE & TEXTURE: Black patent malt, dark malt sweetness, specialty chocolate malt, some faint cacao on the finish, black bread (think Schwarzbier-redolent), chile powder spice/warmth. Filling and a bit bready, but there's no mole umami to it (which is probably a good thing).

Lactose sugar is well incorporated, slugging in some sweetness without calling too much attention to itself. Lacks the powdery texture observed in many Mexican chocolate stouts, but whether that's good or bad depends on your preference (I consider it a slight negative in a milk stout). I taste zero cinnamon and zero cassia bark, and I struggle to find any spice that would evoke mole beyond the basic chile powder flavour. To be honest, fundamentally this fails to evoke Mexican chocolate...there's no spice, no true cinnamon, no "fake" (cassia) cinnamon, and worst of all no actual genuine chocolate (just chocolate malt). Maybe instead of adding "natural flavors," Terrapin ought to have added the real ingredients.

Balanced enough - it does keep its lactose sugar addition in check better than the vast majority of milk stouts I've tried - but it skews simple for its premise, failing to live up to the promises of its marketing.

I do think it's just about perfectly carbonated, and I adore that hit of ancho chile that carries into the finish but maintains impressive subtlety.

OVERALL: Not what I hoped for in a $4/can (seemingly imperial) milk stout billed as a Mexican chocolate variant of a well-loved Georgian classic, but it's by no means a bad brew - just a disappointing one in that it fails to live up to its premise. Not a standout Mexican chocolate stout if you consider that a substyle, but also far from a recommendable milk stout or imperial stout on its own terms. I do wish I'd acquired this as a $4 single instead of as a $16 4-pack; it's not a chore to drink like many dessert beer lactose sugar stouts out there, but it just leaves so much to be desired and the Terrapin I know of 5 years ago could have definitely executed this right.

Unfortunately, I think this beer's subpar quality is another casualty of Big Beer Buyouts. The Terrapin I knew would have executed this premise at a higher level, but here I am drinking an "ale with natural flavors" with a disappointing taste in my mouth.

High C+ (3.2) / ABOVE AVERAGE

***
01/03/21 another can from the 4 pack:

Soft, smooth, wet, cushiony.

Doesn't nail the Mexican chocolate motif but it's drinkable for a milk stout.

High C+

***
01/06/21:

Getting more chile powder/pepper this time 'round drinking it cold.

Looks better than it tastes, but it's fine for what it is.

C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE