Well folks, it’s official. I missed a beer in the Terrapin Side Project series. It’s not, of course, the one I’m drinking tonight, Terrapin Side Project 16: Phlux Capacitor Oak Aged American Ale. How the heck could I be drinking it if I missed it? Oh, I see what you’re saying. I could have used the flux capacitor to go back in time and get a bottle. Well, maybe I’ll try that with the one I missed, Side Project 18: Liquid Bliss. Great idea!

But for now, I’m sipping a glass of Phlux Capacitor, and I’m very happy to be doing that indeed. This is a tasty strong ale/barleywine aged on oak and steeped in deliciousness that just washes over your tongue in waves. Here’s what terrapin says about the beer on the label:

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. 5, 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.

Hey, it could happen, right? Here are some specs from the Terrapin website:

ABV: 9.7

IBUs: 88

Malts: 2-Row Pale Malt, Munich I, Crystal 24, Crystal 65, Crystal 85, and Special Roast

Hops: Columbus, Nugget, Bravo, and Chinook (dry)

My bottle actually says 9.8% ABV, but hey, what’s a tenth of a percent between friends? Here’s what I think.

Terrapin Side Project 16: Phlux Capacitor Oak Aged American Ale pours to a dark and murky tawny amber color with a thick rocky head and a wonderfully woody, dark caramel malty nose. Taking a sip, my taste buds immediately scream Yowza! as the malty goodness of this beer bathes over them. This is certainly a delightful oak aged beauty leaving splinters in my tongue, and I’m still pulling splinters out from the wonderful bottle of Southern Tier’s Oak Aged Unearthly IPA I enjoyed a few weeks ago.

Incredibly woody, big and boozy, hints of vanilla, chewy caramel, buttered toast, hazelnuts-all of these descriptions come to mind upon sipping. Phlux Capacitor has long dry alcohol finish, not a lot of hops really given the 88 IBUs (a fitting number for this beer), but I have had my bottle a while now. I bought it in June of 2012 so the hops seem to have mellowed, but the beer is genuinely delicious.

Not enough for you? Even more caramel emerges as the beer warms, and it starts to remind me of Terrapin’s Oak Aged Big Hoppy Monster without the hops. Not bad at all, though pricey for local beer at $7.99 for the bomber bottle. Still, one of my favorite beers in this series so far, and one hopes they will re-release it in 12-ounce bottles as had been done with some of the other side projects.



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