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Trillium Brewing Just Got 5 Hop Cones in the Source: Hot in those MA Streets
If you are like me, you are sick to your perineum of hearing about hoppy beers from the Northeast. Every other week it’s some new whipped egg yolk looking DIPA pitched with London Ale III strain or something unclarified with tons of messy ropes like cum in a hot tub. I get it, everyone wants their own Huddy Trooper riff. Usually the coat tails are gripped so defiantly that it is hard to separate the cone from the chaff and the prospect of taking a fedex flyer on hoppy beers from across the continental U.S. is not an inviting prospect.
These Trillium beers though, God damn.
Without qualification I can say that these are absolutely worth your time and I would be shocked if your unknown local brewery crafting beers out of a revamped Red Robin on some shitty third owner brewpub system are making anything like this.
beers taste better bokehed
At the outset the innumerable list of hoppy beers from Trillium appear samey in execution, but each shines in a distinct fashion. Melcher street is the more herbal and grassy companion on this Massachusetts stroll through dandelion fields. This is a stern east coast response to the likes of Societe’s Pupil. This pushes for angiosperms, conifers, and apricot on the closer.
trub a dub dub
No matter where you stand on the haze vs. isinglass debate, Melcher street tastes phenomenal and finishes creamy with a long sappy resin like a freshly stained deck. I can’t wait until someone with better distribution bites this style and does it marginally worse because I need this to be sitting on shelves, no courier intermediary needed.
the meringue whip
Sleeper street is aptly named for much of the Trillium canon at this point. Sure you see ISOs for these, but I usually wait for the galvanized steel of hoppy beers to cool before I go treading upon unproven paths. This beer is not as good as Melcher but it still shows a capacity for variety within even the style that doesn’t usually get praise for nuance or depth. This has a kind of menthol and minty Sazerac 18 kind of woodiness going to it. There is a leafy oiliness to the mid palate and it feels earthy but still wholly refreshing like a woodruff shot or a fernet branca spritzer.
poppin shots at them MA haters
So in sum, this is a throwback of sorts to the Hoptimum era of massively resinous IPAs but ensconced in the framework of the frothy turbidity of the modern era. It’s like when Brendan Fraser emerges from the past in any one of his movies where he is a guy who is emerging from the past to adapt to new circumstances. Pick one.
SHIT JUST GOT REAL
But is that DIPA game strong tho? A resounding affirming head nod shatters my c1 in this regard. Upper Case is hands down my favorite offering from them and it heismans others squarely in the collarbone by taking the messy DIPA framework that HF Double Galaxy presented and presses it to an oddly refreshing realm. Usually these are hardly what you would reach for when you seek satiation.
“We hear you guys are digging our hop forward beers…so we busted out another double IPA to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. UPPER CASE has a delicate, dry pilsner malt character with a smooth, soft, doughy mouthfeel from the raw wheat, oily hop resin which all serves as a canvas for this twice dry hopped 9% double IPA. Overipe mango, pineapple and passion fruit aromas leap out as the beer is poured. The impression of tropical fruit also takes the lead in the flavor which is layered further by white wine, pine resin and grapefruit zest. Hopped primarily with Mosaic with supporting roles played by Galaxy, Citra and Columbus. We figured there will be considerable interest, so brewed 3 batches!”
I mean, god damn it. Sure this is not as balanced as the “perfect” DIPAs like Kern River Citra or HF Ephraim, but it is a novel entry into a sort of almost farmhouse meets ultra hopped 2 row realm.
just look ffs
I know your local realm has fresher, awesome DIPAs. No one is contesting that, but it likely doesn’t have this guava and pine explosion, it doesn’t have this grapefruit puree pressed through autumnal foliage, the ride on mower sits absently longing for the grow season, and this beer is the reductio ad absurdum of those devices. Absolutely top notch.
honorable mention
Not to appear one note: brewmaster Jack has been turning out some tasty beers as well. I was not as huge a fan of this as the adamantium hard lineup from Trillium, but it is still very tasty. You get grapefruit pith, mandarin oranges, pressed pineapple juice and a nice mineral clean finish without excessive oils. If you have a MA guy, have him also toss some of this Brewmaster Jack action your way as the whole region seems to be in a hoppy arms race where only the consumer is the victor.
Get that deep cone pump, throbbing oils, zygotes straight tumescent at full bud.
The path of the righteous stout is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the adjunct and the tyranny of evil Brewers
Parabola 2013 is still killing it. Waves of brownie batter with that integrated butter chocolate and muddled Rolos au natural achieved through highly competent blending, without the aid of some grocery store candy aisle crutch.
Do yourself a favor, take down that ISO for the peanut butter marzipan addition stout extravaganza of the week and open the undisputed silent master of the barrel aged stout realm.
Your life doesn’t need to be as hard as you are making it.
Don’t let out that antidote. Poppin gooze is all we know, it’s low key at the funk show.
Cradle the BALs.
ALERT: CRAFT BEER CONTAINS POTENTIALY DEADLY ELEMENTS!!!
SMH what else arnt these breweries telling us??? 1 share = 1 support
WOW. Follow the money and think about it, #eyesopen #foodbabe
Goths and Vandals: u see Narke all excited, then u realize
This is so quintessentially European in execution you almost don’t even need to taste it. That typical agile watery splash like Dr. Pepper, the zero calorie cling, the caramel co2 and Ho hum presentation: all accounted for.
That’s not to say this isn’t tasty, it certainly is and it enjoys that sessionability of continental ratiinalism, and the enduring simple sweetness of British empiricism. It is tootsie rolls and sticky rolos, Natalie Portman thin, almost like a robust Porter with waves of vanilla extract and cake mix.
This is a pretty fine stout and probably among the best De Molen beers and amongst the worst from Narke; (dis)respectively.
Dudes tryna get it inside them
Five Georgia Beer Reviews for the Price of None: @Creaturebeer and @orpheusbrewing
Well, in case you were off doing healthy productive things for the past month, Georgia had its first whale release since the legendary 2009 massacre that was TERRAPIN DEPTH CHARGE. However, most gainfully employed adults that were around for that old Georgia peach were not around for this further disturbing release of See the Stars. I will be dealing with StS in a separate post, but I figured I would check in with some Georgia reviews since my last foray left much to be desired.
I got my cup of lean, a Lil Jon LP on the turntable, fat stacks prepped for Magic City, and my Young Dro t-shirt on: TIME TO MARCH TO THE SEA LEAVING A WAKE OF TORTURED GEORGIAN DESTRUCTION, finna get my Sherman on.
just got a camera installed in the peach in my license plate
The Jeezy hustle is strong with this one and it breaks up serious bricks of raw. The srm looks like shit in contrast to the verve that modern IPAs take but, hey, a little crystal is fine, I guess, in moderation. Except crystal meth, not even once. Then this beer would be Floridian in execution. This drinks very similar to Kern River Just Outstanding in that “BJCP benchmarked/flawless in 2008” sort of tangent. This isn’t some guava and 2 row bomb that is stripped down to 1.003 FG. This is a classic, substantial, piney and aserose, sticky oils, lingering sweetness, cones and conifers, crushed up nugs on a coffee table sort of beer that is exceedingly crushable.
Peace up, a town down
This is rad for failing to fall directly in line with the tired ass “hazy/orange juice/matter in suspension” archetype. It shows this brewery can follow rules and execute awesome examples of staple plays from long ago. The HOP AND LADDER play if you will.
SUCH A TPYO ON THE CAN SUCH OVERSIGHTS
Whenever I see a canned saison, the elitist prick in me is always like “here we go, some dialed down farmhouse beer, where’s the sexist marketing to accompany it?” Oddly, this is executed with class and poise and presents a degree of competence beyond the scope of “ITS A WIT WITH A DUPONT YEAST…IN A CAN.”
“In the heroine Atalanta, we see the traits of what we aim for in all of our beers: piquant, deceptively robust, and a bit wild. A tart plum saison, Atalanta tastes of plums intermingling with spicy yeast, and a refreshing tartness that makes Atalanta as good for pairing with food as by itself.”
DDB is a Str8 rambling rek like GA tech
Alright, so this isn’t some massive fruit bomb like Flora plum or OWA UME shit, but for the price point and packaging, were you expecting some super artisanal riff? It is refreshing, dry, exhibits a nice wheaty grist, creamy cheesiness, light tartness akin to almost a kettle soured berliner that ramps up the drillability. I can see tossing a few of these back on a daily basis while reading the local Georgia news and laughing my ass off at my state legislatures. So that’s a win. Tasty stuff for sure, if not earth shattering.
really pressing my patience with this branding tho TBH SMH Notgonnalietho
I will spare you the threadbare “SESSION IPA” vs “PALE ALE” distinction, I have done it better in other places and the less said about this hackneyed offering, the better. This is a wholly mediocre riff on the gentle IPA realm. The hops are forgettable and overly resinous akin to that vegetal note you get from oversaturated cones in dry hopping. The body of it is sweet and crackery, far too hefty for its designs, and comes across like a worse version of the ho-hum Founders ALL DAY ipa.
I mean, if you see it at a Ruby Tuesday or something, sure why not
This is in or below the realm of the ubiquitous Terrapin offerings and doesn’t really command your palate or wallet in any meaningful way. The MEH exhalation can power the sails of indifference.
A pour that big was a complete mistake. A pour of any size, a mistake
Speaking of completely underwhelming beers, prepare for categorical disappointment with Athena. In a world of kettle soured, lacto forward, ultra tart, low grist “berliners” and “goses” this one is amongst one of the worst offenders I have seen to date. This is a pretty tough beer to fuck up but, my cans were riddled with problems. First and foremost, I got clear dimethyl sulfate issues and a sort of putrid baby diaper aspect to my can, so I was like “ah, welp get the other can” but no such luck. The people who rave about the “FUNK AND AWESOME ACIDITY” must love sampling the off flavor/butyric/diacetyl kit from the BJCP judging program. The whole affair was back to back drainpours.
I know you will immediately call out DDB for negligent ratings pandering, hyperbole, or iconoclasm in setting fire to the Athena effigy. Please trust me when I tell you that this is not just disappointing but flawed in a meaningful way that was out of comport with all of the positive press that I previously heard abuzz.
blergh. cottage cheese burps.
The whole thing makes absolutely no sense because the FRUITED VERSION was mindblowing, guavas to the wall incredible, without qualifier:
God damn this goes in hard on every track.
Let’s be clear: the passionfruit Guava version of Athena is so so good that I can’t even identify it as the same thing as the base beer. It blows most of the fruited Bu’s out of the water and gives a collarbone chop to other ambitious AWAs who fail to hit their mark. If you have ever had Miami Madness from J. Wakefield or Imperial Stone Bu, this is in that mind blowing realm of guava puree, jamba juice cunnilingus, pith, frothy juiciness, intense tannins and a lightly brackish finish.
It fucks the game up, 5 mics from the Source, XXL is calling for their number, and the only real complaints are in the inaccessibility of this draft only club hit.
Ok so not beautiful but god damn, who gives a shit, 16s is fire
I haven’t had See the Stars yet but, if this beer isn’t the best thing coming out of Creature Comforts, I will be shocked. Don’t bother with the adjunct stouts, lock this down faster than a smoking hot Latter Day Saint wife. You will not regret it.
So there we have it, Georgia is up to some noteworthy stuff, some shoulder shruggy EHHHHH’s and everything in between.
See the Stars will be dispatched shortly, never you fuss chil’, now go fetch gam gam the brownie spoon, an doncha be lickin the bole.
Matt Colvin sent me this awesome donation box just for roasting his homie on a trade board. Top kek
The beer world is a bizarre place, but you can’t deny certain incredible pockets of generosity.
Funk Factory/O’So Brewing: 48n 83 degrees w, when Belgian wild ales get that Wisconsin Pajotenjuice
If you have been in the beer game for any modicum of time, surely you have heard breathy whispers about the legendary irreproachable 50n on Cantillon lore. That beer was a one off in 2007 and then once rebrewed, people started offloading the b2 bottles like they were on fire.
Jump cut to Wisconsin, a nondescript building of hard angles sits inauspiciously in the Midwest horizon, a harbinger of American longing for Belgian succor: the Funk Factory. While the wort is brewed at O’So, some would argue that the real magic occurs offsite in the unremarkable fortitude of Wisconsin solitude.
When 50n shifts to 43n, a paradigm shift also occurs. The cognac becomes Brandy, the lambic becomes wild ale, and the consequences will never be the same
So aside from the clear homage/wildly insensitive label, depending on perspective, what’s the deal with this silent upstart?
Our homage to Cantillon 50 Degrees North 4 Degrees East. 2 year old unblended lambic aged in a Brandy barrel. This unique lambic is the fruit of a collaboration between Funk Factory Guezeria, O’so Brewing and Old Sugar Distillery.
Never backing down from controversy, FF has boldly gripped the spiritual hand of Allagash and tossed it’s trilby into the American Lambic ring. Even conceptualizing “American lambic” causes BJcp obsessed Charlie Papazian fanatics to hyperventilate, but does it measure up?
At the outset this appears distinctively Belgian in execution with a gentle sheath of wheaty haze, lasting subtle carb cracking like pop rocks atop pineapple juice. There’s no bullshit isinglass or attempts to make this that which it is not.
The nose has this caramel tiramisu booziness to it that transitions into a yuzu, lemon, Japanese plum complexity and at first it feels like casting Brian Cranston in a Happy Madison film. One aspect is wasted due to the incongruous clash resultant from the conception. I love the Brandy profile in more substantial malty venues, I love the nimble citrus and funk in svelte farmhouse offerings. The two stapled together feel like an arranged Pakistani wedding, inorganic and clunky, but decadent and sumptuous.
Thankfully the Brandy profile allows the taste to perform in more traditional “Lou Pepe gueuze with brown sugar” sort of ways. Lemony cream of wheat is met with caramel and Fuji apple. At cold temps the odd combination might make you dust of that tired diacetyl alert whistle but allowing it to open up shows that it is certainly a nuanced product that strives to exist in the sweet and tart, without the cloying oiliness panting of unintentional infection.
I think there were something like 300 bottles of this made and it shows an ambitious piece from a brewery experiencing a meteoric rise if the ISOs for FUnk Factory proxies are to be heeded.
This may not be your typical jaunt in the wild ale woods, but they consistently align the American execution with Belgian profiles in ways that are as alarming and refreshing in a world crowded with lacto bombs.
If you feel like getting up in the fray, tread lightly and try not to ruin things for people who aren’t complete dipshits yet. Thankfully the Funk Factory and Rare Day fanboy penumbra does not intersect as of late.
Here you go:
Everyone can blame Ddb for ruining yet another brewery.
Them cellared bottles gettin dugout like where all the players sit
The Sarah bottles are worth moar
dontdrinkbeer 