Trillium Brewing – Review Blowout!

brew_16755It may surprise you to discover that Trillium, known to you and on the street as a perennial plant genus distinguished by its tri-bract design (I know my kids won’t shut up about it), also happens to be an excellent up-and-coming brewer wetting the britches of beer nerds across the country. Mentioned in the same breath as other New England brew houses like Tree House, Bissell Brothers, and Night Shift, Trillium has made a name for it’s anti-clarity beers that thrive in the trade groups with anyone passing through their Boston Bay locations (Fort Point and the recently opened Canton facility) to post covetous pictures of their beer-bottled haul.

Trillium_ovatum_jko030905
Look at dem sweet ass bracts!

I can now count myself in this group, having traded for a stash of bottles in mid-2015 only to have another windfall thanks to my dad’s in-person stop on a vacation up the East Coast. I took up the herculean task of drinking a mass of Trillium’s finest, writing up detailed tasting notes on each for one great big info dump. While there are some notable absences, including several top Trillium street IPAs, I got to try a variety of Trillium’s offerings, some multiple times.

As most people will probably need to trade for these, I commented on the the trade-worthiness of each. This is biased to my palate obviously, so if silky wheat and fruity, citrus hop-bodied IPAs aren’t your thing, you can pass on my recommendation to give away that do-nothing toddler for a case of Melcher Street. You can always make more kids, but few can make good beer. (Note: DBR does not recommend you do this.)

Sooo, rather than prattle on like I already have, here are some quick shots on the six beers I’ve had in the order that I preferred them. Low beer first, working up to the beer worth cashing in the kiddos.

Continue reading “Trillium Brewing – Review Blowout!”

DBRcast Minisode – Fiddlehead Brewing – Mastermind

DBRcast Logo 5The baby lockdown continues, so here’s the first in a series of banked audio beer reviews. We drank a fresh can of Fiddlehead’s Mastermind back in the wee days of November 2015 and discussed the tastes, smells and trade-worthiness. That and we took a look at William Fichtner’s career for no discernible reason at the top. All in under 9 minutes!

Warning: This here podcast contains the salty language, so delicate ears need not apply.

→Podcast Details

DBRcast – Ep6 – Bourbon County Day

DBRcast Logo 5With the shadow of the baby looming, I held onto this episode for a diapered day, and here we are. We wax poetic about our Bourbon County day experiences (or lack thereof), I admit to (briefly) committing a crime, we talk about the two bottles of Rare we got from what was an illegal, incentivized raffle, and we (well me) reflect on the hypocrisy of looking at the BCBS release as a side show of super-hyped bullshit while fervently participating in it.

We finish by discussing the current state of Bourbon County in the hands of the InBev Empire (or is that the First Order now) and bond over Capone’s and the Black Friday event that keeps families together. It’s a magical, bourbon soaked, baby-banked episode of the DBRcast.

Warning: This here podcast contains the salty language, so delicate ears need not apply.

→Podcast Details

Drink My Beer!

The baby Lily bottle share is on and I’m celebrating both the embiggening of my family (it’s a word, just ask the residents of Springfield) and my 6th anniversary of beer reviewing! On Feb. 26th at 7pm, I plan on cracking the beers below:

 

The-Lost-Abbey-logoLost Abbey – Veritas 015 (1 bottle)
This is a brewery only sour, made with apricots, nectarines, and peaches.

 

 

firestoneFirestone Walker – 15th Anniversary (1 bottle)
This is a 4 year old bottle of Firestone’s fantastic anniversary beer series. Teams of wine makers are given access to Firestone reserves, competing against each other to create the best barrel aged blends. For the 15th Anniversary blend, they used Helldarado, Sticky Monkey, Bravo, DDBA, Good Foot, Velvet Merkin, Parabola, and Double Jack.

 

abraxasPerennial – Abraxas (1 bottle)
A cinnamon stick, ancho chiles, cacao nibs, vanilla bean imperial stout.

 

 

brew_14952Tree House Brewing – Green, That’s What She Said (1 can each)
The quintessential Tree House IPA, Green, along with their milk stout, That’s What She Said.  Both are 16 ouncers, so I’ll spread it out as best I can.

 

If you’re thinking about stopping by, click on for the details!→

Grimm Artisanal Ales – Purple Prose Review

IMG_2211All You Need to Know

Brewery: Grimm Artisanal Ales
Style: Wild Ale
ABV: 5.4%
My Cost: $14
Glassware: Tulip, Flute
Temp: 55°F (start at 45°F)
Availability: One Off
Purchased@: Hunger N Thirst

Quick Take: Purple Prose is a miss for me. The bitter, mineral seltzer finish just kills any positive vibes and leaves the impression of flavored mineral water. It’s an mf’er of a tart beer, but calling this a sour is overselling it. It’s gassy without the acidity and leaves an unpleasant feeling in the stomach. One of the biggest whiffs in recent memory.

→Full Review