Broken Angel
Trillium Brewing Company

Broken AngelBroken Angel
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From:
Trillium Brewing Company
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Strong Ale
Ranked #28
ABV:
9%
Score:
90
Ranked #9,383
Avg:
4.03 | pDev: 6.95%
Reviews:
34
Ratings:
202
Status:
Active
Rated:
Apr 30, 2022
Added:
Dec 17, 2014
Wants:
  11
Gots:
  34
Light golden in color with a slightly hazy appearance and frothy white head. The nose expressed notes of white pepper, clove and banana. Bright and earthy on the palate, balanced by pleasant spice notes and an extremely dry, effervescent finish.

MALT: Pilsner, Dextrose

HOPS: Sterling
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by polishkaz:
Photo of polishkaz
Rated by polishkaz from Connecticut

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Jan 01, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Apr 30, 2022
 
Rated: 4.06 by Marifp from Massachusetts

Aug 01, 2020
 
Rated: 4.15 by The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

Nov 10, 2019
 
Rated: 4.12 by JakerLou from New Hampshire

Aug 11, 2019
 
Rated: 3.85 by TheGent from New Jersey

May 05, 2019
Photo of MaltsOfGlory
Reviewed by MaltsOfGlory from Oregon

3.8/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
16oz can

BJCP doesn’t have a Belgian strong pale ale category, so I will go off Belgian pale ale, and assume this will be a supped up version.

Pours a nice finger of white head into my stemless tulip glass. Retention is somewhat poor, fades after a minute. Initial lacing looks very nice. Body is a golden yellow. It’s trying to be clear, but it looks like there are some small particles in suspension that are giving it the smallest cloudy appearance. Medium amount of bubbles coming up. Looks pretty good so far.

At first something smelled off, this is the freshest can I could get, canned almost 3 months ago. Still, it’s a Belgian beer, at 9%, should last fine. After deliberation, it’s not off, just extremely nutty, which actually isn’t off style, but this is definitely a little much for me. Coming across as almost peanut butter, not really any bready/toffee notes, maybe a touch of burnt toast. Some esters are hidden in here, but it’s hard to pick up anything else under this extreme nutty profile. I haven’t had a Belgian pale in a while, but I can’t fathom the nut aroma being acceptable at this level. I’ll give it an ok grade because it’s not an off flavor, and it’s technically not off style, but this is a little extreme, and certainly has me questioning the upcoming flavor.

Flavor is a little more balanced. Some light fruity esters hit for a short period, and return briefly in the finish. A little peppery. Slightly sweeter than I would like, but not unexpected there – light notes of caramel. Zero nuttiness at first, but it starts to creep out pretty heavily as it warms; again, not sure it works well here. The beer hides its alcohol very well. Overall it’s ok, it doesn’t have much of an identity though. It tastes fine, and I wont mind finishing it, but it isn’t wowing me in any direction.

The mouthfeel is pretty good. As mentioned, I would like it a little drier, but I can’t be too picky at 9 %. There is basically no alcohol bite which is very nice. Carbonation is medium-high. Body is pretty light considering the small amount of sugar. Given the abv, this is a very light and pretty impressive mouthfeel.

The drinkability is pretty high here. It’s not over the top tasty, but for a high gravity beer, it hides the alcohol well, and sits very light on the tongue.

The appearance turned out decent. Lacing was patchy, but pretty consistent all the way down.

Overall an ok beer. The nutty nose was a little much, and the flavor slightly lackluster, but other than that it’s not a bad brew.
Apr 19, 2019
 
Rated: 3.74 by Diura from New York

Mar 17, 2019
 
Rated: 4.05 by swenny916 from Illinois

Mar 10, 2019
 
Rated: 3.85 by rpjterp from Virginia

Mar 01, 2019
Photo of Wasatch
Reviewed by Wasatch from Colorado

4.35/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Thanks goes out to TheMattJones88 for this brew.

16oz. Can
Canned On: 01/23/19

Poured into a Trillium glass a very nice slightly hazy golden yelllow color, very nice carbonation, with a very nice thick/creamy one-finger plus off-white head, which also leaves some pretty nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, yeasty, hoppy, with a really nice clove, banana, coriander, peppery. The taste is very nice, malty, yeasty, hoppy, with a really nice clove, banana, coriander, peppery, Medium Body, ABV hidden very well, a nice complex brew. Overall, a very tasty brew. A nice take on the style. Glad I got a chance to try this. Thanks Matt!
Mar 01, 2019
 
Rated: 4.18 by teamgalt from Massachusetts

Feb 05, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by PoollShark from Rhode Island

Jun 02, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by chuckgietzen from Michigan

May 24, 2018
 
Rated: 4.15 by Montanabeerz from Montana

May 23, 2018
 
Rated: 3.9 by JimmyAddo from Massachusetts

May 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4.19 by TWStandley from Massachusetts

May 21, 2018
 
Rated: 4.09 by jcoleMA66 from Massachusetts

May 06, 2018
Photo of hoptheology
Reviewed by hoptheology from California

3.74/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
I waited a little while to crack this one. Canned 12/6/17, it's well into 4 (almost 5) months at this point.

Pours a hazy lemon color with a starting head of 1 finger, receding to a thin moss of foam on top, thin enough that I could empty the whole can into a tumbler glass without it spilling, tapping and all. The head retention is nada.

Aromas of lemon and sea salt, slight pillowy yeast, maybe some hints of orange peel. Hard to get a nose on it. Smelling like a cross between a Witbier and a Belgian Pale Ale.

Flavor is mostly phenols with peppery yeast and lemon. I don't get much in the way of hops - if there was a hop presence and it had faded I would be tasting faded hops, instead I get nothing on the hop side. Lots of pale malt, probably pilsner or pale ale malt; slight white bread; dish detergent, very very faint finish of lemony hop.

Feel is very carbonated and crispy, leaving a starchy coating on the tongue but it disappears quickly into a belgo dryness. Mostly crisp. That's the main MF.

Overall, probably the least impressive Trillium beer I've had yet. It's not offensive but it's just not interesting. I figured Trillium would somehow adapt the haze to the Belgian style but it comes across as a basic bitch BPA. Too bad, I know Trillium can do better.
Apr 30, 2018
 
Rated: 4.41 by thfreedumb from Illinois

Apr 30, 2018
Broken Angel from Trillium Brewing Company
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 202 ratings