Coconut PM Dawn
Trillium Brewing Company

 

Dark brown color which allows no light to pass even along the edge. Modest head that settles to rim bubbles. There’s very little lacing, however—only a few minor spots.

Rich, dry aroma of coffee and Graham crackers. In a word, bitter. A bit like pulverized, fresh roasted coffee beans. Subsequent smells pickup sweet caramel.

The taste draws out more cocoa than anything else. Here, the coconut is quite strong. Far more bitter than sweet but the sweetness is like milk chocolate. Moderate body and carbonation. The finish dries out the palate and provides a dark chocolate aftertaste. This lingers much longer than one would expect. Simply put, this is a superior beer worth a side trip to try.

 

Canned 10/20/22

This is the last of only 2 different beers I have to review from my first trip to Trillium in years. I never really loved them but I’ve been digging the other one I brought home from there, so if this is good maybe I’ll have to go up there more often. Let’s crack this one open

Pours completely pitch black with 2 fingers of creamy dark tan head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves decent lacing

It’s very coffee forward in the nose, very roasty but still quite sweet. I’m picking up on aromas of dark roast coffee, sweet bourbon, toasted coconut, burnt caramel, maple syrup, light blueberry, and milk chocolate

Wow, the roast is huge in taste, it’s honestly a bit overbearing but I dig it. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting milk chocolate, medium roast coffee, vanilla, toasted oak, coconut, sweet bourbon, and light raisin. The swallow brings notes of acrid coffee, dark chocolate, burnt caramel, blueberry, toasted coconut, sweet maple, and light toffee

A medium full body pairs with moderate carbonation, resulting in a creamy beer. Finishes dry and roasty

This one is actually really solid. The coconut isn’t really the focus but it’s present throughout. Very drinkable

Appearance - The beer was thick with blackness, with tints of brown and a tan head.

Smell - The nose was very coffe forward with hints of toasted coconut donuts.

Taste - The coffee notes were huge at the front with a toasted coconut presence. Unlike many coconut stouts, the coconut was toasted and not overly sweet. The expresso beans lingered to the finish with a slight mint presence.

Mouthfeel - The beer was a strong body that helped the coffee.

Overall - Solid beer, but nothing over the top.

 

Thanks Tom!
16 oz can stamped: 02/23/21
Wow. A smooth ride of coffee forward Imperial stout. Maybe I sat on this too long but I find myself searching for the coconut. Some describe it as heavy handed. I pick up the faintest hint in flavor but not in the aroma. But, all in all, this is a lovely level of coffee. Dark roast, lush fullness, yet not overly roasted and bitter. Keeps the malt sweetness in check and still the malts shine with some cocoa, and oh so understated caramel. Earthy and creamy.
Loving this. Would I like more coconut? Yes, but only cuz they wrote it on the label. I'd like to keep this one, and still try it again with what I suppose they were going for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the brewery at Thomson Place.

Another disappointing beer. And its true, the Vanilla PM Dawn is sweeter. 3.5

A – Pours a midnight black. Intense and opaque. With a light brown ring of head. 4.0

S – Aromas of coffee and roasted malts, a bit of dark chocolate and then the sweeter coconut. 3.75

T – I can taste the coffee but just “barley” - ha! Too much coconut. Sweet almost cloying. 3.5

MF - Medium heavy body. Sweet finish. 3.5

 

16oz. can into a Brooklyn Brewery snifter.

Nose is super aromatic. Notes of mocha, toasted coconut, dark chocolate, and fudge. Layers of vanilla and iced coffee too. Beer opens toasted coconut, iced coffee, and mocha. Chocolate, roasted malt, more coffee, and vanilla in the middle. Some sweet cream in the end with a mocha and toasted coconut finish. Pretty simple but the flavors go perfectly together here. Body is full with low carbonation. Rich and luscious on the palate and goes down smooth and slightly boozy with a long, lingering aftertaste.

This one's excellent. One of the better PM Dawn variants.

 

 

16 oz can sent from Evan :-)
Canned on 2/23/21
Into Parish Teku

Deep oily black with brown edging and a brown head of 1/2 finger. It disappears completely in a minute or so.

Aroma is ashy, oily, perfumey coffee, with a rich supplementation of coconut and fudge. Almost like a Prairie Bomb but not as hot.

Flavor is chili spice and coconut, with fudge and some nearly equal intensity clay; some butter rum cookie, some vanilla, some oily coffee bean.

Feel is medium-thick, it feels like it should be thicker but it's more on par with a creamy 6-7% American Stout, but with lots of heat and bite. Creamy, smooth, with moderate carbonation.

Overall, it's easily my favorite PM Dawn, by a mile. The usual campfire-in-your-mouth from PM Dawn is absent and that's all that counts for me. Take that away and it's a really nice stout. It's like a Prairie Bomb but with less body. Chili pepper, coconut, vanilla, fudge, and coffee with a creamy medium body. That's all you need to know. Solid stuff.

 

 

 

 

Appearance: A hard pour yields coffee colored liquid covered by a thin beige head that fizzes away quickly; dotty lacing that fades

Smell: Chocolate, caramel, graham cracker and coconut with a hint of coffee

Taste: Chocolate, caramel and graham cracker forward with the coconut developing; coffee emerges, with the swallow to cut the sweetness, to some extent; still, the profile here leans hard to the sweet side

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with low carbonation

Overall: Had this one in my fridge for a while and, judging from the other reviews, the fading of the coffee likely impacted the overall experience

Thanks, Slack, for the opportunity

 

 

 

So the coconut really brings in the sweetness and buttery texture to the body and eliminates any ashiness from the coffee or roasted malts. And yet leaves this beer with no overly cloying sweetness but makes this beer drinkable and clean finish. Great beer.

Pours out dark brown. Looks like coffee. Aggressive pour yields two fingers of dark khaki head. Doesnt stick around.

Nose is a pot of coffee that you'd smell in the morning. A touch of coconut. Very subtle.

Taste is that beautifully accurate cup o' joe. Roasty and a little on the sweet side. Coconut is more present here. Brightens it up and points it toward a more candy like quality.

Mouthfeel is dense and creamy. Full-bodied. Very mild carbonation.

Overall a great coffee stout. It takes center stage without shame. A great brew for those coffee lovers out there.

 

 

 

Canned on 07/17/2020. Enjoyed on 09/18/2020. Hardly any noticeable coconut on aroma or taste/finish. Bad can?

16oz can

Pours nearly two fingers of fizzing tan head into my nonic. Reduces to a small sliver pretty quickly, but what’s left is somewhat creamy. Initial lacing looks questionable. Body is black, no visibility. So far it looks ok, kinda sub par.

Nose is intense coffee, and a lot of sugar. Bitter roasted notes come out with agitation. Not sure how I feel about this with the sweetness, lack of coconut and really any complexity. However, once you swirl it a little bit the coffee really jumps out at you and I can’t ignore that. I’ll give it a break here – pretty nice for what it is.

The coffee here is noticeably spicy, notes of cinnamon even. Coconut flashes for a nano second, and lingers for another second into the finish. Not sure how much roast I can actually pick up here. This is WAY different than the nose but I think I might actually like it more, it’s more moderate and a little more complex.

Mouthfeel is my only real issue with this beer, unsurprisingly. Body is huge, feels like I’m chewing gum. Sugars have a lot to do with that - this isn’t necessarily cloying to the point that it sticks and lingers, but it drinks like molasses, so…yeah either way too sweet. Carbonation is medium-low. Bitterness is only maybe from the coffee and doesn’t really leave a lasting impression. Speaking of which: yo, Trillium, if I’m spending 20$ a 4 pack, you can afford to use actual hops and not extract, thanks. Overall pretty simple, too sweet.

As a result of the diabetic mouthfeel, the drinkability isn’t too hot, though it could be a lot worse if the flavor wasn’t any good.

Appearance turned out very poor, zero lacing.

Overall better than I remember it, but I’m also not surprised I had a hard time drinking this syrup concoction last time I tried it, when I was drunk at 2am. Simple summary, tasty, too sweet, holla.

Canned 07/17/20, it pours black color with a 1-2 finger thick tan/brown colored head that faded rather quickly and left basically no lacing. Smells like fresh coconut, burnt dark roast coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, molasses, brown sugar, roasted nuts and charred grains. No sweetness to the nose, but lots of complex chocolate and coconut aromas.

Flavor is just as good as the nose with fresh coconut, dark roast coffee, vanilla, dark chocolate, soy sauce or molasses, brown sugar, roasted nuts and charred grains. There’s additional notes of cocoa powder, black licorice and toasted coconut which have a little sweetness but still make for a very tasty stout. Feels a little thin but the nose and taste are excellent. Definitely has that Mounds influence and is very enjoyable.