Secret Stairs Boston Stout
Trillium Brewing Company

 

Black color with a nice‑looking beige head. The aroma brings roasted malt, coffee, and dark chocolate. The flavor is malty and moderately sweet, carried by a smooth, silky body. A pleasant roasted bitterness steps in at the end to keep everything balanced.

 

16oz can. Black with a dark tan head that collapses quickly and leaves no trace. Tastes and smells of cocoa, black cherry, vanilla and fresh oak. Smooth and tangy and sweet (almost milk stout sweet). Low bitterness. Good stuff.

 

Canned 8/17/23

I made a trip out to Trillium yesterday mostly for the re-release of Headroom, but I picked up a few other things including this one, just a straightforward English Stout. Honestly when I was ordering it I was expecting it to be an Irish Dry Stout, but I’m perfectly fine with this either way. Let’s dive in

Pours a very dark brown with 2 fingers of frothy tan head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves decent lacing

There isn’t too much of that English style sweetness that I was expecting in the nose but I still dig it. I’m picking up on aromas of drip coffee, cocoa powder, molasses, burnt caramel, brown sugar, dark toast, light raisin, vanilla, and black cherry

It’s sweeter in taste, but still has that roasty bitterness to balance it out. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting brown sugar, dark toast, medium roast coffee, black cherry, molasses, raisin, vanilla bean, cocoa powder, and light caramel. The swallow brings notes of black cherry, black tea, medium roast coffee, vanilla, dark bread, raisin, cocoa powder, light leather, and caramel

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a smooth and slightly slick beer. Finishes a tad sticky but it doesn’t hurt the drinkability

This one is damn good. I’m glad I got a 4 pack as this will likely be a good food beer

 

(16 oz can, 05/06/22; gifted by my bro, who bought this at the brewery 2 weeks ago... poured into my Belhaven pub pint, admittedly after some test shakes with a few Chartreuse-featured cocktails, so we'll see how this goes)

L: dark brown liquid, a bit murky; tan head, poor retention... barely a collar left; no lace...

S: roasty, mocha-heavy, nutty-espresso notes... singed wood, dried purple fruit... desserty, caramelized... overall potency and clarity booming but short of exhilarating or distinctive

T: toasty-roasty, coffee-crema, chocolaty embers... delectably malty but boringly bulbous and semi-flaccid... overall lazily under-attenuated

F: oily, viscous, ethanol-tainted nectar... sluice sluggish ... bit of a bitter ping top front of palate... touch too much slick residual slop

O: to me, this is a straight-up American-style stout, please... what? because of lack of hop-drenching? please... I would drink this every other day, but it's a touch too sweet for a daily, though oh so taste-tastic... but really, what need is there for 10 fucking grain/malt types in this, please (1907)

16 oz can stamped 04/07/21. Thanks Tom.
Deep mahogany, fluffy mocha head. Good retention, generous layered lacing.
Nose is straight forward, old toasty malts, a hint of brown bread, very slight nuttiness, and hints of prunes.
Flavor follows, but adds nuanced hints of molasses, tobacco, earthy overripe plums, and more roasted grain.
Mouthfeel is smooth, understated sweetness is harnessed by a smooth bittering finish. Medium+ and light carbonation.
Overall, a really nice take on an old school style. This is a bit of a BC beer, (Before Crazy). Before things got going with all of the barrel aging (which I do love).

 

 

Not my favorite Trillium by a long shot. This is definitely a complex brew, with lots of malts, and maybe that is part of the problem. The beer has a slightly off taste, a bit nutty, malty, maybe bitter cocoa but something else that is a touch off putting. The nose is good, and probably the best attribute, it has a coffee and caramel aroma. The mouthfeel is fine, not boozy at all, fairly well balanced, but is just that malty, chocolate, slightly off putting taste that I can't get beyond. It mellows a bit as it warms, and maybe it needs to air out a bit after the pour, but still ... I'm not going back to this one, a bit disappointing given the brewery.

Picked-up a four-pack of cans at Trillium Brewery in Canton for about fifteen dollars. Canned on date of 4/7. My 27th brew from these guys. This is fine, but does not stand out in any way.

 

Dark brown with a foamy tan head, good retention, decent lacing. Roasty malt, dark chocolate with slight bitterness, toffee. Moderate body, slightly chewy texture, moderate carbonation.