BA Adjunction Junction
Trillium Brewing Company

 

Wow! Spectacular collaboration stout from Trillium. Delicious blend of vanilla, coconut, coffee, and the note I tasted most of all, macadamia. Light barrel aged taste, with a big barrel aged scent. One of the best stouts I’ve ever had. Aged for about a year and a half.

 

 

Growler filled a couple days ago at Armsby Abbey. Nice day for it, cool and rainy... wait, not it's hot as balls and super humid. Great for imperial BA stout.

Pours a med tan foamy frothy head with med retention, a bit of soapy lacing, decent legs, pitch black color

Nose brings a conjunction of loads of adjuncts, but all awesome, fresh roasted coffee, some macadamia nut, almond, and general nutty aroma, smooth vanilla, some baking spices, caramel, cookie dough notes, into a bit of general roasted malt and dark chocolate, fudgey cocoa, little creamy lactose like milk chocolate notes, nice barrel notes with some vanilla of it's own, and more baking spices as well as coconut, nice coconut notes, some sweet bourbon whiskey in the background, more layered chocolate as it rounds off with almost no alcohol

Taste starts quite sweet, with plenty of sugar flavors, lactose sugar and chocolate milk, caramel and a sweet maple cream, then the adjuncts, nutty up front, sweet glazed pecans and candied almonds general nutty flavors and some roasted coffee notes but not a lot of roast, layers of chocolate, milk and choc ganache, a lot of that glazed pecan fading to smooth sweet vanilla and coconut, fair amount of coconut, with some barrel notes, more baking spices, a bit of bourbon but turning to a sweet almost rummy like bourbon candy late, then into more vanilla barrel, lots of sweet chocolate, finishing a bit dry but mostly sweet, a flash of alcohol, some roast and fresh coffee coming in, and mocha dulce de leche like sweet candied milk sugar

Mouth is full, rich creamy, velvety, almost like the chocolate ganache center of Lindt candy, med-lighter fizzy carb but right on for the style, and basically not alcohol

Overall this was very nice beer, reminds me of where Tillium came from before everyone realized how terrible of a company it was, and I only got this because of the praise rudzud had for it, and the fact that there were a bunch of other breweries involved. But this was really well done

Picked up a 16oz growler of this from the Armsby Abbey yesterday ($18) before they close for a few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as due to loss of business they cannot justify keeping the doors open.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip a dark almost oily black hue with a thin half finger mocha head that faded almost immediately ala soda to leave a fizzy thin halo. Legs are kind of weak as well.

S - Aromas of dark almost dry chocolate, well rounded chocolate dipped coffee beans, some slightly sweet elements from the coconut and vanilla. Not aggressive but coming across as dark chocolate covered coconut. There is a rich nuttiness throughout but no one nut is discernible. Nice roast element as well. You have all the elements, nuts, coffee, coconut, vanilla nicely balanced and coming across like they're elements baked in to a brownie. No alcohol coming through either, which is impressive given the ABV. Though, I don't really get any barrel.

T - Taste is similar to the nose just more intense and rich. Big fudge brownie notes, thick and gooey, with some vanilla and coconut sweetness. The nuts again come across as just 'nuts' as opposed to picking out the individual ones, however, they bring a well rounded nuttiness and presumed richness to the beer (as macadamia nuts do provide that). Deep in the background barrel peeks out, and by the time the beer warms up bourbon sweetness is throughout every element of the taste. Things never get cloy, just remain rich and dark. The finish is just liquid chocolate, absolutely zero alcohol presence.

M - Mouthfeel here is utterly spectacular. Cold and throughout as it warms it remains thick, heavy, creamy, luscious. There is a slight hint of warmth, however, one could swallow a gulp of this and not get hit with any alcohol burn. It almost drinks like brownie batter that's been thinned out with some bourbon. I mean...this is as close to the first time I drank chocolate rain almost a decade ago as far as rich, heavy, coating, with no burn. Exquisite.

O - Overall this beer was something else. The appearance was quite mediocre, the nose was balanced but lacking barrel. The taste though was more what I would expect from this group of breweries when it comes to a stout...the mouthfeel though is where this beer utterly shines. Thick rich velvet coats the mouth. This mouthfeel is something all big stouts should strive to have, and it staggers me when they fall flat. How this tastes, and moreso how it drinks, is worthy of buying another growler of this.

Serving Type: Growler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drank from a 25.4 fl oz (750 ml) bottle purchased at Trillium Brewing Company, Boston, MA
Served in a tulip

Medium bodied, dark chestnut brown appearance. Lighter in color and thinner in body than I anticipated. The shimmery, oily looking liquid was topped by a bubbly, light tan film that quickly transformed into a pencil thin collar. On the second pour, the beer turned somewhat murky.

The aroma was solid initially but more subtle than I expected. Moderately roasty and fairly sweet. Dark roast coffee notes were apparent. Some almond too. Fairly boozy. Brown sugar was also noticeable. As the beer sat, the nose improved dramatically. The coffee notes and the overall sweetness intensified. The almond came forth as well. Vanilla extract also appeared. Bit of milk chocolate too. Toward the drink’s end, the chocolate and vanilla became even more fragrant.

The flavor profile was outstanding. Really rich and robust with strong maple and brown sugar notes. Loads of caramel and roasted malt character. Big almond presence too. Vanilla also came through strong. Sweet overall but not excessively so. Mocha notes were apparent as well. Lighter roast coffee and milk chocolate specifically. Subtle boozy/bourbon notes appeared on the back end and trailed into the finish. For 14% ABV, however, the alcohol was remarkably well buried.

Fantastic rich, frothy mouthfeel. Medium bodied for the style. Perhaps a touch thin for a beer of this magnitude. The liquid contained a fine, fairly zippy effervescence that frothed up beautifully on the palate. Toward the drink’s end, the sugars in the beer left a slightly sticky film on my lips.

Despite the fact that the barrel presence in this beer was pretty subtle and some of the adjuncts got lost in the fray (i.e. the coconut, pecan and macadamia), this was still really enjoyable. With so many adjuncts (and collaborating breweries), chances were high that something would go awry, but thankfully that was not the case.

Poured form the bottle. Look is dark brown with slight translucency around the edges. Little to no head/carbonation. Smell is nutty and earthy, with slight undertones of coffee. Coffee hits the palate in the front - followed by the same nutty/earthiness as the smell. The vanilla and coconut seem to take a back seat to the other flavors - but add to the rich mouthfeel - which is exquisite! The smell may be a bit off-putting on this one - but the taste and mouthfeel more than make up for that. Terrific beer overall!