Barrel-Aged German Chocolate Cake Doughnut
Trillium Brewing Company

 

Poured cold to a mini snifter. It looks heavy and thick, slamming into the glass. Deep onyx color. No head at first, but eventually a scant lake of infinitesimal bubbles break to the surface. Aroma is spot on to the name. First sips have a solid bright bourbon note right on top of the decadent German chocolate profile. The coconut does well to find a voice toward the tail end of the sip, whereas the vanilla seems to struggle being found. Mouthfeel is intensely thick, right on the line of syrupy. A small drop on my finger stains the skin brown. Expectedly sweet, but it avoids an overly candied or cloying effect. 12% hides altogether. As it warms, the coconut starts to pop more, and pulls out the vanilla. A very nice dessert stout, albeit expensive at $37/500 ml.

 

 

500ml bottle - 2024

Pours black with a small light brown foam head. Smells like rich dark cacao nibs, vanilla, creamy coconut, caramel, toffee, toasty brown sugar, oaky barrel, with mild earthy hops. Tastes like sweet rich decadent dark chocolate, coconut, vanilla cream, caramel, toffee, toasty brown sugar, frosted doughnuts, subtle hint of black cherry, oaky barrel, with mild earthy hop to balance the sweetness. Feels medium full bodied, heavy, thick and viscous with smooth moderate low carbonation. Overall a really great barrel-aged imperial pastry stout.

 

 

 

 

 

Drank from a 16.9 fl oz (500 ml) bottle purchased at Trillium Brewing Company, Boston, MA
06/02/21
Served in a tulip

The beer poured thick and pitch black, like used motor oil. There was no head whatsoever, nor any lacing.

The aroma was solid, but the adjuncts were far more subtle than I anticipated. Rich and malty. Nice melding of caramel and roasted malt notes. Brown sugar came through strong. The bourbon barrel character was also really intense. Vanilla was detectable but rather subdued. Quite boozy overall though not excessively so. Hint of cocoa powder. The chocolate presence intensified as the beer warmed.

The flavor profile was very similar to the nose. Malty and robust up front. Roasted and caramel malts were apparent. Good dose of brown sugar too. Like the aroma, the adjuncts played a subtle role here. Boozy bourbon notes kicked in hard as the beer moved along the palate. Moderately sweet. More roast, booze and sweetness on the back end and the finish.

The mouthfeel was fuller bodied for the style. Rich and fairly viscous on the the palate. A touch syrupy. The liquid contained a fine, fairly subtle effervescence that fluffed up nicely.

Despite the fact that the coconut was nonexistent and the other adjuncts were quite subtle, Barrel-Aged German Chocolate Cake Doughnut was still a very enjoyable beer. Folks who tend not to like excessively sweet pastry stouts will be pleasantly surprised by this offering.

 

 

Outstanding!