Habitat: 2021 Port Barrel
Trillium Brewing Company

 

 

Bottle from 2021.

Pours clear gold with a chill-haze. Moderate retention and lacing. Mineral-rubbed grapefruit in the nose. Light bodied with a crisp, sharp mouthfeel. Soured citrus on the palate with a hint of vinegar following through. Finishes sour. No Port barrel character whatsoever.

As described by the Trillium wordsmiths, very much the lemon and leather overtones. Certainly gives the pucker that wild ales are know to have. Fades slowly, but flavors come up as it fades.

Blend date 2/26/2021

Pours hazy cloudy golden yellow with a thick creamy white foam head. Smells like a bale of hay, baking spice, vinegary barnyard funk, warm leather, preserved lemon, stone fruit, dried peach, apricot, tawny port barrel, oak, light caramel, bready crackery malt, dusty earthy floral herbs, and aged hop. Tastes like sour grapes, vinous tawny port barrel, dessert wine, oak, preserved lemon, apricot, stone fruit, hay, bready crackery pale malt, leather, some barnyard funkiness, earthy dusty floral herbal aged hops, with hints of warm spice. Feels medium full bodied, creamy with smooth moderate carbonation. Overall a really great port barrel aged spontaneously fermented wild ale.

 

 

 

 

A- 500ml bottle pours into a tulip glass with a slightly hazy golden body. The body is not a deep gold but it is not a pale yellow either. The cap is thick, white and has a foamy texture with good retention. The lacing is spotty.

S- Not really sure how the base compares to the Habitat 2021 Blend 01 but this is quite different and the Port barrel is definitely noticeable. Stone fruits, grape must, funk, barnyard, vinous oak barrel, leather, juicy dark wine grapes, dark sugars and lemon sourness. Still has that nice raw, mineraly authentic gueuze feel that reminds me of Boon or similar.

T- Stone fruits like sour apricot and nectarine off the top with some peach notes in there as well. Peach really opens up with warmth. Lemon and lime sourness with a heavy lactic acid presence. Port in the backdrop alongside the raw lambic feels of funk, hay, barnyard and must. Grapes, raw sugar, leather and weathered oak. The grape juice, vinous and stone fruit character of the brew is nice and pleasant together.

MF- Puffy and foamy light body with a high level of carbonation. A bit of an oily slickness and a fairly strong sourness once some times passes.

For me it is a bit more sour and fruit forward than the 2021 Blend 01 and it loses a bit of the delicate flavors and aromas that you get from spontaneous beer production. That being said, I am loving this series and this is still a great beer that the Port barrel really does make quite interesting. Hopefully Trillium expands and keeps this series going.