Trillium Brewing Company (September 2016)

This is a great point and one that should hopefully and eventually contribute to overall market pricing. I've been ranting and raving about this for months, maybe even years by now, but when the broader market wakes up to find out that one beer of a similar quality is priced higher than the other - in this case it's a Trillium stout vs. Founders stout - these market forces will inevitably force Trillium to lower its prices on these stouts, assuming it intends to keep selling them. And again, as I've mentioned before, me thinks Trillium is wasting a good medium to longer term opportunity in "buying" consumer goodwill by pricing its beers more competitively in the first place, regardless of style. Some, of course, have noted that Trillium has not achieved the scale that Founders (or ABInBev) has been able to achieve, and that this is a justification for high prices. This, of course, is false - the broader market does not distinguish between different firms' manufacturing or supply costs. Trillium, like Tree House and many others, is now riding a wave of popularity among us beer nerds that I believe is now starting to hit the broader market. I base this simply on how long a keg of Trillium beer now lasts at the Publick House in Brookline. So I think that in order to expand into this broader market, AND, maintain that position (meaning that the broader market will repeatedly choose to buy and drink Trillium, rather than consider it as an occasional treat), it will inevitably have to lower prices. OR, it could stay where it is now in producing high quality beers and selling them at high prices. This is still not a bad place to be, but it is one that will not support greater market share, and hence greater corporate valuation (even though this may not be the goal of all brewery owners). Equating Trillium with BMW, perhaps it is still making and very effectively selling the equivalent of its "3 Series" with its "Street series" of beers - and its "Small bird" series is an attempt to woo in the broader market similar to BMWs "1 Series"? I'm sure this is not an exact correlation, and maybe it couldn't be further from the truth, but it does make for an interesting debate or discussion. I also realize that market demand for Trillium beer will likely stay high enough for the short to medium term to enable it to retain its high prices but again, really interesting to watch it unfold.

 

Yeah, I agree - seemed like an odd, yet honest, question - so I just answered it as any huge Trillium fan would!

 

Drinking DDH Melcher Street now, I have had this before. Best single IPA I have ever had, amazing. Boston locals have it so good, Trillium best hoppy beers in country, nothing else is close.

 

I think that is *sometimes* true. I do think there are plenty of times when a local company is able to charge a higher price point than national / bigger brands. This may be because people like supporting local brands, it may be b/c they recognize that a local company has higher costs (due to lower scale advantages) and so they are ok with paying a higher price, it may be b/c quality is higher with the local brand. it might be a combination of all those things.

Have you been to Brookline Grown in Coolidge Corner? It's produce from local farms. Prices will make you nostalgic for Whole Foods pricing. But there is a market for people that pay these prices, for reasons stated above.

As far as Trillium specifically goes, they know their finances better than I do certainly. but my off the cuff guess is that whatever money they are making is being plowed right back into the business in order to gain scale to ultimately produce more beer and lower prices. We've seen this with their IPA prices which are way lower than they were pre-canning (which only became a good option with the new breweries volume).

bottom line, I pay their IPA prices bc I think for the price point, it's a nice option b/c their quality is outstanding. I also buy other beers like Excess and Hop Union bc they are cheaper and I like having beer in my fridge that is more like $1.25 / can (but still good quality)

 

Couldn't agree with you more on all of the above. Sometimes my business-school capitalist personality comes through more strongly than my bleeding heart liberal essence...I am OK paying a little more for local brands, and I just ironically was at a store in Maine called "On the Vine" that sounds like Brookline Grown (haven't been there but will try) - their prices are probably higher than Whole Foods. Cheers!

 

just had a Headroom that i traded for and it was awesome. Got to the brewery 20 minutes late after sitting in a bundle of traffic on the pike. Yes- traded a Very Hazy for that Headroom

 

I'm gonna update a review I made on Headroom back in the August thread. I cracked one the day of attaining and poured into a TeKu... got very little if any head on that and what I did get dissipated to nothing in a couple minutes (I know a few others were discussing this too). It still kept the carbonation while drinking though.

I had my second last weekend in a tulip glass and I did get some head on this pour as well as a bit of lacing and a ring of persistent bubbles while drinking. Carbonation was soft and easy during consumption. This beer is phenomenal. Massive aroma and flavor. Interesting that after a week it had more head too. Well done, Trillium.

 

Definitely doesn't generate much head, but drinks great. FWIW, my Vicinity cans have been very low carb.

 

I had a pour of Headroom at the brewery on Saturday, and am hoping that what I got is not the norm. For anyone that homebrews, you know that prickly, throat scratching feeling when tasting samples from the fermenter? The result of too much yeast/hop particle still in suspension (or almost the trub)? That is exactly what Headroom tasted like to me. I ordered a 10oz pour, and quickly ordered a Secret Stairs to wash it down. I am constantly pushing people to Trillium and am a huge fan of their beers, but I was really surprised by what I had Saturday.

 

Had it on draft too. Got the same.

 

Same here.

 

Maybe it's a draft thing. My cans have been great, tastes like pineapple juice to me. There is a definite bite and bitterness to it, but I've associated that more with Trillium's signature than unpleasant prickleyness. I've also noticed that the beer has smoothed out considerably from day 1 can to a can I had last night. Maybe the amount of hop particulate is causing the bottom of the kegs to get messy?

The amount of hops in the beer is almost unethical, but I think that's what they were going for. I have no complaints, but certainly would not drink this beer every day. It's just a raw, unapologetic hop assault.

 

I have the same thinking almost all the time, but there is something about TH that I get cravings for that make me go there 3-4 times a year. Their house yeast is unreal, but the beers have started tasting very similar in my last few experiences. I also can't justify driving to Monson from Boston on a more regular basis when I work a mile from Fort Point.

 

Sadly, I think this is spot on. I think a lot of people have built out their cellars with Tree House cans.

 

I am truly excited for Deciduous cans

 

Same for me..actually after trying it in the taproom I was glad I only picked up a 4-pack. It actually tastes much better from the can. I also got the same taste/feeling from the galaxy cutting tiles at the taproom too.

 

Someone shared a can with me at a bar in Brooklyn on Friday and it a) looked like a yeast starter, b) had this same "prickly feel" and c) had an aftertaste consistent with rotten vegetables.

Everyone who tasted agreed that there was something completely off about it and the generous share-er of said can said that ALL of her cans of Headroom tasted/looked like this.

I can say hands down it was the worst thing I have ever tasted from Trillium.

 

I get a slight throat irritation on some of of Trillium's beers. Though I only first noticed it with Trillikini.

I didn't taste anything unexpectedly off with Headroom. I'll admit it didn't look all that great but everything looks like a yeast starter these days. Other people have told me it was the best beer they've tried from them

 

I've gotten some of the tingle/bite from super fresh bottles/cans of DDH Scaled and DDH Fort Point. Makes for a pretty intense hoppy beer experience but definitely smooths out over the course of a couple days. I can only imagine what Headroom was like right out of the tanks - must've been downright painful.

 

I agree with your sentiment, but at the same time, I'm just as guilty as the next guy in wanting to acquire multiples of highly-sought after beers, and then trade them for other highly sought after beers. While I know that the BA mantra is something like "drink good beer" and "avoid drinking certain beers just to tick them off your list, or try all of the top 250, etc." - I admit that I absolutely want to acquire and trade as it's part of the fun of the hobby, and by trading, for example, Dinner for King Julius x2, it gives me the ability to try the latter. And then I'm in a much better position to talk about it, opine on it, diss it, or whatever, to my heart's content. In all fairness, this principle also applies to beer that's not necessarily on the top 250 list but is locally hyped up, beers / breweries receiving a fair amount of buzz, or those just not yet "discovered" yet, but haven't yet entered the vaunted top beers lists. To be clear though - I wouldn't acquire for the sole purpose of trading, I acquire to drink, but if there's enough available, I trade it too. I think that buying solely for the purpose of trading is OK too, but for me, I really only make a trip to a brewery if there are beers I want to drink, and then just get extras.

I think there are a lot of reasons why people trade - some may be for personal curiosity and enjoyment, others may to be turn friends on to harder to find beers, etc. - all of which seem to be OK to me. Ticking beers off a list is also OK with me - I'm a list person anyway and it helps me know what I've tried, what I like and don't like, what I want to try again, etc. What I don't like about the whole trading thing is trading a Dinner for a King Julius x1 - this would against the $for$ BA trading rule which I think is one of the best policies "the Brothers" have instituted.

I know there are sites where people regularly sell and profit from highly rated beers and, while they serve a purpose perhaps for people who desperately want to drink good beer, but for one reason or another, are not able to acquire it themselves, I don't particularly agree with this - but again, to each his / her own. The irony is that oftentimes the cost to drive to Tree House or Hill Farmstead greatly inflates the price of these beers in the first place, which as discussed in other forums, is unethical to include in the trading value of beer. Trillium for me is a half hour away and easily accessible. But again, the road trip to Monson or Greensboro Bend, waiting in line, and then doing some trading - for me, that's almost as much fun as drinking the beer in the first place! Cheers!