Trillium (2021)

Same for me, so I just returned from my first trip there in many months. I got one of each and may crack one this weekend. Will report back if/when I do...

 

Anyone try any of them yet?

 

Tried the blend 01 yesterday. It was… ok! Had a nice mustiness on the nose but a slightly off putting lemon verbena on the backend without any noticeable funk. I think some people would quite enjoy it and it felt like a good first try.

 

Curious to the same. Not seeing much of any hoppy can releases since this post. With just over a weeks time from the holiday break. Feels very different than years past. I still remember going to pick up cases upon cases getting ready for Christmas parties... primarily variants of their "street" beers.

 

They have 7 hoppy beers to take home at the Fenway location, including their semi-hyped legroom and max legroom beers. Seems pretty par for the course for them.

 

If anyone is interested here are a lot of opinions on Blend 02

3.42/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.25

Blended: 2.5.2021
Consumed: 12.20.2021

What is it and why should you care?

Despite all the turmoil of growth, staff turnover, and controversies this beer witnessed over its slumber, Trillium remains one of the most influential breweries in America. Their thrust to support local regenerative agriculture and affirm "Beer" as having terroir eclipses my trouble at their inability to produce quality lager and the unfortunate "fermentation change." This is part of their first release of spontaneous blends, no word on if they followed Méthode Traditionnelle, but should be exciting either way.

Aroma:
Woah, definitely has that spontaneous reductive flint/popcorn note, it morphs into a little pencil eraser, never creeps into the burnt stick Geuze Boon. They weren't kidding with the tart apricot, so much under ripe stone fruit skins, and meyer lemon going on reminds me of the Lineage Spelt, and that beer was waaaay too acidic (look it's a tour down memory lane), maybe those same bugs make up a large portion of this blend. After a bit in the glass, the tone becomes a little more floral with some lavender and daisies. And the sharpness of the flint and fruit subsides, showcasing some brett character, more of a cheese rind though... what does Trillium's brett even taste like?

Palate:
Acidic (formic and tartaric) and bitter, oh man, it's like putting a whole key lime in your mouth. Sharp, aggressive, dry, and lacking finesse, it's like an allegory for the drama of the past 4 years... wow that bitterness could be mistaken for "complexity and palate structure" but it tastes like it was over dry hopped. Yes, Lambic is bitter, but this is too much, the perceived bitterness is off the charts. Maybe a little more exposure to oxygen (concrete eggs? *cough* OEC) would have softened everything.

Impressions:
Ahhh the allure of the spontaneous brew, minimal intervention, natural, yadda yadda, take my money. There are quite a few other breweries producing "wild ales" with more depth and nuance simply by pitching a cultivated "local mixed culture" that they are familiar with, instead of just letting something (usually disappointing) happen.
Habitat Blend 02 is so intrusive and loud it overpowered the "meat and cheese" beer tasting spread I had out. I honestly think this a solid first effort despite being able to finish the 500ml bottle. It's daja vu; the issues Trillium had in 2018-19 with overly acidic mix ferm are rampant, and I hope they wont try and fix it by adding some acetobacter to bring a different color of acidity. Looking forward to tasting the next release, and seeing how this green glass plays out.

 

To tag team off the above post, I've had all 3 of the habitats they've released so far and I thought they were pretty good, but definitely on the tart/acidic side. That said, they tasted like a Belgian gueuze for sure, moreso than maybe any other American "lambic" I've tasted. Real funky, nice apple skins, lemon, and pretty dry. I enjoyed all 3 about the same amount (didn't do them side by side, but that would be a fun experiment). I bet they age well, as these types tend to.

 

Call me crazy but the flora you're getting from an industrial park next to rt 95 must be difficult to reign in. Interesting endeavor but most of their wild stuff is over the top acidic.

 

The 18 wheeler brake pad dust really imparts some unique flavoring

 

That describes Allagash too and their coolship beers are great

 

Production is still happening at old Canton. The spon projects being bottled now started years before the relocation