Trillium Brewing Company (August 2018)

Trillium crew dominated today. Parking situation combined with the weather was a mess but once queued up everything was smooth and quick.

And Headroom is the best I can remember in a long while.

From service to new and refreshed beers Trillium is really impressing me right now and I feel the same way about them now as I did when they opened. Kudos to the entire crew.

 

Glad to hear it went well and v2018 is great. I've never seen a line anywhere remotely like that at Trillium. My friend and I saw it and kept on going. Fortunately my brother will be able to get some from a contact of his.

 

We’re shitting on growlers now?

Yeah it was a mess but moved fairly quickly. At least you could wait with a pour inside. Unfortunately that cluster is what happens when they announce it a day early...

 

I'm not sure I understand why some people keep saying it was a mess? I was in Fort Point, not Canton, but there it was just a line that moved fairly quickly. Yes, lines are not fun, but neither are they new.

The announce vs. don't announce argument has gone on forever it seems. Sure, you don't announce and it is great for those that already planned to go or are close by but by announcing they may get the beer into the hands of people that would not have been there but maybe wanted to try it for awhile. Always winners and losers in all scenarios. As I said, I just happened to be in town, good I got to try a Trillium beer I have not had before, not so good as my wife and I expected to be able to walk in and out when we headed down on Friday. Personally, I don't worry at all about missing out on a Trillium beer as they just keep expanding and will for sure make it again.

 

Pretty much this. The only aggravation in whalez world is when, for example, Tree House releases a hyped beer with a 2-4 can limit on a Tues/Wed and it's a guaranteed shitshow the rest of the week. Other than that, I just have to wait a day or two until a limited beer sells out to be able to walk into most of our popular local breweries and once again pick up their rotationals with minimal wait.

 

yes, I'm shitting on growlers. They're fine for your 5 barrel brewers operating out of the garage. When you've got a huge brewhouse and a state of the art canning line they're a joke. Hey guys here's the same liquid at the same cost per ounce except you pay for the vessel, which you have to buy from us, and you're responsible for maintaining it, oh and the seal isn't nearly as good as the stuff we package so make sure you drink it in the next week or so, and all of it, and they're a pain to transport and handle. But look how down to earth we are.

I get there's a market and it probably makes sense for certain beers. With headroom which you're guaranteed to sell out of everything you package in a day or two, I just don't get why you'd want to take another few hundred cases worth of it and reserve it for growlers. Other than getting sad sacks to buy growlers.

Re: announcing. Obv makes sense from a business standpoint (look how much non-headroom stock they churned through yesterday) and I think it's fairer in general for the consumer. Everyone knows what's what going in. The shitshow will happen regardless and over-reliance on the silent release makes it even worse (see: Monson-era TH). Might as well know it up front and decide for yourself if it's worth it to you.

 

This may be a dumb question but when they say on their Twitter a beer is sold out “for the day”
Does that mean it will be restocked the following day? Sometimes they just say “sold out”. Is their a difference?

 

More often than not, sold out for the day does mean sold out, but there are also times where they'll say sold out for the day then replenish the next day. So, probably not giving you a ton of clarity but good luck nonetheless.

 

I appreciate the response, said yesterday seesaw was “sold out for the day” but my buddy grabbed it today, so that one was replenished. Who knows but it worked out, dropped it off with a growler of headroom I can’t wait to crack

 

What Drew said^^ You’ll know it’s definitely sold out for good if they put out tweets for both Canton and Fort Point

 

Interesting take on the growlers and I can see your point. Me, I enjoy having them once in awhile. Of course, I did buy mine way back when Trillium first opened so no cost to me now and I can grab some beers I might not otherwise get. I am sure this is not the case with a beer like Headroom but perhaps it makes some of the other beers stick around a bit longer as others feel like you do and don't want to buy or deal with growlers. If so, then that could be considered a nod to their long time customers, but I have no idea.

 

Growlers aren't nearly as much of a hassle as some people make them out to be, nor a hazard to the integrity of the beer if handled properly. The tiny upfront cost of purchasing one is quickly swamped by the cost of the beer, anyone who's complaining about cost should probably just avoid Trillium entirely. And, they're super efficient/environmentally friendly/they don't make any trash. I would imagine that the people who use growlers at Trillium are among their oldest, best, most frequent customers, so setting aside small portions of limited beers for those people seems entirely reasonable to me.

If you're annoyed by having to buy one because it's the only way to obtain a beer you just HAVE to have, check your FOMO.

 

Anyone tried the current batch of Apricot Stonington? I've kind of been resisting make the trip/spending the money, but even after the Headroom release it's STILL THERE and I'm not sure I can continue to hold out.

I had either the first or second batch and it was absolutely top shelf, but I know there's been some inconsistency with the sour/wild stuff.

 

I think these are fair points, and like I said in my rant that both A) there's obv a market for it and B) it makes sense for some beers.

It still makes zero sense for the hyped, rare beers like Headroom. The growler supply kicked within a couple hours of the cans selling out. This wasn't some extra supply that found its way to their oldest, best, most frequent customers. It made its way to people who were in line or on their way to Trillium when the cans kicked. It then slowed down lines.

 

off topic, double see saw is one step closer to veil level goses, love it.

 

Quick question, couldn't find their growler policy on their website. Will they fill any growler/growlette, or only their own branded stuff? TIA

 

http://www.trilliumbrewing.com/trillium-news/newgrowlerpolicy

 

I don't remember how it stacks up to their older batches, but I opened a bottle on Friday and found it bracingly sour right out of the fridge. It got a bit more balanced as it warmed, but all in all it reminded me why I don't often buy Trillium wild bottles. All acid and fruit, no funk, no balance. Not my jam but if that's your style you'll love it.

 

Bummer, that's what I was worried about. Oh well, I guess it's back to Crooked Stave for me.

 

For anyone looking to get drunk off a single beer, Area Four in Cambridge weirdly has 32 oz pours of Perm 52. I asked twice if that was correct before opting for the 10oz. I think the bottle tastes boozier/more flavorful (could also just be a function of timing/palate) but draft was still very good. Also strangely only $1/oz.