Worst Brewery Thread Vibe?

I think we have a new front runner. Anyone been to the 'Samuel Adams's latest brew is dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsburg' thread yet in the beer news and releases section? Jesus H...........

 

For what it’s worth I recall the “fermentation change” happening roughly around May of last year. Trillium themselves had a post on social media saying that they had made a change.

People were complaining about this months before the wage scandal happened.

One of my local bars routinely has multiple Trillium taps, so I drink their beers frequently. I’ve also visited the restaurant a couple of times since opening.

We have some differing opinions here. I feel (as many do) that their classics suffered. So something like Melcher Street would be worse for me. I would get excessive bitterness instead of juiciness. The last canned beers I bought from them was DDH Congress Street (what used to be arguably my favorite beer from them), and it simply wasn’t that good.

However I have had newer beers from them that were excellent. Minot’s Ledge and Dialed Up for example. I did not care for Planes Over Trains Over Boats.

If I recall correctly I noticed a difference before I was aware of a change to their “Fermentation profile”.

Outside of a draft here and there I’ve mostly sworn off buying cans. It used to be a treat, but now it’s not worth it.

And that’s mostly due to what @oldbean said. There’s just so many options these days, and I don’t have to travel down to the Seaport to take a flyer on a $20 four pack.

 

Could you please provide more details here? What exactly was the “fermentation change”? Did they change the yeast strain they used? What was the rationale for making this change?

What was not good about this beer? How did the “fermentation change” manifest itself in the resulting beers?

Cheers!

 

Yeah, who knew anything remotely related to politics would be divisive.

 

Dale, I completely agree. I can always find something at a brew pub to my liking. As to that incident in Jacksonville, tell us more! It reminds me of my senior year in high school when my dear old friend's band was playing at a dicey place in Hamlet, N.C. They were mixed black and white and played great soul music in 1968. When they were packing up to leave a guy ran back into the bar with a gun screaming, "Freddie done slit the tars" it is a mantra in our lives that still lives.

 

Well, the thread is now locked so no more opportunity for that thread to reach 'epic' proportions!?!

Cheers!

 

Very interesting. M43 dropped here in NJ about a month ago and I thought it was pretty bad. I've only had a few from La Cumbre so obviously I can't pass judgement on Altimeter. Hoof Hearted...all of the shit I've had was contract brewed so I can't really pass judgement there but of the 4 or 5 by HH I have had, all of which were subpar except for one (Dorks of Hazard?) As for TG, I've had Psuedo, King Sue and Sosus. PsuedoSue and Sosus were nice, I thought King Sue sucked.To each their own and all that good stuff.

 

Was there something(s) specific to this beer that made it "bad" for you?

Cheers!

 

It just didn't differentiate itself in an already tired "genre". Hop flavors were too subdued, not enough of that juicy/citrus fruit punch type flavor you come to expect in a nice NEIPA. It was okay just nothing I'd go out of my way to purchase.

 

FWIW it sounds to me that your drinking experience with M43 was 'better' than mine. Last fall I saw this beer on tap when I was on a road trip (I think I was in Savannah, GA at the time). I gleefully ordered a pint and to my disappointment that beer had notable hop burn. It too about 1/2 of the next beer (which needless to say was not M43) to get that bad taste out of my mouth.

Perhaps I just had the bad luck of drinking from a keg from a 'bad' batch?

Cheers!

 

Yeah that sounds brutal. Maybe you got a pour from the bottom of the keg? Regardless, that really sucks. I hate hop burn (and its best friend heart burn)

 

Hard to tell when it comes to these Juicy/Hazy IPAs since they are turbid/murky/opaque in appearance.

Cheers!

 

FWIW King Sue used to be my favorite IPA until they made it hazy a year or 2 ago. TG's IPAs in general were my all time favorites but then they changed them all into sludgey haze bombs and I won't touch them because I find them to all be equally unremarkable anymore. The new hazey shit is obviously what's being made at their new brewery and sent out under their new expanded distro footprint. I used to be a fanboy now they just disappoint, so I can see why you'd feel that way about them.

Hate to be that 'old batch was better' guy, but their hoppy offerings really went to shit IMO.

 

Specifically people on this site were saying there was a change in their "fermentation profile". I only found out about this when the wage scandal happened. Below is from a post on Trillium's website from May 21st of last year. It definitely indicates they made a change, but they don't go into specific details.

https://www.trilliumbrewing.com/trillium-news/evolving-fermentation

As you'll notice, it's simply titled, "Evolving Our Fermentation". But they don't really say what they changed to their existing recipes and/or process, just that they did change them.

"We thought a particular big leap forward occurred recently in the Permutation program and we felt strongly that it should apply it to not only to new beers but also some of our existing brands."

It was just overly raw and bitter. I gave it time to mellow out, to see if that would go away, and only did slightly.

That beer used to be so incredibly juicy, most of that was blocked out by this raw bitterness. And not the pleasant West Coast IPA bitterness, or more subtle complimenting bitterness I get on the finish of a good New England IPA.

 

Firstly, thank you for your prompt reply to my queries.

Yeah, there really is no information being provided here.

Does anybody from Trillium regularly participate on BA threads? For example, did @JCTetreault ever provide specific details about the "fermentation change"? I would think this is something they would want to properly communicate with their customers. Otherwise you just have rampant speculation on brewing matters.

That sounds similar to 'hop burn'. Have you experienced 'hop burn' in other beers? You can read above in post #90 my unpleasant experience with M43. I have only had one M43 beer (a draft pint) so far but I would be willing to drink another if I ever get a chance.

How long did you give it and under what storage conditions (e.g., did you refrigerate it)?

Cheers!

 

No problem. I like discussion about this because I've still been curious what really changed, and @honkey 's posts here have added interesting information.

I just kept it in my fridge over the course of a month. Trying it at various points throughout the month.

JC used to participate, and I think he MAY have had one or two posts during that entire Trillium wage scandal thread, but I can't speak to if he's been active since then. I don't read the current Trillium thread at all.

I try to stay mostly clear of the Tree House and Trillium threads.

 

I wouldn't say they went to shit (I still love a lot of their beers), but they definitely changed, mostly in appearance. It's crazy how all of their hoppy offerings look like OJ now, when the majority used to have just a bit of haze, but were fairly clear, vibrant beers. They just posted a new IPA on facebook yesterday and the post read something like "deliciously hazy beer". Are you really able to taste the haze???

 

What exactly did you find that differentiated the two as one being subpar and the other well made? I just had M43 for the first time this weekend in Chicago, and I thought it was pretty underwhelming actually. Not bad, just not was I was expecting. However, I've not had too many examples of any well known NEIPAs and was always under the impression that TG IPAs were of the New England variety. After seeking out a few more well know NEIPAs from other breweries, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of TG beers (King Sue, FSM etc) have a bit more bitter finish than a lot of other beers in the style, which I actually prefer.

Cheers!

 

I would say the issues I have with New Coke King Sue are more related to aroma and body. I can remember having batches of King and DDH Pseudo that smelled just like sticking your face into a jar of fresh dank weed buds. The aroma would creep out of the bottle as soon as you popped the cap and erupt throughout the room as you poured it into a glass. New King honestly smells indistinguishable from any other inferior local TreeHouse wannabe to me. Also not a fan of the heavier body that comes with haze cans. The heaviness lingers in my stomach making me feel full like I ate a slice of cake rather than having trouble putting the glass down because it's loaded with flavor AND super crushable like it used to be.

People honestly seem to love the new TG haze but nowadays is the only time I've ever seen King Sue turding it up on shelves here which has to tell you something about it. Used to be a scramble to snag a single bomber of King and I've had to call in favors to get them in the past, but I walked past a stack of 4 packs at a shop this weekend no one seemed to GAF about. Is it because King isn't the shiny new toy any more? Is it increased volume on the market? Don't know and don't care as it isn't a beer I want anymore which is a bit saddening when I consider how much I used to love it. Same with Fire Skulls & Money. I'm still holding on to some shred of hope that TG's Zeelander and Sol Hunter will return at some point in their previous form but I doubt it.

The ironic part that will probably throw you for a loop is that I love M-43. Far and away my favorite haze IPA including the stuff I've had from Treehouse, Trillium, and even other Old Nation beers. Something about that one works as-is but when existing IPAs are tailored to fit a haze template it just doesn't work for me.

 

I found m43 to have more bitterness, darkness, than most neipa. That's why I enjoy it. Its head and shoulders above the hoof I had. As for TG, I was drinking modern times, and weldwerks the same day, and there was no comparison. The flavors were muted in comparison between the TG and weldwerks examples of maple breakfast stouts. Shit, I thought zombie dust was a better beer than pseudo sue.