Trillium Congress Street IPA (No Longer Great?!) Review - Ep.

[@Todd-lv8ih]

Great review. Trillium hasnt been Trillium for years. When they first expanded they were making chalk water. Now at least it's pallettable again, but it's a shell of what it once was. I always go back to my untapped reviews to see exactly when they fell off and get depressed as to how good it once was..

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

Yeah, I too remember the golden era of hazy, including their brews.

[@derekyost3108]

I will say I've had good Trillium beers as recently as yesterday, just not Congress Street anymore

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

@@derekyost3108 So which ones are good?

[@derekyost3108]

@@DarwinsBeerReviews This is why I need to do Untappd reviews. Recently I really liked Willamette Valley and Arboretum. Had a tap takeover in Phoenixville, PA with 7 or 8 beers. Way too expensive, but one way to try a bunch without buying $32 4-packs

[@Ppluvr215]

Visiting the taproom in canton leaves a lot to be desired, too. One beer truck outside with a long line, plastic cups, and a massive restaurant with expensive, basic food. Treehouse is 50x better in every respect

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

That sucks. Then again, I would count that as a win vs. drinking macro or faux macro beer...

[@ollyoceango]

Great review as always. You should review Winter IPA by Peak Brewing. I think you'd really like it. Do you have any recommendations for low abv IPAs? Something between 6% - 6.5%

[@sheintz7]

Agreed. When the market was much lighter on amazing hazy breweries, Trillium was one of the greats. But its been slowly sliding in quality, especially compared to many other newer hazy breweries that have just been crushing it... and even if you ignore those, the quality has just gone slightly downhill in general as volume has increased IMHO.

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

And ain't that a shame?

[@robertdugan3684]

I don't even bother with trillium anymore. So many times I've gotten em and it's grassy hop burn central. Tree house flagships are under $4 a can and significantly better

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

Glad Tree House is still crushing it.

[@curtisbrause9255]

I had this for the first time and honestly kind of hated it, and I’m usually not hyper critical of beers like that. I couldn’t finish it. Based on your review and the general Untappd reviews I think it’s entirely possible I just got a bad can but I’m not sure. It just had an odd flavor up front that was hard to pin down and just this huge earthy vegetal note on the finish. To me it sort of solidified hearing what brewers have been saying that some lots of Galaxy can be really bad these days. I was at Trillium a few years ago and enjoyed everything quite a bit but the can drops we’ve gotten have been just ok to fairly good. Except HDHC Like Like Whoa Whoa in collab with Other Half. That was excellent and brewed at Trillium.

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

I mean, I think that's just the beer. That harsh vegetal note. Do you know if it was old?

[@curtisbrause9255]

@ I don’t think so since it was a new drop but it didn’t have a canned on date. I’m guessing it was canned in October at some point. It might have just been the beer and wasn’t for me.

[@ChadzBeerReviews]

I also just reviewed this. I don't think I've ever had it before except maybe an ounce or two at a bottleshare in 2014. To me it was a more that solid, to-spec hazy. I gave it a 9 out of 10.

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

Have you had Other Half? Those have blown be away recently.

[@ChadzBeerReviews]

@@DarwinsBeerReviews yes many. they're all essentially the same to me. I have a can of 'Cabbage' in the fridge now.

[@heytherebato]

It’s been hit or miss based on what we get in california imo, and they are fresh too. Too many times is just green and burning. Just not what I expect. Other Half is way more consistent. Not sure you can say they’re top five when you literally said you’ll probably skip them next time

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

Yeah, I've found the same. And I meant Top 5 as in what general consensus would say if you asked beer geeks "What are the top NE IPA Breweries?"

[@squatchybrewdude5281]

I drank this on draft at the brewery 3 weeks ago when I was in Boston and bought a fresh 4 pack on the road when I was in Ohio. It’s definitely not Tree House and is way over priced for a 7% ipa. I don’t think is as bad as you say but kind of mellow. Probably would not buy cans again of it because of the price.Cheers 🍻Did you see Fat Heads is canning double dry hopped head hunter? 😳

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

Dang, DDH sounds insane. And yeah, I too paid quite a bit for it myself.

[@br1763]

I remember those old Congress Street days trying to squeeze by people in that little space to get your growlers. I agree they are not what they used to be. It feels like these days their business is not so much about producing the best possible beer as it is about catering to the people that want to have a nice brewery/taproom experience in/around Boston. I also think they may have expanded too much too ambitiously and lost the plot a little bit in the process, but that is another discussion altogether.

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

Yeesh. Sounds like a lot of peopple are feeling the same about the quality of the brews.

[@br1763]

@@DarwinsBeerReviews Yeah the beer is good, but not outstanding anymore. It's a bit sad, but they took an aggressive approach to expanding. It's funny they are sending beers to Florida but you never see them in stores in MA anymore. It makes me wonder if they don't ship off their extra stock to stores in MA to avoid giving the impression they have excess inventory that they can't move, especially with Tree House never ever offloading to stores.

[@robc5051]

I used MBC to buy this beer among some others nad I was very disappointed by it - can was fresh, too. That was back in 2021.

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

Dang, that was a while ago.

[@gatorz1209]

Odd, I had it fresh recently and reminded me of Galaxy circa 2017

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

That's dope. Glad you had a really job batch!

[@felipesparks5267]

It’s not good anymore IMO. And going to their taproom requires taking out a loan. Like $9 for a 5% pale ale. Or $8 for a witbier.

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

Jeez. I guess that is Northeast beer prices though...

[@profssrfunk]

think you need a new glass homie

[@lt2tanks]

Exactly what I was thinking, needs a washing with the brown ring on the bottom

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

It needs a good scrubbing with a brush.

[@lt2tanks]

@@DarwinsBeerReviews nah, a quick wash and back in business, love the videos, keep them coming sir

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

@@lt2tanks Got a good scrub going. It's still got a bit of a ring, but better now.

[@robertdugan3684]

​@@DarwinsBeerReviews try giving it a hot oxyclean free soak or PBW if you have it on hand or know anyone who does. It's a miracle cleaner

[@greenlenny3926]

It’s not very fresh and these been on the shelf since September in Denver shops… pre GABF

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

That's not too long ago.

[@SmartDave60]

Maybe hazy is dead?

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

I wouldn't dare say that.

[@SmartDave60]

@ I find myself actively looking for 2000s examples of west coast IPA. e.g. Green Flash

[@andrewwalczewski343]

my family is from Traverse City, I was born in Indiana, but my brother was born there.

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

Nice! Cheers!

[@johnnyappleseed9568]

Top 5 Hazy Brewers: Trillium Treehouse Alchemist Bissell Brothers Equilibrium

[@sheintz7]

Maybe a few years ago... I think Treehouse is definitely still there but I can think of a bunch of other breweries I'd prefer to drink hazy from than these. The last few EQ I've had (and I've tried a good 12-20 in the past year) have actually been pretty terrible. Like drain pour bad. And their relatively fresh (4-6 weeks fresh at my distributor) they just don't age at ALL. I'd agree with Darwin on Trill too. Back in the day, easy Top 3-5, now might squeeze into my top 10. I'm not even going to try to list an inventory of all the others that I think I would at least consider for Top 10, but a few that are top of mind - Monkish, Brujos, Other Half, Evergrain (probably never even heard of them, but come to PA and try em'), Freak Folk, Fidens, Root + Branch, Messorem, Hidden River... could easily think of even a few more if I wanted to take more than 2 minutes to think.

[@sheintz7]

Troon, North Park, Oakflower... thought of a few more after hitting Reply

[@johnnyappleseed9568]

@@sheintz7 other half is another one of my favorites

[@DarwinsBeerReviews]

From my recent palate and what I actually have had. Alchemist, Other Half, Tree House.

[@sheintz7]

@@DarwinsBeerReviewsis there a way to send you beers to review?