Trillium & J. Wakefield Tiramisu

The Stats
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.6%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.45/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.51/5
- RateBeer: 3.7/5

"We teamed up with Miami's J. Wakefield Brewing to create another Italian dessert inspired decadent stout! This time we captured elements of Tiramisu in this Imperial Stout with five hundred pounds of Lady Fingers from Salem, Massachusetts based AJs Bakery, Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans, Brown Sugar, and coffee from Mostra & Barrington. Tiramisu leads with powerful aromas of deeply roasted coffee, rich dark chocolate, vanilla, and a backbone of freshly baked cake and subtle caramelized brown sugar. The palate continues with more dark chocolate, vanilla, brownie batter, and heavy, creamy coffee. A thick, viscous, latte-like mouthfeel leaves a coating on the glass and lingering, satisfying sweetness in the mouth"

Pours out and sits pitch black. The photo doesn't show it, but it had over two fingers of dark brown, volcanic head. The head actually disappeared in seconds much like soda.

On the aroma, I am immediately hit with fresh coffee beans and something similar to peanuts. Vanilla cookies ("Nilla Wafers) with very subtle bourbon heat also come to play. I'm imagining a fresh bundt cake covered in vanilla frosting.

The taste is a bit more aggressive with the bitter coffee notes, but at the same time, it is (not surprisingly) very sweet with the bourbon vanilla beans. When combined, they form the tag team Coffee Liqueur who are undefeated with 14 successful title defenses and 89 cage matches to their credit. So, yeah, pretty strong I'd say. Back to reality (oh, there goes gravity), it has a similar taste to a Black Russian with the vanilla beans almost pushing it into White Russian territory. Fresh cake, I keep going back to fresh, crumbly, Angel Food cake, but it is topped with Kahlua. I think that's the best way I can sum this one up: Cookies, cake, coffee liqueur. Oh, maybe even some honey sweetness and some molasses and maple syrup too.

Mouthfeel is thick and viscous like a 10% stout ought to be. I mentioned some boozy heat, but it is ok in this case. Despite being a big beast of a dessert stout, I am having no issue getting through the 750ml bottle.

Tiramisu was another great collaboration between these two breweries. As compared to the other Wilfred Brimley stout pushed out by Trillium, I found this one to have less cloying sweetness and a bit more complexity with it's flavor profile. I wish I had more bottles...I guess with this one gone, I really Tira-miss-U!

No, please come back. I promise no more puns!

Rating
9.2/10

Trillium and J. Wakefield Brewing Affogato

The Stats
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 13.3%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.54/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.52/5
- RateBeer: 4.02/5

"In collaboration with J. Wakefield Brewing, Affogato Imperial Stout is inspired by a few of our brewers’ favorite summertime pick-me-up (& cool-me-down) Barrington’s affogato. Our Affogato Imperial Stout is delectable, decadent, and smooth. Brewed with a blend of Barrington & Mostra beans, Affogato leads with aromas reminiscent of Vietnamese Iced Coffee (cà phê đá) - powerful course ground dark roast coffee poured over sweetened condensed milk & ice. Flavors of dark espresso, tiramisu, sweet chocolate cake, and smooth vanilla swirl across the palate. Rich flavor & a dark, inviting appearance, Affogato Imperial Stout is our answer to a sweet summertime treat."

Pours like a typical imperial stout with a pitch black body and brown on the edges. Not much head was generated on the pour (13%), but what was there was light brown and disappeared quickly.

The base stout is letting off aromas of dark chocolate and they are mixing in beautifully with this rich coffee. I also pick up sugary caramel and a dollop of vanilla. Rich lactose sugar also runs wild with creamy iced coffee and almost a nutty, hazelnut (or even peanut butter) quality.

As expected, the taste is sweet, sticky, and sugary. Putting the obvious aside, this is a decadent dessert beer. Despite not being made with chocolate, the rich, dark, fudgy chocolate flavors are exploding on the taste. It's kind of like brownie batter, but more bitter in flavor. Next on the list is the vanilla. which is assisted by the lactose sugar to produce almost a muddled sugar taste which leaves residual flavors on my tongue with each sip. More of that caramel is here along with butterscotch candy. The warmer it gets, I get more fluffy milk chocolate. Deep in the back, the base beer lets off dark roasted malts and the smallest amount of black cherries.

Mouthfeel is silky and calm. Carbonation is non-existent, and as previously mentioned, this one sticks to everything. I do think at times the sugary sweetness can be a bit much, so some carbonation would have helped to move this along, but it's not a big enough of a disturbance to ruin my day. The alcohol is nowhere to be found. I don't even get the slightest hint of warming which is impressive.

Affogato was similar to Trillium's Trillbomb in the sense that this might require a diabetes test after consumption, but the end result was a stellar beer. While the base Imperial Stout is only partially noticeable, this dessert beer was rich, sweet, and complex. Coffee lovers, vanilla lovers, chocolate lovers, and anyone else can all unite as Affogato hits all the right notes. Who knows, maybe they'll make a barrel aged version one day...oh wait...they did! Is that foreshadowing? Well, you'll just have to tune in for future reviews to find out...*evil laugh*

Rating
9.1/10