Henry & Fran Painting with Bob Ross

The Stats
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.1%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.33/5
- Beer Advocate: N/A
- RateBeer: N/A

Henry & Fran Brewing aren't even open for business, but are already gaining a lot of hype. Based out of West Boylston, MA, this small operation is packing big flavors into small batches of beer. I bought my Eventbrite tickets last month and made the drive to pick up my IPAs. I do not know their plans to expand and open a commercial location, but after one sip of this beer, I can say they are worth the hype.

Pours out sunset yellow in color with a murky body and a little over a finger of bright white head.

The aroma...the aroma...is...orgasmic! This is my last can and each pop of the top has resulted in a smile on my face when I dig my nose in. My dear Bruce Almighty, this is a glass of Juicy Fruit gum smothered in pineapple, and total dankness. Tropical candy and gum with peach puree and a big yeast presence explodes like Mt Vesuvius. I want to Febreeze my couch with this.

If the aroma was Mt Vesuvius, then my mouth is now the city of Pompeii and is buried underneath 20 feet of molten flavor. Pliny the Younger himself may have not survived this eruption of ecstasy.

Up front, the same candy and gum intensity from the aroma is just as big, if not bigger, here with the assist from so many tropical notes of peaches, mango, pineapple, and lots of orange peel. The orange isn't too juicy, but it tastes more like orange pulp, and plenty of it. Towards the middle, it transitions to a burst of pine and sap which reminds me of walking through a damp forest after a rain storm. Yeah, taking a hike through the woods with a glass of pineapple juice sprinkled with weed, and then you will have the same experience. The finish goes back to another injection of tropical juice, but has a kick of bitterness and hop juice. I'm getting Mrs. Doubtfire-level hot flashes drinking this.

Mouthfeel is creamy and so soft and the pine and bitterness linger for so long it's like having two sips for the price of one. Drinkability is scary high with no alcohol anywhere.

Painting with Bob Ross was a magical experience. My mind is blown by a 7.1% IPA that is so intense on aroma and flavor that I can't believe this isn't a hop-saturated DIPA. If this is just the start from Henry & Fran, then the future is so bright, I gotta wear shades.

Happy Little Tree indeed! Bust out some Van Dyke Brown and Titanium White and as always, I'd like to wish you Happy Drinking, and God bless!

Rating
9.8/10

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

Foundation Galacticon

The Stats
Style: Imperial IPA, Triple IPA
ABV: 9.4%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.39/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.47/5
- RateBeer: N/A

"Galacticon Triple IPA pours a hazy gold color, showcasing the beautiful flavors of papaya, melon, mango and white grape layered over an underlying dankness that is the hallmark of Australian Galaxy hops. Exclusively and aggressively hopped with Galaxy and Citra both in the whirlpool and the dry hop, Galacticon unleashes all of the intensity of these hops with little bitterness. The flavors and aromas of Galacticon are best enjoyed as soon as possible."

Pours out golden orange in color with a murky body and a finger of white head.

The aroma has a good amount of orange rind and citrus acidity. Some subtle dank bitterness is here too as well as a tiny bit of creamy sherbet and grapefruit.

The taste is bitter up front, bitter in the middle, and bitter in the back. However, it is also balanced with delicious citrus at the same time. Up front the dank Galaxy provides a good hop bite, but that is quickly rushed away by intense citrus zest and pulpy orange juice. As it hits the middle of the mouth, some sweeter citrus notes of clementine and tangerine take over, but the back end goes immediately back to some lingering bitter flavors and a big thud of hops on the finish. There's a minor fusel alcohol taste on each sip, but it is nearly undetectable.

Mouthfeel is full with a creamy texture. It is nearing 9% abv, but the body is in no way syrupy or thick. It drinks more like 7.5% and that can be deadly.

Galacticon was a flavorful and incredibly drinkable Double/Triple IPA. Every step of the way, the bitterness ran rampant, but it was so easy to drink that you forgot this was knocking on the door of 10% abv. The bitterness and citrus matched perfectly in this beer and it has earned its place alongside some of the better New England IPAs out there.

Rating
9.1/10

Trillium Permutation 39: Double IPA with Lactose

The Stats
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.34/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.24/5
- RateBeer: N/A

"Permutation 39 is a Double IPA brewed with lactose that delivers a hazy golden orange hue. A rush of fresh cut pineapple, orange and a sweet Mosaic hop nose set the tone, while the flavor of oranges and grapefruit pith meld into a honey character and creamy, full mouthfeel on the finish."

Pours out golden orange in color with that dirty milkshake body and a finger of slightly off-white head.

Dank hops and berries are most prominent on the aroma. The bitterness is appetizing, but is equally matched by berries, melon, and citrus zest. Lactose is hard to come by.

The taste still retains the citrus from the aroma and I get more grapefruit and other sweeter citrus notes. What else has survived from the nose? The honeydew melon is still clean and juicy, and the bitterness is produced by a delicious hop juice flavor. The lactose is much bigger here than it was on the aroma. The "milkshake ipa" craze has hit the beer scene hard and Trillium is putting their horse in the race. I do find similarities with others of a similar style with subtle vanilla notes which play off the sweet citrus flavors. It isn't the boldest example of an IPA with lactose, but the rest of the beer is fantastic, so I don't care.

Mouthfeel is creamy and so soft. No alcohol is to be found and that 8% is nowhere to be seen. Drinkability is high, but that's not a surprise with these Trillium IPAs.

Permutation 39 was a a subtle entry into the Milkshake IPA world. This one really just dips its toes in the water, but as I said before, the beer is a home run on its own without the lactose, so I am a happy camper.

Rating
9.0/10

Steel Brewing Steel Reserve 211

The Stats
Style: American Malt Liquor
ABV: 8.1%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 2.04/5
- Beer Advocate: 2.39/5 (Bottom 100: #54)
- RateBeer: 1.5/5

"The two eleven mark, based on the medieval symbol for steel, appears only on Steel Reserve(R) High Gravity lager. We use nearly twice the ingredients of many normal lagers & brew for over twice as long as many quality beers."

Pours out light orange in color with a transparent body. The picture doesn't show it, but it formed a solid two fingers of white head.

The aroma is reminiscent of many typical adjunct lagers with noticeable sweetness, grain, and corn. I do detect a hint of fusel alcohol, but nothing too overpowering.

The taste is sweeter than most other adjunct lagers due in part to a big butterscotch and caramel flavor that I am getting. It actually tends to mask the less desirable flavors, which to be honest, really aren't that bad. Yes the standard grain and corn from the aroma are here, but this isn't skunky-tasting or too off-putting, especially when drank cold. Even when it does warm up the taste never gets too sour or bitter. I think one of my only negatives is that the aftertaste is overly sweet with some metallic qualities, but that's only when the beer has reached room temperature.

Mouthfeel is light and surprisingly crisp for being over 8%. The "high gravity" has made for some cloying sweetness, but at the same time, this is still light and easy to drink.

Steel Reserve is one of the best malt liquors out there. Condescending assholes would say "Yeah, that's like being the tallest midget", but say whatever you want, but this was not as bad as I was expecting. If the abv was knocked down to standard macro lager territory, then this would be a go-to for those who are into these beers. In its current form, it goes down too easy for such a big beer and it will knock you on your ass in a hurry. Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Rating
6.0/10

Barreled Souls Stay Puft

The Stats
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.9%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.27/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.37/5
- RateBeer: 3.53/5

"An Imperial Stout made with marshmallow Fluff. Chocolate, cotton candy, and vanilla aromatics with flavors of marshmallow and dark chocolate."

So last December, I made an attempt to drive two hours north to Saco, ME for the Barreled Souls Stay Puft release. On a prior trip the year before, I visited the brewery on a Friday night and just casually walked in and saw they had the Barrel Aged version in bottles for purchase. Now, I applied this logic to this past December and figured that I could do the same for a Saturday release. I hypothesized that since the BA version lasted a few days, then the base beer would easily survive a few hours after opening this time around.

As I made the turn off of I-195 and onto U.S. Route 1, I was patting myself on the back for "outsmarting" everyone and getting to the brewery a full 20 minutes early in order to guarantee my allotment. I soon neared my destination and saw that beautiful wooden sign beckoning to me. It was at this moment that my admiration for my own advanced thinking was surpassed only by my utter astonishment at how poorly I had completely underestimated the hype.

Oh yes, packed into a relatively small parking lot fit for most insurance agencies were almost 100 of New England's finest beer enthusiasts waiting to suckle at the marshmallow teet known as Stay Puft and Peanut Butter Stay Puft. I swallowed what was left of my pride, found a spot half taken up by a snow bank, and got in line. Needless to say, I was about still 60ish deep even 20 minutes after opening when they announced the bottles were gone. Still, I got my pours and spent the rest of the day exploring the beer scene in the Pine Tree State.

Due to the unexpected demand, Barreled Souls announced they'd do another release and on a bigger scale. Upon hearing this, you bet your sweet ass I was going to guaran-damn-tee I would be left holding more than just my dick in my hand on this release day. So again, I made the drive one Saturday morning to the brewery and made sure I got there early enough to set myself up for success.

Luckily I was victorious this time around and walked away with this elusive beauty. After all the heartache and hype, what will I think of Stay Puft?

Pours out jet black and has some ruby red hues when held up to the light. A solid finger of dark brown head sits on top like the proverbial cherry on a sundae.

No surprises on the aroma as marshmallow inundates (what's with the $2 words?) my nostrils with a  vanilla and Fluff bomb. A nice helping of dark chocolate syrup and muted graham cracker notes bring the s'mores dream to life. I also get a fruity, cherry flavor too. Maybe this has some Russian Imperial Stout qualities to it, but I can see where the candy aromas are coming from on this one. As it warms, brown sugar, some toasted coconut, wood, and more of those fruity notes (now more strawberry) come to the front of the line. It is a decadent-smelling beer.

The taste is a little muted when compared to the flavors from the aroma, but they all still answer role call during 1st period History...

VOICE IN MY HEAD: You doin' ok?

...The Marshmallow Fluff is clearly the intended star and it has found a cozy spot on each one of my taste buds. There is some booze on the taste and it is a slight tick above "noticeable", but I'll allow it (Mills Lane voice) with a nearly 11% stout. Dark chocolate-covered cherries come at me next and make for a nice, romantic evening in my mouth. Some leftover oak and wood from the aroma pick up near the middle and even some tobacco and char come in for good measure. The back end come in with a refined alcohol taste and some moments of dark fruits, but the alcohol seems a bit too strong for my liking here, especially on the finish.

Mouthfeel is full and fluffy. Again, alcohol presence isn't shy, but I can power past it and forgive all sins. Being a big beer with boozy tendencies makes it a sipper, but the marshmallow and chocolate flavors are able to keep it in the dessert beer category.

Stay Puft has an intoxicating aroma and a flavor profile with solid dessert stout qualities and the alcohol to match. The s'mores experience was faithfully recreated, but I do wish the alcohol was dialed back a bit in order to have the taste match the aroma. Still, it's a dessert stout worthy of an after dinner indulgence.

Rating
8.6/10

Trillium Permutation 33: Double IPA with Vic Scret & Citra

The Stats
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 7.6%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.37/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.45/5
- RateBeer: 3.49/5

"Permutation 33 present a milky light straw color with a slight orange hue. A dank nose of mango skin, honeydew, bright hop, strawberry, and lemon leads into a palate of cantaloupe, grapefruit pith, and fresh hop. Permutation 33 has a full body and mouthfeel."

Pours out orange in color with that creamy, murky, milkshake body and a finger of white head.

Dank hops, orange juice, and tart lemon come forth on the aroma with orange sherbet, pineapple, and some grapefruit.

The typical Trillium IPA characteristics are all here as this is forward with the big orange and citrus notes from the aroma, and, also like the nose, the orange creme and sherbet flavors are not being shy. The Vic Secret though is what accounts for all the bitterness and it is a smaller dank bite than, let's say, Galaxy hops, but here, they are just as robust as Galaxy complete with mouth-watering dank qualities. Believe it or not, some of that lemon swoops in and adds a refreshing splash of flavor to a beer that is being dominated by sugary sorbet and dank bitterness. The back end finishes with more of that bitter bite and the hops linger for days on the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is full and creamy. It feels so smooth from start to finish and it is highly drinkable.

Permutation 33 was one of my favorites of the series thanks to the teamwork of heavy citrus and delectable bitterness. Some of the more recent offerings in the series, while good, were a bit too big to be what I would consider easy-drinking beers. This however provides just as much (if not more) flavor, but you can attack this one with ease.

Rating
9.2/10