Trinity Brewing Company – Awaken (Chicory Coffee Stout): Good To The Last Drop
Monday, September 20, 2010 at 9:29PM | by Jason 
Saturday September 18th - While in Colorado for GABF we decided to head south to Colorado Springs to see some old friends who now work for Trinity Brewing Company. We sampled a couple of brews while in the GABF hall but being there is something that you can’t experience while being at GABF. From the outside, Trinity is very unassuming but once inside, it is a place of beauty. It is hard to describe all of the cool things inside the brewpub as there is so much to take in. They have a huge bar with an illuminated recycled glass bar top that glows and provides an almost angelic like effect to the beer sitting in your glass if it is of the lighter variety. The tap handles are made of carved wood and are of a quality that should be sitting in an art gallery or museum. Because I tried a sample of Trinity Brewing Company’s Awaken in the hall, I decided that it would be a must experience while at the brewery. What’s even better is that it was available via nitrogen tap which provide a creamier and silkier mouth feel. Awaken Chicory Coffee Stout is ready and so am I.
Trinity Brewing Company classifies Awaken as a Coffee Stout and their menu describes Awaken as, “A dark, creamy and surprisingly drinkable Dry Stout. As you would expect from the brewers at Trinity, this stout is anything but mainstream. Starting the base recipe with ten malts and three hop varieties, we age the resulting ale on award winning Amante Espresso and Chicory to create balanced and pleasing bitter notes. Served on either CO2, Nitrogen, or specialty batch hand drawn cask.”
Awaken pours a pitch black with a minimal ½” in light brown head. The aroma is a very sweet roasted malt/coffee scent with hints of toffee and caramel.
I grabbed a draft of the Nitro version and all I can say is “holy shit.” This is an amazingly sweet coffee stout. There is a balance that is rarely achieved by most coffee stouts as it’s consistent throughout. It starts with a sweet malty flavor with hints of caramel and vanilla and carries all the way through till the finish and compliments with a coffee flavor the entire way. This brew lives up to its name as it awakens your taste buds with an alarm clock of flavor that is sure to keep you from hitting the snooze button. I am so glad that we made it to Colorado Springs to see Shannon and Kevin and to share some great brews at Trinity Brewing Company with some good friends. If you’re in the Colorado Springs area you need to visit Trinity, you won’t be disappointed.
ABV: 6.0%
Consumed: Mug Glass
Verdict: Buy A Case
