Goblin's Trill
Bellwoods Brewery

 

 

Dec 2 2025

 

Pours cloudy yellow with a rocky, everlasting cap. The aroma is of pineapple, grapefruit and Vicks lozenges. The taste is citrusy, resiny hops with eucalyptus and pine notes. A light bready ballast provides balance. The mouthfeel is full bodied with creamy, luscious carbonation. High bitterness and a bit of astringency in the everlasting finish.

A nice DIPA with a brash hop profile. Worth a try.

We all like a competition. A short while ago Blood Brothers and Bellwood's made a beer in collaboration. They both made their own version of an 8% (double?) IPA. I'm going to see who made the better beer.

Taste is bold and strong for an IPA. Lots of bitter citrous and pineapple flavors.
A fair amount of alcohol taste.
Although I prefer an IPA that' a little more light, this is a decent one but only if you like hardcore IPA's.
So drinking both beers basically back to back, who made the better beer?
Overall when it come's to beers I prefer Bellwood's, but on the double IPA challenge here I think Blood Brothers made the better beer hands down. There is a real difference and I'm sure you could tell if you put both of them side by side like I did. It got me thinking now that I should pay some more attention to Blood Brothers, even though I found them just ok in the past. I'll have to buy some more beers to find out.

Now normally I don't go for these stronger IPA's. It's not entirely my cup of tea, although I like them here and there. So I apologize for a lower score than maybe what you would of gave them. A fan of these strong IPA's would maybe rate this higher but when comparing to the Blood Brothers version I don't think anyone would think Bellwood's made a better beer here.
Bellwood's pay attention. You've been beaten fair and square. Congratulations to Blood Brothers.

Leading an outing of The Responsible Beer Drinking Club, at The Cookie Bar on Drouillard Rd. in nearby Windsor; on tap and chilled, 4oz. in a flight of four beers. My fifteenth beer from the Toronto, Ontario brewery, and tenth for 2025...

The Bellwoods/Blood Brothers collaboration brought us two creations: Devil's Sauce and this one here.
Now, Blood Brothers, as good as they are, could not save the original Goblin Sauce. I just hope that Belwoods doesn't ruin a Blood Brothers Trill.
Let's see.
Pours light orange and quite carbonated. The head is just bubbles of carbonation. Not very appealing. The nose is citrus but also a little bit of dishwater. The taste is quite disappointing. Just bitter citrus without any character or balance. Annoyingly dry. My goodness, what a miss.
Honestly, Blood Brothers should collaborate with Badlands or Bandit. Bellwoods just doesn't cut it.

473 ml can served cold into a chalice. LCBO purchase. Review from notes

Appearance - Hazy rich golden brew with yellow highlights. A finger plus of off-white head and good retention. Curtain style lacing.

Smell - Tropical notes mostly, with pineapple and mango leading the way.

Taste - Some dankness, plenty of pineapple. Medium bitterness that ramps up towards the end.

Mouthfeel - Medium-full bodied, ABV well disguised. Fairly juicy and definitely an enjoyable tipple.

Overall - Another winner from Bellwoods.

473 mL can from the brewery; dated Aug 26 2025 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy, turbid pale yellow colour, taking on more of a golden hue when held to a bright light. Just over an inch of bumpy, foamy white head lasts for a few minutes, rapidly deteriorating to a frothy cap and a thin collar. A modest ring of lace roughly half a cm thick decorates the perimeter of the glass; looks fine so far. I'm getting a lot of bubble gum on the nose, but there's also plenty of fruity notes to be had: passion fruit, tangerine, pineapple candy, peach drink and mango, as well as hints of floral, grassy hops.

The flavours follow the same basic outline, just with different emphasis. Grapefruit, pineapple, lime and peach at the forefront, with notes of mango, orange and bubble gum developing mid-sip. Hints of tropical fruits, e.g. passion fruit & papaya, are also briefly discernible, with citrus pith, floral hops and resiny, herbal bitterness tying up the back end. Grapefruit and pineapple dissipate into a slightly resiny, weakly warming aftertaste. Nearing full-bodied, with assertive carbonation that adds a good, firm bite to this brew's smooth, juicy mouthfeel. Amazing drinkability for 8%.

Final Grade: 4.35, an astounding A grade. Goblin's Trill is a fantastic brew that I highly encourage all Ontario BAs to seek out and try for themselves as soon as possible. This brew has also been the beneficiary of an LCBO release, so you don't necessarily need to order it directly from Bellwoods (as is frequently the case with their one-offs and seasonals). Its blend of citrus, tropical fruits, stone fruit and bubble gum flavours is potent and enticing - I finished this glass off very quickly, a telltale sign of a top notch DIPA. Great stuff.