Speed Mettle
Trillium Brewing Company

Delivered in a nearly full clear pint glass it came, after being drawn from a tap. There's little off-white head, as that's how we pour draft beers in Philadelphia. The liquid is very hazy, dark and dull lemon-amber in color. Light citrusy hops and very modest starches catch the nose. The taste is bolder than its aroma, with more of a complex hop bite than expected. There are aspects of pine and zest to go with the citrus reference. During the finish, there's even some earthiness. Unfortunately, the malt counterbalance is almost a no-show. For a lover of traditional IPAs, this falls short on the level of barley malt in the mix and flaked wheat just isn't an acceptable substitute. So, whatever starches present are good enough to provide a decent mouthfeel, but provide only a shallow layer to the overall taste. But, that gets mitigated by the remarkable hop-centric taste, which compensates. The scant glass lacing bears witness to the complaint about the lack of barley malt. The ABV fits nicely within the hop bite. Overall, this is a hop-head delight, but not as much for an IPA purist.

On draft at the Bull's Head Public House in Lititz PA.

Pours a very hazy light orange with good foam, great lacing. Smells powerfully of fresh grapefruit juice and ripe oranges. Flavor is the same, insanely juicy grapefruit and orange. Just so fresh and clean, slightly sweet, with a bitter kick of citrus rind on the back end and a little cream. Small but very effective malt presence. There's a gnarly bitterness on the back end and it's a complex dry finish that moves through shades of citrus and dankness very well. The front end is incredibly deep with powerful fruit, some of the most incredible I've had. Feel is great, surprisingly light and refreshing but smooth enough to let the hop flavors shine. Medium body, no alcohol, all lovely hops.

Overall, the last Trillium draft I had was soapy dishwater. Undrinkable. This was a perfect pour into the right glassware and 2 days since the keg was tapped and this meets my expectations. Lovely lovely stuff and deserving of the score.

 

 

 

On tap at Canton

Pouring a beautiful pale and hazy golden orange color, Speed Mettle offers an intense aromatic display of papaya, juicy mango, and candied orange. An extra dose of whirlpool hops brings out a beautiful citrus zest-meets-floral undertone, creating welcomed complexity as the glass warms. Impressively soft, with very mild bitterness and a dry finish, we're thrilled to see Speed Mettle make a return six years after its debut.

Pale milky hazy orange

Aroma is citrus,tropical fruits , papaya , candied orange

Taste is tropical fruits, papaya

Semi dry , gentle hop kiss on the finish

Good beer

 

 

Can poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery pint glass

A: Pours hazy golden amber with a frothy off white head that settles out somewhat quickly and leaves a tin bit of spotty lacing.

S: Juicy tropical and stone fruit, lively citrus, a bit floral, slightly grassy, faint herbal notes, biscuity malt, and caramel sweetness.

T: Mix of citrus, tropical, and stone fruit, mango, passion fruit, orange/tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, peach, apricot, and a touch of guava, resinous grassy slightly herbal notes, biscuity malt, and caramel sweetness.

M: Medium body, moderately prickly carbonation, yet still soft on the palate.

O: Classic flavor combo, juice factor is nicely balanced with IBUs, really easy drinking for 8%. Not sure what's up with the mystery of the disappearing head. Really solid, I'd happily drink another, but nothing ground breaking, at least not these days. That being said, it's been around for a while, so I could see it being at the cutting edge when first launched.

Speeding through the streets of Boston can get tiresome. Especially when naming IPA after each and every one of them, the dizzying array of flavors at break-neck speed can really test the mettle. And thus a new idea for a Trillium beer.

Milky and pale gold, Speed Mettle crowns with a creamy white meringue and a bold tropical scent that's of creamy tropical fruit cocktail. Sweet on the tongue, the early flavors are redolent with pound cake, honeysuckle and cereal.

As the malts dry slightly on the middle palate, the flood of hops pull from the scent and deliver a wallop of juicy pineapple, mango, passionfruit and papaya with a soothing coconut and vanilla backdrop. Racy with secondary flavors of orange, grapefruit and lime, and the fruit cocktail is complete. Smooth in its bitterness, the late taste is spicy with fruit skins, green tea and verbena.

Full, creamy and smooth, Speed Mettle finishes on the drier and spicier side of malty dry, especially for stronger, hazier IPA. Its trails into a medium-long aftertaste of leaf spices and peppery grasses with elements of fruit peels in tow.

Had on tap at Canton. Pours hazy, milky gold in color with one quarter inch head. Taste is grapefruit, grass and lemon. heavy body, moderate carbonation, slightly bitter. I wanted to like this one more as I remember Mettle being a huge favorite years ago. This just seemed like every other smoothed out hazy. Not bad but not my thing.

 

 

Very orange in color with a slight tinge of yellow. Head is bright white, however it quickly goes away....seems very typical of these type beers in my opinion. Nose is typical citrus, to be honest all the NE style Trilliums are same nose and taste. Sorry I can't be more descriptive.

It’s not bad because it’s super juicy. Then again, is it also bad because it’s super juicy? Raul has pretty much shunned the Hazy game because it’s beer league softball vs the Major Leagues. Sure, juice is tasty and stuff, but is it just the easy way out? Is it like hitting an underhand looper vs Concrete Joe The Foreman as opposed to squaring up vs Nolan Ryan heat? I’d like to think so. And because the Raul man believes in competition, he’d rather face Nolan over Tubby The Bricklayer. If I strike out, so be it. But at least I challenged myself.

 

Thats Tom! Canned 04/20/21
Wow, the nose burst forth with citrus zest, pineapple, mango, and sweet wet grain.A tingly herbal dank note pops in after the fruit flush.
Flavor follows the nose, and then goes forever forward. Zesty lemon, mango, peach, and undertones of grass. A very pleasing sweet bread dough carries this melange of fruitiness. Again, the herbal note heads toward lemongrass and mild weed.
Mouthfeel is active in the carbonation, a bit fluffy in feel, and the finish goes a tad dry with the herbal notes becoming a bit peppery.
Really solid.

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: New England Double / Imperial IPA
Glass: Firestone 16-oz. Spiegelau IPA glass
Price: n/a
From: Darin
Purchased: n/a; Received Jan. 2, 2021
Consumed: Jan. 3, 2021
Misc.: Canned on Nov. 20, 2020 at 9:49 a.m. ET

Thanks, Darin!

Was lucky enough to have this and nine others sent to me by Darin. Started with this one mainly because it was the oldest canned on date. Their website called this “Pouring a beautiful pale and hazy golden orange color, Speed Mettle offers an intense aromatic display of papaya, juicy mango, and candied orange. An extra dose of whirlpool hops brings out a beautiful citrus zest-meets-floral undertone, creating welcomed complexity as the glass warms. Impressively soft, with very mild bitterness and a dry finish, we're thrilled to see Speed Mettle make a return six years after its debut.” Hops mentioned were Citra and Amarillo.

Poured a medium pale-to-light golden hazy color with four fingers of rocky-to-frothy head. Could see bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass. Excellent foamy lacing. Perfect retention. (Sight - 4.75)

Smelled big Citra and Amarillo notes as well. Also grapefruit, tangerine, orange, Amarillo, guava, mango, peach and lemon zest. Not quite as good out of the can. (Smell - 4.25)

Tasted even better than the nose. Big Citra, red grapefruit, peach skin, tangerine, orange, Amarillo, citrus pulp, guava, papaya, mango and peppery spice. (Taste - 4.25)

Medium body. Oily texture. Lively carbonation. Long, citrusy finish. (Feel - 4.50)

Damn. About as good as I hoped. (Overall - 4.25)

4.31 | 96 | A

16 oz can, dated 4/20/21, poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden straw with a small white head.

S- Citrus, grapefruit, some lime zest, hints of tropical fruits, slightly dank.

T- Citrus, grapefruit, a little dank, some lime zest, touch of tropical fruits.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A tasty NEIPA, easy to drink. Still has a great hop bite for being over two months old.