Death Mettle
Trillium Brewing Company

Can poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery pint glass

A: Pours hazy peachy golden amber with a frothy eggshell tan head that settles to a firm layer and laces beautifully.

S: A bit grassy and resinous, juicy almost over ripe tropical and stone fruit, lively citrus, light floral notes, biscuity malt, and caramel sweetness.

T: Resinous, zesty juicy citrus, grapefruit, orange/tangerine, and lemon, ripe tropical and stone fruit, apricot, peach, mango, pineapple, passion fruit, and a hint of melon, a bit grassy, light floral notes, biscuity malt, and caramel sweetness, with some alcohol poking through.

M: Full body, slightly prickly mild to moderate carbonation, creamy, with a touch of hop burn and alcohol warmth poking through.

O: I'll be the first to admit that TIPAs aren't my favorite hoppy style, but after having some good experiences with other Mettle variants, and given it's high rating on here, I absolutely snapped up a can so I could give this one a try. Credit where it's due, they pulled out some good flavors and it brings the intensity you want from a big beer. Unfortunately, for me, it feels a bit rough around the edges, which is surprising considering how smooth regular Mettle is. Good, but not great. I can't say that I'd pick up another can if it showed up in my neck of the woods again, but if someone offered to split one with me I wouldn't turn it down.

 

 

 

 

Pours a hazy, milky light orange with a 1F head and light lacing.

Smells of slightly dank floral, piney hops with pungent citrus and sweet fruit.

Tastes of tangy wheat, tart grapefruit, orange, lemon and cantaloup with an assertively bitter, boozy warm finish. As one's glass warms, the sweeter citrus gets swamped by the hop bitterness.

Medium heavy body with light pickily carbonation. Lush, smooth, slightly syrupy mouthfeel.

This a big, bold, bitter, brawny hop bomb of a brew. Right up there with "Turducken". It's a workout for your tastebuds. Not for beginners.

 

 

 

 

Had on tap Canton. Pours milky hazy, orange gold in color with one inch head. Taste is pulpy orange juice and lime juice. Very heavy body, slightly bitter, low carbonation. Holy hell is this thick.

Worth the wait. Outstanding!

 

 

Sweet orange/tangerine citrus, tropical hoppy, and slightly malty nose on this one! Taste follows with a smooth and juicy, hoppy and grapefruit citrus bitter swallow. As it warms, the grapefruit citrus bitterness becomes stronger and more dominant...lingers a while on the back of the throat. This is nice and soft on the palate...and wears the heavy ABVs well. Fantastic!

 

This was one of many Trillium beers that I traded for with a friend recently, as he made a run up there right around Halloween. Never heard of this one before and even though it's quite potent, this was easily one of the best brews that I've had from them and one of the best Imperial IPA's that I've ever had. While the booze sneaked up on me, the taste and mouthfeel were deliciously enjoyable from the get-go down to the last sip!

As was typical for their offerings, this beer had a golden, muted, creamy look to it with a fair amount of light seeping through. Plenty of head topped it off as it settled nice and evenly but there was hardly any lacing left behind as I worked my way through this. Loads of mango, papaya, fruit cocktail, and pineapple in the slightly subdued nose as they wonderfully and harmoniously burst forth in the taste. The barley and wheat gave this a full, lively body while nicely balancing out the hops at the same time as the mouthfeel was vigorously dank and outdoorsy, especially in the aftertaste. A ton of the stone fruit and some garlic and onion spiciness also lingered once I finished this off, as they easily left me wanting another sip once the liquid in my pint glass quickly emptied out.

Yeah, there's booze here and no amount of nectar, slickness, sweetness, citrus zest, or hops could fully detract from the fact that this was a sneaky beer when it came to it's heft. Sure, you'll feel the buzz from this but with so much other goodness going on, you'll hardly even notice. Canned on the 10/01, this was a fabulous brew with a label that was completely appropriate for Halloween. Get this if you can and thank Trillium for pushing the edge of what an Imperial IPA is fully capable of!

 

Canned 10/01/2020. Enjoyed 10/29/2020.