HDHC Like Whoa
Trillium Brewing Company

 

16oz can dated 5/30/23.

Pours murky gold with a short-lived head of white. Minimal retention or lacing. Pungent white grape, peach, mango in the nose. Medium bodied with a slickish, chalky mouthfeel. Unripe, pithy citrus on the palate with minimal malt and a substantial bitterness. Mango, pineapple, orange zest, candied peach. Finishes fairly raw but juicy.

 

 

I had a four pack of this stashed in the bottom of the fridge, not even knowing what it was. A friend had loaded me up with a selection of beers over the holidays, and LIKE WHOA was in the mix. I know this is tagged as a IIPA, but it doesn’t look like one. After the first two minutes, it looks more like a glass of Orangina Tropical, than a beer. If someone placed six unlabeled pints of IIPA’s in front of you to sample, I’d say this would be the last one you would reach for, based on looks alone. The nose is really tropical and rich with ripe honeydew notes, mint and lime. The taste is dominated by a grassy and citrusy hop notes with a hint of tangerine. The high abv hides well in the background. The mouthfeel is medium with a soft fizzy carbonation that seems to be just perfectly suited for this outstanding NE-style IIPA - which is what it is. I’m assuming it’s only labeled a IIPA because the original version was a collaboration with Other Half (of Brooklyn). Overall, this is an excellent beer that I would have rated higher if it were categorized as a NE-style IIPA, vs. just an IIPA.

 

 

 

Drank from a 1 pt. (16 fl.oz.) can purchased at Trillium Brewing Company, Boston, MA
02/22/21
Served in a tulip

The beer poured a super pale yellow hue that looked very similar to what would be described as “mellow yellow” on a color chart. A film of small white bubbles topped the liquid, but it dissolved almost instantaneously. In a typical Trillium fashion, there was also no lacing.

The nose was super dank and musty. Fresh, high quality cannabis came to mind. Big honeydew melon presence as well. Some guava and mango too. Citrus was also detectable. White grapefruit specifically. Hint of tangerine.

The flavor profile was quite different from the nose. White grapefruit dominated. Fairly pithy and bitter. Juicy kumquat and clementine notes were also apparent. Tart and somewhat lemony in the center. More grapefruit and bitter grapefruit rind on the back end and the finish.

The mouthfeel was slightly thinner than I anticipated. A fine, fairly zippy effervescence gave the liquid a light fluffiness on the palate.

This Freaky Friday Trill x Other Half collab was quite raw and bitter initially but improved considerably with a month of age. Despite the “high density hop charge,” the lean body and lack of excess maltiness made this quite drinkable.

 

 

 

Had this on 2021-03-03, 2021-05-30 and an old can in the fridge on 2025-07-07 near Pittsburgh, PA; all from 16oz canned on 2021-02-22.

A - Murky straw/gold with a 1-finger white head that drops quickly leaving very little lace.

S - Massive fresh pineapple, papaya, lime, mint and grassy/herbal spice.

T - Mélange of tropical fruit (including coconut) and grassy/herbal/vegetal gooey hop bud. Towards the finish there's some fresh orange juice and mint that appear alongside the not-very-bitter hop bomb goodness. There some alcohol sweetness but no burn.

M - Medium-full body and light-medium carbonation. Fairly dry finish but some citrus sweetness remains, which I'm enjoying.

O - Not a typical NEIPA but more like a DIPA. The coconut is a surprise. There's very little aspirin/yeast flavors that I get in many NEIPA and while there's some here, these flavors are very subdued. It leans towards a non-malty West Coast DIPA enough to please my senses. It's very good and worth checking out.

2025 Note: Surprisingly, still very good with plenty of pineapple and a bit of coconut. Nice finishing orange/grapefruit bitterness. For a DIPA, it has really held up well.