Kaiju Killer
Trolley 5 Restaurant & Brewery

 

 

1L howler from Sherbrooke Liquor store, they of the record popular keg emptying reputation. And yeah, a collaboration between nascent Cowtown brewery Trolley 5, and Portland's Gigantic, who certainly know their way around the zen of the IPA.

This beer pours a clear, pale golden yellow colour, with three fingers of puffy, rocky, and creamy ecru head, which leaves some sudsy coral reef lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of very perky tropical fruit (papaya, fresh pineapple, and zingy kiwi), some dank pine resin, gritty and grainy caramel malt, some still relevant domestic citrus esters, and more leafy, herbal, and somewhat perfumed floral hop bitters. The taste is bready and doughy caramel malt, a consistent exotic fruity goodness (pineapple, mango, and Asian pears), mild catty notes, further orange and muddled grapefruit citrus essences, and some unheralded weedy, piney, and estery floral verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is quite soft in its lilting and caressing frothiness, the body a solid medium weight, and mostly smooth, as the choice of hops here seems benevolent, to say the least. It finishes off-dry, the mixed worldly fruitiness, capable base malt, and sundry forest floor essences keeping things on the level.

Overall, this is a rather engaging and enjoyable DIPA, the 17-proof wowee sauce contingent never a concern, really. Lots of beautiful stuff going on here, and I am so chuffed to have another pint of this elixir, ready to go. Also, a 'Kaiju' is apparently the generic Japanese name for yer Godzillas and other crazy-ass beasts of pop culture - but I'm not sure how 'monster killer' plays into this brew, though I suspect it has something to do with Gigantic's propensity for cartoonish label themes.

Collaboration brew between Trolley 5 and Gigantic Brewing. Poured from a growler.

Appearance - Pours a pale amber with three fingers of foamy white head.

Smell - Citrus hops, tropical and citrus fruit (pineapple, mango, passionfruit, orange), and bready malts.

Taste - Predominately citrus hops followed by the tropical and citrus fruits of pineapple, mango, passionfruit, and orange. The bready malts help to balance the brew out but the hops remain in charge.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes with a lingering bitterness and sweetness from the malts.

Overall - A well crafted collaboration brew that displays the citrus hop profile to a tee. The malts act as a cohesive partner but in the end the hops take the win. A true standout of a DIPA.