My first Trillium beer and my god was it fantastic, like Hop Juice for the soul. This Double IPA is host to four different hop varieties. Galaxy, Nelson, Mosaic and Columbus, together they create an amazing symphony and are the perfect epitome of the four movements.

Trillium Scaled Up
ABV: 8%
Hops: Galaxy, Mosaic, Nelson, Columbus
Second batch released on Jan 8, 2016
Consumed on Feb 3, 2016

First you have the Sonata Allegro (Fast movement) of the Galaxy hop. The Galaxy hop bursts with passion and shoots its peach and passion fruit flavours swirling through your mouth. Then comes the gentle and slow second movement of the Mosaic hops. Which lightly tampers and mixes with its array of herbal, earthy and minor pine notes and swiftly goes away to give room to the third movement of the Nelson Sauvin hop. Where it slowly starts to hasten its pace by getting ever so bitter, and before you know it you’ve reached the last and final movement of the Columbus hop, leaving its sharp fast paced bitterness on your palate till the bitter end.

The Galaxy, Nelson and Mosaic play together giving it that fruity, peachy tropical punch, and the Columbus, boasting a high alpha acid, adding the bitterness. Galaxy and Mosaic are primarily used as aroma hops, whereas Columbus having the highest Alpha Acid was likely used as a bittering hop. Nelson, the grand master from New Zealand serves a dual purpose for aroma and bittering. In this case I feel it may have been used more for bittering but naturally its aromatic flavours have seeped in quite nicely.

This DIPA is very tropical hop forward, and my kind of IPA. The bitterness has a bit of a bite, but has a very amazing tropical start. After each sip I had a rush of ecstasy easing through my body in the most serene fashion.

If you’ve ever watched Harry Potter, which I’m sure everyone has, there is a scene in the Goblet of Fire which perfectly describes the feeling this beer gives me. It is the scene in which the competing teams arrive in the main grand hall. The students at Hogwarts are patiently seated awaiting to see some of their heroes walk through the door. And just as they toss and turn the doors open and each of the schools enters with grand gesture each with a distinct manner and style. Then comes the turn for the very eloquent and serene ladies from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. They enter peacefully waltzing, and then rush ever so quickly to the front of the hall, preform a slight curtsy and very loving sigh and run off in opposite directions in a very orchestrated manner. Just like the actions of these lovely ladies so is the feeling this beer gives you on your palate. A very nice serene, curtsy and a very nice long sigh.

Trillium did not disappoint, and I am already in the works to get my hands on some more of their amazingly hop explosive IPAs/DIPAs. I tried some magic tricks to scale it up, but the only thing it managed to scale up was my taste buds.

4.75/5

Written by HopCitizen, Photography by HopCitizen