Trillium Brewing Company El Dorado Cutting Tiles American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV (Trade – thanks Norm!, 473 ml, packaged on 15-Nov-2018, acquired 21-Dec-2018, reviewed 23-Dec-2018)
Appearance: opaque pale amber with one fat finger of creamy pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, floral, tropical fruit, herbal, biscuity pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (9/10) Medium-full body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry sticky warming finish. (4/5)
Another opaque juice bomb, complete with swirling milky layers. (Is this called “Cutting Tiles” because it looks like the water after you use a wet tile saw?) All El Dorado hops, with wildflower honey providing an additional flavour layer. I keep wanting to say there’s a Creamsicle note here, but I think that’s more a function of what I see, than what I smell or taste. Definitely interesting, but just as definitely experimental, and not as polished as some of their others. Or, maybe it’s a reflection of their “new normal” given their ongoing transition, making them victims of their own success? (Oh, what a terrible fate, to be a craft beer rock star!) Good shit. Not sure it’s great. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
