Holiday Cookie
New Trail Brewing Company

 

 

Hazy golden murky looking IPA with a very thin then quickly to a ring, white head. Weird citrus and vanilla sweet nose is interesting I guess. Strange mush mash of sweetness, vanilla and hops works ok. This is my last beer of the night and I’ll be damned if I dump it, it’s not my favorite but not horrible.

 

DATE: January 1, 2021... OCCASION: a new year brings new hope and new beer--this one, a gift from Jer who found a case of this--and its lactose, more exactly--tough on his physiognomy; I will do what I can in the name of science... GLASSWARE: HopDevil nonick... pours the prerequisite hard, dense, brooding yellow-orange body devoid of carbonation validation... its head, a creamy mess of off-white smears, covers the glass amply... chips of sediment float and sink as the beer settles... vanilla, ginger, shortbread, orange peel, allspice and baked malts--an odd combination that doesn't clearly declare its intentions, as it hints at a confectioner's dessert and a citrus ade... its body is agreeable--soft and chewy like a warm cookie, sippable and smooth on the back end... it coats and satiates with a thickness all the same... from there, it checks off the IPA box at the teeth, alive and kicking but far from abrasive... its flavor profile is decidedly citric, with orange peel, coriander, ginger, and thick vanilla that sweetens the experience... the lactic aspect doesn't really alter the experience, nor does it enhance it... its mid-seven ABV is masked well, almost to a non-entity... I am searching for the cookie in this; had it not been called that, I wouldn't consider this approximating a holiday treat... that said, not a bad experience, and though I wouldn't seek it out, I won't mind finishing the four pack either...

No better day to give this a try than 12/25/20. The pour from a pint can into a clear glass Imperial pint mug presents an apricot colored liquid, without appreciable head nor glass lacing. The texture appears light although the color is dense. Sweet in a juicy way is the aroma. It's taste is sweet and juicy, but muddled in an unpleasant way by the vanilla and more so, by the lactose. It's too sticky to win points for its mouthfeel. This combination might make a good cookie, but it didn't make a good IPA. Credit for the try.

 

 

 

A fingers worth of tightly packed bone froth with solid retention... Color is a hazy pale golden yellow... Noise is sugary with hints of hops and lactose... Flavor profile is honest to the nose... Lush and medium bodied... Solid hazy milkshake ipa but the sugar cookie aspect is a bit MIA though still highly enjoyable...

Poured from a 16 oz can into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Medium golden pour... hazy with thick fluffy white head. Great lacing.

S: Sweet and fruity. Vanilla, citrus, and tropicals.

T.F: Sweet up front... vanilla, lactose, and fruit. Tangerine and mango + pineapple and guava. Juicy.... smooth and creamy. A bit of hops for balance. The finish is tropical milkshake.

O: This is a really good beer. Sweet, but that's what they were going for and I though that the rest of the flavors complemented nicely. Not one I'd want regularly, but overall pretty excellent.

 

Undated can into pint glass. Pours a murky gold (SRM 6-ish) with a brief off-white head. Initial impression is overwhelmingly sweet orange juice - not caramel sweet, but sugar sweet. There may be some other stuff going on with this beer, but it's not potent enough to overcome the initial dose of sugar. Mouthfeel is almost but not quite sticky. Finish is more sweetness, although a bit of bitterness lingers. OK, I get it: it's called Holiday Cookie and it sure does TASTE like a holiday cookie. But I NEVER eat holiday cookies, and I won't revisit this beer either.

During New Beer Sunday (NBS) (Week 784), I realized that I really have an affinity for New Trail BC in Bill Town (Williamsport), PA. I had a number of CANs gifted to me for The CANQuest (tm), plus I was able to procure several more in the interim. Unfortunately, many (all?) of them required an approved pic to be in-place before I could proceed. Now, all is in readiness.

From the CAN: "Hazy IPA (India Pale Ale) Brewed with Vanilla and Lactose"; "Keep Cold[,] Drink Fresh".

I was pleasantly surprised during the Crack! of the vent when it revealed itself to be a brimful craft CAN. I CANebrated with a slow, steady C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass since I have learned that clarity is futile in these things. I got just under two fingers of foamy, soapy, rocky, eggshell-white head for my CANcerted efforts & then watched as it faded to wisps, leaving a modicum of lacing in its wake. Color was a deeply-hazy/lightly-cloudy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). Nose smelled like vanilla cookies & pine needles! 8=O I shoulda had this back in December when I was likewise sequestered. I am not hurting, but no work = no pay or reduced unemployment so I know how to do this. I just hunker down with my beer, books & TV. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but on the approach & big for the style + it was slick on the tongue. The flavors did not meld as well for its taste as for its smell. I liked its nose well enough, but the vanilla just seemed to clash with the hops, making for an odd libation that might have been better three months previously, but I am unwilling to give it the benefit of my doubt. The flavors never melded, no matter how far into it I got. In some insCANces, it will all work out, but not in this case. It was not the sum of its parts, but instead, an equation that seemed to emphasize each of its parts in various stages, never beCANming CANhesive. 8=p Finish was actually semi-sweet, which was CANother turnoff. This seemed to be a glaring exCANple of a 21st Amendment Blah, Blah, Blah IPA in which EVERY beer is labeled as an IPA. 8=p YMMV.

 

 

Had on tap. Pours hazy, orange-yellow in color with 1/4 inch head. Taste is orange, mango, and lactose. Medium bodied, low carbonation, nice combination of sweet and bitter. Makes for a tasty ipa. Did not get much holiday taste, but still gets me interested in the brewery.

 

 

16 oz can poured into a pub-style pint glass.

Appearance
Hazed-out blonde. 1 finger of creamy white head. Lovely can.

Nose
Dank, wintergreen, milk, vanilla, and pineapple.

Taste
Dank, wintergreen, and eucalyptus leaf. Loads of milk and vanilla. Slight pineapple and mango. Mental suggestions of eggnog, ginger snaps, and sugar cookies.

Mouthfeel
Medium-light bodied, smooth, soft, creamy, sweet, and juicy.

Overall
An enjoyable sweet IPA. Very nogish.