Lift Pass
New Trail Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The label gives fair warning to those that don't appreciate wheat within an IPA recipe. If any brewery can overcome the detrimental characteristics wheat brings to the style, it probably would be New Trail. The pour emptying a pint can into a clear glass Imperial pint mug is initially positive. The aroma is pleasantly hoppy and there's no trace of the big starchy and stark white head so common among wheat infused IPAs. The brew itself is an opaque blond-amber with a modest and enduring white head on top. This drinks OK, but like most wheat based beers, the body is too light for someone that appreciates what barley in the wort can provide. The hopping is milder than the nose anticipated, but it's OK. Without the earthy sweetness barley malt provides, there need be no counterbalance. This can't be considered a disappointment, as expectations weren't all that high. Still, it doesn't yet present a good reason to replace barley with wheat when brewing an IPA.

 

 

Pours a pale hazy Orange with an off white head

Smells of sour lactic citrus fruit and pine.

Pineapple pine orange and a sharp sour citrus lactic punch.

A thanks to the amazing woodychandler for this beer. Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a hazy golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of tropical fruits. Taste is mango, oranges, some guava. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer.

 

 

 

Undated can into pint glass. Pours a hazy straw color (SRM 6-ish) with a thin but durable off-white head. Initial impression is primarily tropical fruits (notably mango), with a hint of grapefruit and perhaps pineapple. Slightly sweet but very subtle. Mouthfeel is medium; carbonation is perfect. Finish is slightly sweet, slightly tart, and hugely fruity. Overall, another excellent NEIPA from New Trail!

Man, I had SUCH a great day yesterday on/for New New Trail & Feeling Light-Hearted About Happoshu Beer Sunday (Week 784) that I have decided to just CANtinue where I left off, as opposed to waiting until next Sunday. I am really digging New Trail's beers from Bill Town, aka Williamsport, PA. These guys seem to be onto something!

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

I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line Glug in the hopes of creating a modicum of clarity. Once this beCAN to prove itself to be a (this) fool's errand, I stepped things up & let it flow rather freely. I wound up with just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, eggshell-white head with very good retention. Color was a deeply-hazy/lightly-cloudy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). Nose was highly tropical with a hint of citrus. Mmm. I am burnt on Tropical/Southern Hemisphere IPAs, but if the brewer is exbeerimental enough to include (especially) PNW hops or other hop varieties, I am usually happy with the result. Mouthfeel was medium, but slick & creamy in the mouth & on the tongue. That lactose has to be good for something, right? The taste was predominantly tropical (mango, papaya, guava) with a hint of grapefruit & orange/tangerine as an offset. Yum. I would like them to up the ante just a tad & make the citrusiness a little more prevalent. Otherwise, this was really tasty. Finish was semi-dry & again, a slight tweak of the hops bill would help to push it into dryness. Phew! What a find & at a great price point. I would want this in the ski lodge! YMMV.