Candy Hearts
New Trail Brewing Company

 

 

Just the slightest fizzy off white blush colored froth that quickly fades away... Color is a slightly hazed pale apricot... Subtle sugary nose with faint notes of strawberry and vanilla... The aroma is delicate and pleasant, not over powering or cloying... Palate is largely as expected but I also pick up some fruit punch notes as well as a light hop presence... Feel is sleek and medium bodied with a brisk carbonation... Nice beer all around... I was afraid it could be a bit of a mess but it is very well executed...

 

 

 

16oz can into a pint glass. Canned 01/08/26, so 3-4 weeks old.

Nice looking beer. Hazy dull orange body, decent creamy white head, scattered rings of lacing. Hoppy aroma with hints of strawberry. On tasting, fairly sweet, strawberry coming through first, then a decent hop bitterness for balance. Finish is quite well balanced, ending in sweet strawberry.

Overall, given that this isn't a preferred style for me, (or strawberry in beer for that matter) this is actually quite well put together with enough balance for this particular palate. Straight up milkshake fans may feel otherwise.

Poured into mason jar: initial color is gold, then come the chunks of settled haze and yeast; had to repour to get the large ones out; no head, no lacing.

Smell is limited, no real aroma but with strain and some warmth there is citric acid and aged malt.

Taste is light citric acid sourness, some strawberry, some biscuit.

Mouthfeel is very low carbonation, moderate sweetness, sour finish, maybe some bitterness.

Overall a brew that has fallen into the overaged category but the base flavors may not have been that enticing regardless.

 

Pours a hazy pale amber with a cream colored head.

Candy hearts, cream, strawberry, and a slight citrus/pine sour bite.

CANDY hearts, strawberry, earthy malt, creamy mouth feel.

A thanks to the creator of the canquest, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a golden color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of strawberries, some bubble gum. Taste is strawberry, lactose, vanilla, mild bitterness. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a quality beer.

 

Undated can into pint glass. Pours a murky amber with a persistent off-white head. Great lacing. Initial impression is slightly tart strawberries, citrus, tropical fruits, and vanilla. Mouthfeel is creamy smooth. Finish is tart and fruity.
This is an interesting departure for New Trail. I had almost become convinced that all their NEIPAs were the same beer, just packaged in different cans. Candy Hearts is nothing like previous New Trail offerings.
Except excellent - they're all excellent!

 

 

CANd now, CANtinuing the last phase of Happy CANtinuing New New Trail & Feeling Light-Hearted About Happoshu Beer Sunday (Week 784), ironically mentioned first! These will all be CANs for the furtherance of The CANQuest (tm) so it should be interesting.

From the CAN: "Hazy IPA [-] India Pale Ale"; "Brewed with Vanilla[,] Lactose & Strawberries"; "Keep Cold Drink Fresh"; "I Love Climbing"; "My Hearts On Tap"; "I Love Hiking"; "New Trail"; "My North Star"; "Find Your Trail"; "IPA"; "Take A Hike"; "Smile"; "Keep Cold"; "You Shine"; "Drink Fresh"; "U Wish"; "Kiss Me".

Most of the previous were transcribed from the CANdy hearts on the label, in case you were wondering.

I was inspired to drink this one by @MKO who felt that this one was merely a variant of the previous Gondola. Hmm.

I beCAN with a Crack! of the vent, revealing CANother brimful craft CAN as evinced by the fingertip spritz. I followed this revelation with a slow, gentle C-Line Glug in the hopeless hope that I might be able to achieve some semblance of clarity. I still wound up with just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with admirable retention, leaving behind some nice lacing. Color was a deeply-hazy/lightly-cloudy Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9). Nose was redolent with strawberry, followed by a vanilla breadiness. I was put in mind of strawberry shortcake. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium with a slight creaminess. The taste was actually rather tart with the strawberries giving it a fruitiness that was not precisely sweet, despite the vanilla doing its utmost to be assertive. Frankly, I could sense NO resemblance between this & Gondola. OTOH, this was a nice example of this style. The lactose worked well in CANjunction with the adjuncts to create a beer that was truly evocative of a Strawberry-Vanilla Milkshake. It would not be my first choice & I should have drank it on/nearer to Valentine's Day, but it was fine as today's wrap-up. Speaking of which, finish was in the realm of semi-sweet to semi-dry. I was happy enough with it, especially given its inclusion of strawberries, which are my favorite fruit, outstripping blueberries in my advancing age. YMMV.

 

 

Poured from a tallboy can into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Completely opaque pond-scum pour. Kind of a sickly pinkish brown with 2 fingers of foamy white head. Great lacing but this is one ugly beer.

S: Fresh and fruity... strawberry and citrus.

T.F: Fruit and tang up front. Strawberry, citrus, and tropical fruits. Some lactose sweetness... modest hop bitterness. Very good mix of fruit, berry, and vanilla. Creamy and smooth... sticky on the tongue. Medium bodied... with more strawberry milkshake at the finish.

O: An ass-ugly beer that tastes fantastic. An outstanding take on the strawberry milkshake IPA and way better than other New Trail forays into the genre I've tried previously. Had to have a 2nd to convince myself that it was real. This is a really nice brew.