Pocket Knife
New Trail Brewing Company

 

 

 

Slightly more than a finger's worthy of lush light khaki colored forth... Really good retention... The color is a moderately hazed lemony yellow... Big citrus nose... You don't even need to raise the glass to your nose to notice it... Pineapple, mango and assorted other tropical fruits... The flavor profile is a bit different and takes on a more noble and earthy character... Medium bodied and exceedingly smooth with limited carbonation... Goes down smoothly and easily sip after sip... Excellent brew... Tons of flavor and character for a subtle 6.5% ABV... Another stellar job by the fine folks at New Trail...

Poured into a narrow pint glass: color is gold, head is off white, presents 1/2 inch thick and then dissipates to thing ring, no lacing/remnants.

Smell is peach, grapefruit pith, mint, light mixed herbals.

Taste is similar with grapefruit, pineapple, mixed tropicals, herbal mint, hint of blueberry, limited malt character, maybe some oat notes.

Mouthfeel is low carbonation, medium sweetness, low bitterness and a little soft with warmth but also sharp on the tongue sides.

Overall a similar styled ipa to broken heels with strong tropical/pineapple notes, not too bitter but not overly sweet.

 

 

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $3.99. No canned on date, but based on information from the brewery and its facebook page this was canned soon after 9/10/2020. So this is between 7 and 8 weeks old.

Look: Nice yellow-orange color, very hazy. Small white head.

Smell: Interesting mixture of aromas. Lots of resinous pine, green notes, citrus (tangerine, grapefruit), tropical fruits, stone fruit (mango, apricot), and melon. There is something that is coming across very pungently in the nose that is a bit off-putting that I cannot place. Maybe it's from the El Dorado hops, because I think that I am more familiar with the Mosaic and Azzaca hops and I don't think that this aroma is from them.

Taste: The taste is better than the smell. Up front, lots of citrus and tropical fruit aroma. There is also a lot of acidity in this beer, which is interesting. Then the finish is very peppery, pithy, and green.

Feel: Nice soft mouthfeel.

Overall: This is my first New Trail Brewing Co. beer. It's interesting but it just comes across a little weird. I kind of like it, but I almost wonder if this is the way that the beer is intended. It's not uncommon to find hazy IPAs that are juicy and have a lot of acidity. But I have not had hazy IPAs that have had both a lot of acidity and a lot of green, resinous notes.

What a perfect name for a beer made in Pennsyltucky! Never heard the term? How about James Carville summing up our great & mighty CANmonwealth during the 1992 presidential CANpaign as "Philadelphia & Pittsburgh with Alabama in the middle"? Or me saying that we should all be grateful for the existence of West (By God!) Virginia or we would be the butt/punchline of the jokes?

The great obstacle to the Westward Ho! expansion was the Allegheny Mountains & many travelers just gave up & settled. As a result, there are parts of PA that are as rough & tumble as the old frontier. One fellow told me, "Woody, there are things going on in them hills that even the revenooers ain't innerested in pursuing!" This, as we were passing a jug of 'shine.

Our women are equally tough & the other night at work, I remarked that I needed to get a razor knife to cut some shrink wrap. My female coworker lamented, "Aw, dang it, Woody! I went & forgot my pocket knife at home tonight! We coulda cut through that like a hot iron through soft butter!" 8=O I think that she went out to smoke a stogie while I was looking for the box cutter.

The CANQuest (tm) is likewise unforgiving & was created in response to scoffing. Like rust, The CANQuest (tm) never sleeps & is always on the lookout for some new CANs to add to the madness.

From the CAN: "Pocket Knife Hazy IPA India Pale Ale"; "Brewed in Williamsport Pennsylvania"; "Keep Cold[,] Drink Fresh".

I did some in-CAN agitation before Crack!ing open the vent for a heavy-handed aggro C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. This resulted in the formation of two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, eggshell-white head with very good retention. Color was a turbid, murky Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). Nose was more citrusy (grapefruit & orange/CANgerine) than pine with a hint of tropical fruits. This may be more to my liking than some/many recent beers. I miss outright bitterness & the Tropical IPAs have left me with a startling hops jones acCANponied by an itch that many beers just do not scratch. Mouthfeel was medium with a slick slipperiness in the mouth & on the tongue from the oats. The taste was very citrusy, but not dominated by grapefruit. Instead, grapefruit & orange/CANgerine shared equal time, acCANponied by a lightly cool mintiness and an even lighter tropical fruit sweetness. I'm not ready to say that this is the perfect CANbination of turn-of-the-century & mid-century hops, but it definitely beats a straight tropical-hopped IPA! Finish was semi-dry as a result of the CANmingling of the variegated hops, but it was still okay by me. YMMV.

 

NTs are great but this one felt like just an avg. Hazy to me. Not bad, but better options across this and other styles from NT.

Undated can into pint glass. Pours a hazy deep amber with a nice off-white head. Initial impression is very refreshing citrus, mango, hints of pine, grapefruit rind, and melon. Not sweet like many of the NEIPAs. Mouthfeel is medium and quite clean. Finish is lingering citrus and pine. Overall, one of New Trail's better efforts (and most of their efforts are damn good)!

 

 

 

Poured from a 16 oz can into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Hazed light golden pour with 2 fingers of fluffy white head. Nice lacing.

S: Tropical fruit and grapefruit. NEIPA all the way.

T.F: Sweet and grainy up front. Pineapple, mango, and fruity hops. Lighter grapefruit/citrus... some orange peel, stone fruit, and melon. Medium to light bodied... slick and sticky on the tongue.

O: An above average NEIPA. Super drinkable... quality brew.

Canned in April 2019
L: Pours lightly hazed.. light head. Some clingy lacing.
S: Getting stoned fruit from the get-go. I'm not pulling anything in particular, it's pretty balanced. Tropical background.
T: Light apricot/peach/melon flavoring. A little doughy. Slight mild piney kick.
F: Smooth, very little bitterness. Light to medium MF.
O: Not a bad beer.. a little muddled. Nothing stands out, which is to say it's sort of plain.. yet nothing hurts the overall experience.

16 oz can poured into a Weizen glass.

Appearance
Hazed-out, opaque blonde. Very little head.

Nose
Peach, passion fruit, grapefruit, gooseberry, dank, blueberry, and wintergreen.

Taste
Mellow flavor profile. Peach juice, passion fruit, and mango chunks. Gooseberry, dank, and wintergreen. Slight blueberry and grapefruit. Touch of biscuit maltiness rounded out with the smoothness of oats.

Mouthfeel
Medium bodied, crisp, soft, and smooth with hardly any bitterness.

Overall
Crisp, mellow, smooth, and flavorful. Solid all around.

A bit more bitterness than a typical NEIPA - I like it. Refreshing and well-balanced.

Pours a pale, hazy orange with very little head. Aroma of melon pulp, mango, soft bitter hop. Palate never quite materializes - some vague tropical / citrus notes (cantaloupe, mango and a hint of lemon) - good just lacks depth. Mild bitterness on the end. Bit watery on the feel.