Bomb Pop
New Trail Brewing Company

A thanks to the captain of the canquest, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a hazy violet color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of tart raspberries. Taste is of raspberry sherbet, some lactose and citrus, mild bitterness. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a unique and enjoyable beer.

 

I have been relegated to drinking just one (1) beer a day due to my current USPS job, which requires that I work 6 days/week, 10.5 hours/day. I CAN do it & have adjusted nicely (sort of), but I find that it is usually one upon returning home & then off to bed to reChArNge for the next night. Yes, I am working the night shift, but I actually enjoy it! I CAN run a couple/few errands during the day, if I am so motivated & inclined + I really like many of my fellow night shifters where the day people are less so.

I was recently staring into the abysss, I mean, watching a little TV, when I happened to realize that I had a subsCANtial amount of New Trail CANs in abeyance & decided to revisit them for yet CANother brewery horizontal. This shall be the sixteenth of this newest set.

From the CAN: "Bomb Pop Hazy IPA India Pale Ale"; "Brewed with Lactose[,] Vanilla & Raspberry"; "Keep Cold[,] Drink Fresh".

I was really excited to drink this one if for no other reason than simple nostalgia. The Bicentennial year of 1976 was really memorable for a number of reasons, but the summer featured Pennsupreme bicycle-driven ice cream carts with each CANfection named as an homage to the Revolutionary War. My fave was the Boston Tea Party, infused with their house iced tea! A close seCANd was the multi-layered Bomb Pop, meant to evoke raspberry, 7-Up & blueberry as one worked through it. It was the most expensive (spendy) & therefore a real treat when I had the scratch.

I beCAN my trip down memory lane by Crack!ing open the vent, after which I beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line Glug just to get the lay of the land. Once I saw what was being presented, I stepped things up to an almost-aggro Glug. It foamed to produce just under two fingers of foamy, soapy, rocky, pinkish head that resembled freshly-spun cotton CANdy. 8=O Color was a deeply-hazy/lightly-cloudy Magenta (SRM = N/A).

I am going to stop here to remind everyone that the idea is to rate to Style & NOT to personal Taste (with the exception of the "Overall" score).

Nose was redolent with raspberries with a modicum of vanilla sweetness. Hmm. Mouthfeel was big, full & creamy. The taste was all raspberries with no indication of hops. It was more evocative of raspberry sherbet (NOT sherbert, as one person misspelled it!) or raspberry sorbet, but not anything like an IPA or an NEIPA. It was quite tasty & very evocative of Summer treats, but it was more of a Fruit & Field Beer or a Tart Ale. Finish was semi-dry, but more tart than bitter or hoppy. Poor example in terms of Style, while I personally liked it. YMMV.

 

Slight one fingers worth white head that quickly fades... Color is a murky light purple(really)... Nose is subtle whiffs of the vanilla and raspberries that lie within... The flavor profile doesn't disappoint with sweet raspberry and vanilla at the front... An intensifying hop presence intensified on the finish... Medium bodied with a touch of chalkiness... Quite and interesting brew and unlike any other I've had in my 2000 plus reviews...

 

Poured from a tallboy can into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Murky raspberry purple pour with think pink-tinged head. Great lacing.

S: Sweet and fruity. Raspberry and faint citrus.

T.F: Just like it smells. A raspberry hop juice bomb. Strong fruit/jam... lighter citrus. Sweets/vanilla... very modest bitterness. A bit one dimensional. Creamy and tangy mouthfeel. Medium bodied. Lingering raspberry at the finish.

O: If you enjoy fruit-forward milkshake IPA's you'll dig this beer. Great flavor and drinkability... really enjoyed it.