Ugly Sweater
New Trail Brewing Company

 

Pours a hazy pale yellow with an off white head that has good retention and leaves nice lace behind

Tropical fruit and a slight mustiness - kumquat, star fruit, and citrus orange.

Taste follows nose delicious and complex.

 

I usually avoid TIPAs because they don't hide the ethanol very well over and over again. Trying this one is a great thing. Pours heavily with ample head and residual lacing following up. Nice start. Scents are quite nice with sweet blueberry, strawberry, and fresh oranges leading the way. This is so promising. Drinking provides high quality hop flavors sans booze. Dank peaches, oranges, and strawberries for days. A heavily oated profile keeps things in check and allows this beer to dance across the palate. A purveying resinous quality lingers and continues the experience. This is one great TIPA. One of the best TIPAs I've ever had

One of the best triple ipas made.

Totally awesome on all attributes!!

16oz can into a pint glass. Canned 10/31/24, so 11 weeks old.

Excellent look here. Thick orange juice body, bright white head persists in good form throughout, fat rings of lacing. Aroma is herbal and dank. On tasting, full, juicy, fruity, with a dank note coming in late. Very smooth thanks to the oats. Abv very apparent. Finish begins dank, then warmth from the abv.

Overall, excellent big Imperial IPA which goes down way easier than it should.

 

16oz can received from @jzeilinger
Poured into a Delirium Noel snifter

P deep gold/orange with a slight haze; 1f frothy white head
N med nose of bright floral and citrus notes; some resin in there too; nice
T sweet, sticky, dank, hoppy goodness; juicy blend of citrus, melons, and stone fruit; light alcohol heat; white grape character comes out as it warms; tasty profile for sure
Mf med-full bodied w/ med-high carb; suits the profile well
O an excellent tipa; thanks again, Jeff!

Review date: 12.17.24
Can date: 10.31.24

Slightly less than a fingers worth of off white / light khaki colored froth... Modest retention..: Color is a slightly hazed medium gold... Big citrus forward nose with some musky and earthy undertones... Flavor profile is flip flopped with the earthy notes taking the wheel and citrus notes rising shotgun... On the fuller side of medium bodied... Spry carbonation throughout... A bit of a chalky finish... Pretty standard NT beer that does not disappoint... Hides the high ABV rather well...

 

Undated can into pint glass. Pours a nice murky gold with a thick and persistent off-white head. Initial impression is juicy citrus, pineapple, peach, and a hint of pine. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy. Finish fades to sweet citrus and peach. Overall, a very enjoyable NEDIPA.

Poured into a grip shaped goblet: color is straw gold, dense haziness, head presents 1+ inch thick and is off white with frothy head.

Smell is mixed barley/oat/wheat with citrus, tropical fruit; notes of pith, papaya, pineapple.

Taste is a bit sweeter than aroma, but this 11+%: prominent pith, papaya, pineapple, sweeter malt and oats/wheat but limited bread/biscuit; booziness is biting but somewhat balanced by the sweetness and added oat/wheat.

Mouthfeel is low carbonation, moderate sweetness, moderate bitterness; not as drying as expected for 11%.

Overall a big hazy but it is not overdone by the hopping flavors - malt balances the high abv and limits dryness, ethanol burn.

16oz can from my brother. Hazy golden pour, small frothy white head. Light fruity aroma, part citrus, part stone fruit. Taste introduces mild hop astringent notes, bready malts and fruity flavors underneath. Smooth for an 11% IPA.

 

This is hoppy as hell and abrasively (which is fine, I'm feeling masochistic tonight) boozy. I get an overall dankness with grape, pineapple, and another tropical fruit or two. The booze at the end has a burn, but it seems appropriate for the ABV. The body is soft and light. Diggin' it.

 

If any brewery can pull off a decent ale substituting wheat and oates for barley, it's New Trail. Still, doubt looms largely. To start, a pint can is emptied into a clear Imperial pint glass. There's no head, nor glass lacing. It's a murky orange-amber colored brew, that's not necessarily inspiring. The smell is a collision of hops in an oaty body. Things improve with the taste. As in good high octane IPAs first a sweetness, often provided by barley, greets you. Then the hops take over. This one succeeds in being a very good triple IPA, without relying on barley malt. Barley malt may actually have made this recipe too sweet. The hop layering here is commendable, with notes of tropical and citrusy fruits sharing the stage in balance. Hoppy, without being too bitter and hiding an 11.2% ABV very well, even a barley lover may find this acceptable. The finish of the mouthfeel gets a little chalky, as oates and wheat will never truly replace barley malt in a great IPA.

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass not sure when it was canned but judging from where I got it with in the last 2 or 3 weeks. Pours a very attractive hazy yellow orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves a few massive streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma papaya, candied pineapple, mandarin, apricot, and some grapefruit rind. 4.5

Taste follows papaya, mandarin, pineapple, apricot, and a little tickle of grapefruit and just a hint of alcohol lingers after each sip, but amazingly balanced. 4.5

Mouthfeel is pretty big, soft gentle carbonation almost creamy, maybe a little sticky but not dry, and at 11.2% your would think it was like 9% it goes down so easy, with just the smallest amount of alcohol coming through. 4.5

Overall this is pretty darn fantastic, this is a brewery that every time jzeilinger sends me, I get excited to see what they are going to come out with next. A treat again. 4.5