Valley Of Haze
New Trail Brewing Company

 

 

Pours a hazy, pale, yellow with an off white head.

Floral, citrus, tropical fruit, and funky b o in the nose.

Taste is floral notes and tangy citrus with a sour sharp bitter herb end.

maybe the least unique of the hoppy beers i had from these guys in a recent weekend, but still its own thing, and as well made as much of their stuff, these guys are really doing a great job, and their hoppy stuff is a notch or two above most of what else is out there, i was pleased with all of it. this one is multigrain but real pale, oats, wheat, barley, a trifecta for fuller bodied hop support, its just off dry, lightly creamy, and seems to bring the hops up closer to the front of this, usually with the dry hop driven ipa types its all in the back, but here the hops start early in the flavor. a nice mix of citrus and spice to this, wrapped in a little bit of sweetness, it feels fuller, oily, crystalline, maybe some cryo hops in here, and dank like sticky buds. some sweet orange to it, dried mango, and even waxy floral honey, tasty for sure. its a little heavy to drink with all this body and the intensity of the hops through the whole thing, they hang around on the finish too, but the carbonation is there and it keeps this moving. neat layers of texture and flavor here, just a little hop burn late, more fall and winter to me than high summer, but another solid offering from these guys!

Slightly less than a finger’s worth of lush bone white head…. Modest retention…. Color is a slightly hazed pale yellowish gold…. Nose is of vibrant citrus…. Palate starts as expected, but finishes with an unexpected plastic quality…. Medium bodied and sturdy…. Moderate carbonation…. Again, the finish is a bit of a struggle as there is a surprising smokiness - leaves you wanting another sip (and not in a good way)…. Average at best offering and perhaps the low point of the expedition series (but keep the experimentation and collaborations going - they can’t all be home runs)….

 

12oz can courtesy of JayO'Rear. No freshness date. Evidently brewed in collaboration with Levante Brewing.

Poured into an IPA glass, this was an opaque tangerine yellow color, with a sudsy and long lasting off-white head.

Very juicy nose. Citrus and stone fruits are what the workers at my olfactory were reminded of.

Smooth, juicy fruity flavor, but not as citrusy as the nose led me to suspect. It's more of a berries and stone fruit kind of flavor. Fairly mellow and and subdued, in a good way. Very drinkable stuff.

Medium bodied, with a slightly creamy mouthfeel. Definitely used oats for that.

Like a lot of BAs that came up drinking WCIPAs, I'm all over the map on hazies. Some are great, some are awful, a lot are meh. This one might be the one I'd most like to session. Maybe not as big a flavor bomb as some, but I could hit it all night. It just oozes drinkability. Thanks, Jay!

New Trail usually hits it big with their hazies. Let's see what happens when they partner with Levante. To start, the contents of two twelve ounce cans are emptied into a clear glass liter mug. First impressions are not so good, as its almost the color of blonde from a bottle. Worse, it has the starchy foam on top that recedes unevenly and can only marginally be labeled "head". The head on a beer shouldn't look like undyed cotton candy. Another warning sign is the near absence of smell. Wheat in the wort is often the culprit for these offenses. What little hop aroma found has a perfume-llke character. This isn't good in any category. Unfortunately, the auxiliary characteristics are slightly better the the ones that count most. Despite all the foam, it's as flat as it is light across the tongue. There's some sweetness in the body, but it's not close to hearty. There's absolutely no character to the perfumey hops and it's annoying. OK, it's relatively smooth. In a comparison with other hazies, this might have the longest climb out of the valley. Now it's time for a Heady Topper to chase this away.

 

 

 

 

Poured into a grip shaped goblet: color is murky, hazy gold, off white head presents 1/4 inch thick, dissipates quickly to think top and ring along glass, some spotty lacing with agitation.

Smell soft malt, light wheat, light tropical fruit, subtle vanilla like character.

Taste is similar with soft malt, wheat, light tropical fruit, light vanilla like spice, light sweetness.

Mouthfeel is low carbonation, moderate sweetness, low/moderate bitterness, slight drying.

Overall a softer, sweeter hazy ipa than many NT renditions; seems a bit underattenuated as carbonation, color and sweetness are just a bit of compared to many beers from both of these breweries.

Unusual taste...a little chemical and unpleasant.