Backcountry
New Trail Brewing Company

Light haze, just ok head retention and lacing. Strong, fruity, citrusy aroma, but a bit flabby and overripe. Flavor is cleaner: citrusy orange and lots of piney resin. Flavors could be crisper and brighter. Sample is showing some age but is still quite tasty and very drinkable for 8%.

This is a perfectly acceptable WCDIPA. It doesn't reinvent the style, but checks the boxes accordingly and delivers an appropriate experience. Not very disparate in flavor to Heady Topper actually.

Amber/copper pour with decent up front foam bringing nice subsequent lacing

Scents are average but present. Orange marmalade, piney herb, light caramel

Flavors are heavy orange, grapefruit, and strong pine with an eager bitterness and palate coating resin

Body promotes drinkability without being overly malty or heavy

This is a worthy WCDIPA and a huge step up for New Trail who has underachieved in this style in the past. No surprises here, but very nice if you're craving some old school hops with a pronounced bitter piney bite.

 

16oz can into a pint glass. Canned 10/9/25, so 5 weeks old.

Almost Crystal clear amber body with a strong bubbly white head, layers of lacing. Aroma is mildly of pine hops. On tasting, a nice but not overpowering piney bitterness. The malt base is very strong, some thick sweetness mixing in. Finish is clean, fairly short lasting.

Overall, nice drink, good example of one of my favorite styles. Could certainly go for more than one, but current med regimen calls for restraint.

It was a very nice pour that emptied entirely a pint can into a clear glass liter mug. The off-white head was modest, although it did collapse a bit unevenly. The liquid is dark amber in color and it's more translucent than opaque. There's almost no malt to the aroma, just a piney hop character. That's spot on for the style. It also drinks like a good representative of this category. There's just enough malt to provide a healthy body, but there's no appreciatable taste contribution. That allows the West Coast style hopping do its thing and bring a solid piney and dryly hoppy bitterness to the forefront of the taste. It's not overly bitter, the mouthfeel is fine and the finish is clean and curt. The glass lacing is underwhelmingly sporadic, but the high ABV is nicely mingled into the overall taste. This has to be considered a well above average West Coast IPA, even though it's brewed in Pennsylvania.

Poured into large rocks glass: color is gold, slight chill haze but pretty clear, head is brighter white with fine to small bubbles, head presents quickly at 1/4 inch thick leaves a thicker head ring that clings on the glass sides.

Smell is forward hops and the good kind: resin, bitter, pith, grapefruit, light pine, light dank, some malt with light sweetness of honey and toasted malt.

Taste holds the bitter forward flavor: resin, pith, bitter herbs, grapefruit, pine, malt comes through with light honey, toast, hints of caramel with more warmth.

Mouthfeel is low/moderate carbonation, moderate sweetness but lower than most NT WCIPAs, moderate bitterness - its good but could be just a touch more.

Overall a really great IPA, top 2 or 3 from NT but could be a bit more bitter for me.

 

 

Canned on: 10-9-25

A - Medium copper gold colored pour with light carbonation and a moderately dense lacing ring.

S - Subtle caramel malt base with delicate spicy citrus and orange.

T - Subtle malt base gets totally steamrolled with a massive wave of hops in the form of citrus, some orange, some spicy fruit rind, and ends with a bitter resiny pine that lingers for a long time.

M - Big full body with gentle carbonation.

O - The bitterness here is a mouth puncher. Dig it.

Pours a nice amber with a cream colored head with nice retention and lacing.

Mango, papaya, peach, and a nice floral bouquet with a slight malt biscuit backbone.

Taste follows nose with aggressive hop forward profile.