SMaSH Project (Made With Single Malt Golden Promise and Single Hop Citra)
Long Trail Brewing Co.

Can, no date:
Pours a pale yellow golden, with a decent amount of haze - close to cloudy but not quite - when cold. Head doesn't grow too large, but does fill a thick rim of white foam. Lacing is light, sheets that fade quickly. Warmth clears the beer to a light haze.

Nose is herbal tropical, I am getting passion fruit, melon, pine mainly. Also get some pineapple and an uripe tropical fruit note. There is a light astringency, also - little like alcohol which is a tad odd for a 6.8% beer.

Taste starts out with a crisp grain character, and a nice medium heft. It comes across as like a thick cracker, to which a certain herbal note is added. This is the foundation upon which the tropical notes start to come, pineapple, passion fruit, and a little orange rind. The tropical notes add a certain sweetness for a brief time, though the beer keeps a decent bitter/tropical balance until about late-mid taste. Then the piney notes start to take over and a nice IPA bitterness takes hold.

The beer is a tad harsh on my tongue in this pour (I did not recognize it in the couple I had before). The carbonation seems medium, so maybe it is a bit of spicy bite of the hops. The bitter pine taste at the end is not a killer flavor, but it does force my taste buds to withdraw a bit each sip. Warmth smooths this a tad.

Really enjoyed this beer as a straightforward IPA. Flavors abound, and given that they came from two main ingredients, I am also impressed. A nice balance that definitely goes bitter in the end, making it a fairly classic IPA to me (if a little tropical in nature).

 

 

On tap at The Good Life Pub in Massapequa Park, NY. Very nice, clean, and enjoyable. Modest sweetness and bitterness made it super easy to drink before and during the meal. Impressions of citrus without calling any attention to a particular fruit, and a fresh grain element that was appreciable since the hoppage wasn't all ramped up. For an intrinsically "unbalanced" style (the IPA), this was a well-balanced beer. I'd have it again.

 

LONG TRAIL SMASH GOLDEN PROMISE/CITRA 1/19/17

Poured from the 12 oz. can into a Lawson's stemmed tulip.

a; Translucent orange with am inch thick white head which receded to thin surface foam and dense lacing.

s; Citrus leaning to tangerine.

t; Citrus and pine resin with a solid hop bite over a biscuit malt base. Slightly bitter finish, otherwise dry.

m; Medium, good body and high carbonation tingle.

o; A "juicy" IPA, better than the earlier Smash version I have had. Eminently and substantially sippable yet marginally sessionable at 6.8% ABV. 58 IBUs are all evident. Worthy of more attention.

 

 

 

Typical gold color-little head and lacing. Smell is pineapple, mango, papaya. Taste is very nice. Mimics the nose. Slightly sweet finish balances the beer nicely. Clean finish leaves you wanting more. Very approachable and pleasant. Will definitely have again. The best Long Trail brew I have had.

 

A: cloudy; burnt orange in color; 1 finger light khaki head that receded to a wispy cap; nice lacing;

S: malt comes through first - caramel and bready; hops follows with intense citrus;

T: very nicely balanced; the citrus in the hops and the caramel and breadiness of the malt co-mingle very well; moderate bitterness on the finish;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; lightly dry finish;

O: very enjoyable;

Really tasty! Pours hazy gold with thin, clingy white top that laces all the way down. Aroma is nice bready malt with good balance of citrus peel. Flavor is similar - well balanced malt backbone and citrus hop with a good bitter mid-sip finishing very clean and ever so slightly sweet. Very enjoyable.

 

 

 

Many thanks to SawDog505 for this can.

A - Hazy, medium orange gold color pour with some floaties and a small amount of yeast sediment. (Was a little sloppy with the pour.)

S - Citrus peel with some pungency, a little tropical fruit, and some hemp aroma.

T - What malt that comes through is lightly sweet and steps aside to let the hops take over. Oily citrus peel and tropical fruit dominate from start to finish. Lingering oily tropical fruit with a very fruity bitterness that's more fruity than bitter.

M - Leaves an oily tropical fruit coating in the mouth that continues to build. A little cotton-like sensation.

O - Long Trail seems to be more miss than hit with me and this one is a hit.

12 oz. Can. Single malt: Golden Promise (Scottish) Single Hop : Citra 6.8 %abv.
A very hazy golden/orange color. Substantial, sea-foamy head. Slow dissipation of foam.
The aroma is of tangy and sweet fruits from the Citra, dense and sweet smell with a light wheat and grainy edge. A very bold, sweet and coloful smell.
Gritty, earthy but lively and crisp bite at first, feels very light and bright but then lingers on. Finishes dry, slightly bitter grit.
The flavor spectrum ranges from earthy grain and wheat malt to a myriad of zesty, tropical fruit flavors from the Citra hops. The Scottish malt delivers a heady, complex wheat/honey bread edge, while further deepend by the deep hop flavors of wild red fruits and citrus. Flavors are seperate stars by themselves, but together really make something unique. Think of The Beatles solo careers and then remember THE Beatles together (mainly '65-70) ! This might give you some insight into the overall feeling of the execution of the overall effect this brew has had, and the idea behind the smash project.