Hit The Trail Ale
The beer pours a dark coppery amber, kind of like weathered gold, topped with a frothy cream colored head. Decent head retention, keeping a thin foam through most of the pint, with some sticky cobwebs of lace. The aroma is mainly a sweet caramel maltiness, a bit of toasted and crystal malt, with mild esters. A slight hint of chocolate. The esters are odd and indistinct, just kind of fruity/floral with no specific fruit flavors standing out. Some mellow, subdued hops, perhaps fuggles. A moderate diacetyl butterscotch aroma, with husky graininess. The flavor starts with some toasty caramel maltiness, more toasty than caramel, traveling into a mild esteriness with hints of red ripe apple and some of that juicyfruit gum flavor. Some mild diacetyl butterscotch blends and enhances the caramel maltiness. Smooth, easy going carbonation, with a lightish medium body. Some mild herbal hopping comes through towards the end, with some spicy, earthy english hop flavor right in the finish. The caramel and diacetyl build through the sip, becoming quite strong in the end, balancing the hoppiness well. Some rough graininess in the finish, a hint of chocolate malt, lingering into the aftertaste with some butterscotch. A decent beer, definitely one of Long Trail's better offerings, but nothing I'd go out of my way to buy again. I've had this beer a couple times, and it seems a bit different with each bottle. Retrying it, the diacetyl is less pronounced, with stronger hop flavor and graininess. In keeping with Long Trail's rough hewn sort of flavor, but with perhaps a little more complexity to keep you interested. A bit muddy, with an indistinct style, as is the case with most of Long Trail's beers. I just reviewed it for what it was, not following any sort of style guideline.