Long Trail Hit the Trail Ale

Brewed by Long Trail Brewery
Style: Brown Ale
Bridgewater Corners, Vermont USA

(Draught) Sampled at the Central New York Brewfest on February 4, 2006. Medium biege head with a brown body. Nose is biscuit and nutty. Flavours of caramel and nut malt with a grainy undertone. Somewhat of a sweet malted finish.

Crisp and hoppy for a brown ale. Some nice earthy, peppery english hops on top of a smooth sweetness. Relatively strong bitterness in the aftertaste. Interesting interpretation with the wheat (according to the website), giving it a clean finish, but a grainy palate. I liked this better at first, but am tiring of it as I get to the bottom of the glass. Has become something I would not revisit.

English browns tend to be malty and sweet, and Hit the Trail gets its sweetness from three different malts, and some brown sugar added to the boil. English Brown Ale is also know as Nut Brown Ale, and the showcase in this beer style is sweet malty and nutty flavors, on a soft, smooth, body. Brown Ales are very social, drinkable beers, that are meant to be enjoyed by the pint, over good conversation. Hit the Trail Ale pours to a bright, deep chestnut brown color, with a thick white head, and a soft to moderate amount of carbonation. The nose on this beer is very inviting, with lots of good sweet malty, and slight nutty aromas. The palate is soft, with lots of good biscuit and sweet malty flavor, paired with some light roasty and nutty flavors. Hit the Trail finishes with more sweet malt and nut flavors up front, then ends with just a touch of hop bitterness to round out the malty character of this beer. Sweet malty flavors linger on the tongue letting you know you just had a very tasty beer. This is a very enjoyable, very drinkable, social beer. This is a great session beer, which is a beer that you can drink a few(ok..quite a few) of, enjoy, and not get too full, bloated, or intoxicated. Hit the Trail is a very food friendly beer as well, and would match up with classic pub grub, as well as hearty fare.

12z bottle. Ruby, maple hue. Minimal white ring of head. Good amount of malty sugar in the nose. Nice malty oilyness. Good hop aroma as well as body. Chocolate note, citrus hops. Finish is hop driven with notes of citrus and sugar.

(12 oz bottle, obtained in trade with jah noth, thanks Dan!) Wow, this could be the worst brown ale I’ve tasted, or at least one of the worst. It’s not that it tastes truly bad, but what’s with the grainy flavor? Grain, caramel, brown sugar, nuts, some woodiness, lightly sweet and lightly bitter. Toast and caramel in the nose. Dark amber color with full clarity. Small off-white head fades to a ring. Boring, weak flavored, lacking any pizzazz, and well, just not very good.

Pours a translucent red amber with a small off white head. Aroma of nuts, malts and caramel. Taste is thin/light, nuts, malts, some hop bitterness.

The beers from this brewer all seem to be variations on the same theme. Big malty taste featured, simply made. I like the strategy. This one is a dark amber with a thin white head and a malty aroma. Nice blend of hops and malt in the palate and a lingering hops finish.

Pours clear dark brown / mahogany with medium tan foamy lacing head. Aroma of sweet/sour malt. Immediate sweet flavor with malty balance. Smooth palate with slight bitter finish.