Coffee Stout

Beer Name: Coffee Stout (Brewmaster Series)
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
ABV: 8%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 2/15/11

The Brewmaster Series is currently a group of 4 beers that are only available during a small window each year. Coffee Stout is only made for February and March, so I guess I got lucky when I found this bottle. Or possibly unlucky. That all depends on how good it is.

The Long Trail Coffee Stout is a very dark beer. Like solid black, just the way a stout should be. It poured with a nice thick stout head, caramel-colored and almost an inch thick. The head faded slowly, and left a somewhat heavy lacing pattern. That faded before the beer was done, since this beer is too good to rush through. There was a great coffee aroma here, but not really anything else.

First impression: wow, that's some intensely bitter coffee flavor. However, after letting it mellow out for a couple minutes, the taste becomes a bit less intense and a whole lot more enjoyable. Each sip is pretty much the same, with a little sweetness from the malt at the beginning, and then the coffee and a little bit of hoppy bitterness. This beer feels very thick and creamy as you drink it. There's a medium amount of carbonation (for a stout), and a slight aftertaste of coffee.

Final thought - If you pour this in a glass, give a few minutes, and then drink it nice and slowly, this beer is delightful. It's great for sitting back and relaxing. The coffee flavor is very noticeable, but it's not overwhelming.

-Jon

Long Trail Ale

Beer Name: Long Trail Ale
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
ABV: 4.6%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 11/3/10

Doesn't beer just taste better when it's in a glass? I think so.

This has been in the fridge for a little while, but I think that it will still be ok since it's been at a pretty constant temperature and out of any direct light. I've read that light is actually the beer killer and not temperature fluctuations, but I don't trust heat either. Leave my beer alone!

Long Trail Ale is what would probably be considered their flagship beer. It's an amber or copper colored ale with a short-lived light head. There is a medium amount of lacing left behind. The aroma is sort of grainy but also fruity, like apples. Last time I tasted a beer with an apple scent, it was awful. But that's because it was a dreaded Belgian white ale, so hopefully that won't be an issue here.

Well, those apples seem to have vanished. I can smell them, but I can't taste them. What I can taste is a malty sweetness with a smooth finish and a little bit more carbonation than I was expecting. There's not really anything hoppy going on here, and no real aftertaste to speak of.

Final thought - At only 4.6%, this would make an excellent substitute for macro-swill during a long night of drinking. It doesn't taste like water, but you should still be able to drink an entire case. But don't do that, because you also might die. A good beer, but nothing majorly outstanding.

-Jon

Long Trail Pale Ale

Beer Name: Long Trail Pale Ale
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
ABV: Um. . .
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 11/1/10

Alright, I am mildly concerned because this beer is not listed on the Long Trail website. That's weird. I hope this isn't a trap beer, which is actually poison. I guess we'll find out.

This particular pale ale is a cloudy golden color with a little bit of orange in there. There was about 1/4" of head on top which faded quickly and left a decent amount of lacing behind. The aroma here is of piney hops, as expected in a pale ale.

Hmm. There's something off about the taste here. I don't know if this is an issue with this beer in general or this specific beer because I remember trying Kathryn's beer before and it tasted fine. For whatever reason, this bottle of beer just tastes off. I can taste the hoppiness and the crisp bitter finish, but there's also something weird going on. Maybe it IS poison!! In non-paranoid news, the beer has a medium carbonation that works well with the beer's style. The finish is a little dry, but not too much. There's a mildly hoppy aftertaste.

Final thought - I hesitate to make a decision about this beer until I try another one. I had a sip of Kathryn's last time she was here, and it tasted like a good pale ale. Not top notch, but still good. This one just tastes wrong. I will save my final judgment until I get another opportunity to try one.

-Jon

Hibernator

Beer Name: Hibernator
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
ABV: 5.6% or 6%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 11/3/10

There's still lots of new beers in the fridge, so the streak continues. I've got a Long Trail Survival Pack and 4 more untested bombers, so there should be daily updates from here to Christmas. Consider that your present from me.

So, Beer Advocate says that Hibernator is 5.6% ABV and Long Trail's website says it's 6%. I would assume that Long Trail knows its beer, but then again, it's in Vermont which means there's probably a lot of pot smoking going on. Hooray for stereotypes!

Long Trail's Hibernator is their winter beer in the Scottish ale style, which means that it probably gets rip-roaring drunk and then goes golfing and eats haggis. Yeah, stereotypes again!!. Anyway, the beer is a cloudy orange color with a thin head and a light lacing. Its aroma is a malty scent with a little bit of bread/grains and maybe something sweet like coffee or caramel.

This beer is deceptive. The first sip is weird, and seems not good. But then it gets more tasty as it warms up a little bit. Don't get fooled by that first taste. It gets much better. The beer has a slightly sweet malty flavor with a little bit of hops in the background. There's not a lot of carbonation, but it still seems like too much. The beer finishes cleanly without an aftertaste.

Final thought - This beer is good for the winter, since it tastes like a winter beer. I do wish it was slightly less carbonated, because then I could definitely just drink a bunch and avoid going outside for an extended period of time. Which is pretty much all I'm looking for during the winter.

-Jon

Blackbeary Wheat

Beer Name: Blackbeary Wheat
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
ABV: 4%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled 11/01/10

Let's keep this thing going. Four beers in four days, even though I am secretly writing this a couple of days ago. It's like a time paradox!

Blackbeary Wheat is one of many fruit beers that I enjoy because I am secure in my masculinity. And because I can't call myself a beer connoisseur without being open to all beer varieties. This beer is a pale yellow color and sort of looks like one of those beers you would be drinking at a keg party. There is no noticeable head or lacing. The aroma of this beer is blackberry (obviously) and maybe some malt. Mostly it's berries though.

Much as expected, the dominant flavor here is blackberry. As a matter of fact, this beer would probably be terrible without it. There's also some grainy flavor, which is probably the "wheat" part of the name. It's a very light beer, with a little bit of carbonation and no real aftertaste. Combined with the low ABV, you could probably drink a dozen of these before you run into any problems.

Final thought - This beer is good at what it does, which is be refreshing. It's not a beer that I would be super excited about, but it does make a regular trip to the fridge during the warmer months. Overall, it's very average.

-Jon