WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA
On the southside of Williamsport, NEW TRAIL BREWING COMPANY opened its doors April 2018. Crafting a ‘plethora of beer’ styles, the rustic red brick warehouse pub initially offered a traditional pilsner, India Pale Ale and their first beer ever, Trail Amber Ale.
Large silver brewtanks gathered on the left side have increased volume from 3,000 barrels annually to an astounding 8,000 barrels in four years. The flagship beer, Broken Heels Hazy IPA (reviewed in Beer Index), consumes an overwhelming 50% of total production.
Inside the high-ceilinged cement floor pub, a 12-seat slate top bar features a white-tiled draught station and eight community tables front the bar. Overhead doors open up to a patio with slate walkway curling thru a covered deck area, picnic tabled space and a fire pit spot with oversized beach wood furnishings.
My wife and I took a seat outside near the firepit while downing a few New Trails.
Placid light-bodied German-styled pils, Lazy River, caressed laidback lemony orange tanginess with subtle floral perfumed herbal musk and mild maize-dried astringency.
Aluminum clear-hued dry-hopped Japanese rice lager, Forgotten Stream, retained rice-dried lemon liming and relegated perfumed hop musk.
Wildflower-honeyed amber ale, Trail Ale, attached floral red and orange fruited hop dollops to toasty cereal-grained granola nuttiness.
Dryer than most witbier, New Trail White let zestful lemony mandarin orange spicing and sweet banana licks pick up herbal earthiness above wheat-flaked pilsner malts.
Approachable Simcoe-Amarillo-hopped IPA, Gear Head, brought dry lemon, grapefruit and pineapple salting plus spicy orange, tangerine and clementine tang to its oated wheat bottom.
Peaty tea-like fungi wavered thru orange-oiled candied lemon for Indigo Skies, a ‘modern’ West Coast IPA.
Dry moderate-bodied hazy IPA, Lightning Bug, parlayed mild grapefruit-peeled mandarin orange tanginess to light hop pining and celery-watered crisping.
Another dry IPA, Double Broken Heels, placed spicy grapefruit and orange sedation up against coniferous pine resin and mossy hop dewiness, picking up latent perfumed guava-pineapple tropicalia.
Fudgy ice cream-inspired milk stout, Elk Tracks, brought heavy lactic influence to creamy peanut buttered Madagascar vanilla stead, mocha latte caramelization and hazelnut-glazed cola daubs, placing dry truffle-like earthiness next to its chocolate pudding crusted molasses oats base.