Long Trail Ale

Review Date 8/24/2000  Last Updated 7/21/2022 By John Staradumsky

  Style: Altbier   Brewery: Long Trail   Country: USA   State: Vermont   $ Per OZ: $.23 (B)   ABV: 5%

I first sampled Long Trail Ale back in the early nineties and immediately fell in love with it. I was struck by the balance of malt, hops, and fruity esters in the beer, which the label proclaims is a “Full bodied amber ale ...modeled after the “altbiers” of Dusseldorf, Germany.” The beer is top fermented but undergoes a cold-lagering typical to the style. Unfortunately, Long Trail in Rhode Island suffered the fate of many micro beers in today's market: greedy distributors forced retailers to buy it in far too large quantities, and soon the only Long Trail available here was undrinkabley stale.

Fortunately, Connecticut and Massachusetts seem to have a more reliable distribution system than Rhode Island for this beer, and I happened upon some fresh Long Trail there (the beer was four months from it’s bottling date and refrigerated when I purchased it.) I've had no trouble getting it in good condition for quite some time. The beer was exactly as I remembered it: golden in color with a light head, very malty in the nose. The palate reveals a toasty, biscuit-like malt character with hints of apple esters followed by a decisively bitter hop finish.

As an altbier, this brew compares favorably with my standard reference for that style, Dornbusch Alt (now sadly defunct but rumor has it that it may be returning), if a bit less hoppy than that impressive beer. Long Trail Ale is a true winner, from one of New England’s premier craft brewers.

Update, September 6th, 2009: A few months ago, I found myself back in little Rhody, the state where I was born in raised. As one might expect, I could not return home to Atlanta without some New England beer in the trunk, and a bomber of Long Trail Ale was amongst the loot I scored. I'm happy to say that the beer is as good as I remember it, a true and tasty alt that pours a hazy orange amber color with a thick foamy head and a soft, slightly fruity nose. The palate is lightly toasty with perhaps a bit less of the apple character (but still a hint) and a perfectly balanced, slightly bitter hop finish. This is a very easy drinking, yet flavorful beer that I recommend most highly.

Long Trail cites 1989 as the year the beer was first brewed, and I can still recall stumbling upon my first six-pack back in the early nineties in Waltham, Massachusetts. The beer made such an impression, in fact, that I can still remember to this day spying it through the cooler doors of a liquor store there. The brewer cites 30 IBUs of bitterness and 4.6% alcohol by volume. Malts used are standard two row barley, wheat, crystal, and chocolate while Northern Brewer, Willamette, and Mt. Hood hops are employed.
For 20 years now, a New England classic.

Update July 21st 2022: Several weeks ago, I got a single of Long Trail Ale for old times' sake from Half Time, delivered. It was so good I got a six-pack delivered this time. I paid $15.99 for the six-pack and $20 shipping (I did get some other singles along with it to be fair), but it would have been worth the full shipping price alone to enjoy this beautiful beer again. In New England, you can get a six-pack of bottles for $10.49 or a 12-pack in either bottles or cans for $15.99 at Total Wine. Hard to pass up the latter. Truth be told, I have never bought an entire six-pack of anything online before. OK, I did buy a case of Rhino Chasers Amber Ale once in the 90s, and a half case of Alaskan Smoked Porter then too, but that was a long time ago).

On their website, Long Trail says this beer has an alcohol content of 5% by volume with 28 IBUs. They cite 1989 as the date Long Trail Ale was launched, and it was not much later that I enjoyed my first bottle.

They also say:

Long Trail Ale® is a full-bodied amber ale brewed with our top fermenting house yeast that yields a clean, complex flavor.

Our flagship brew has weaved its way into the Vermont landscape and become as much a Green Mountain tradition as the 273 miles of the Long Trail itself. Plenty has changed since the first batch rolled off the line, but one thing remains constant, Long Trail Ale’s® presence at ski hills, cookouts and get-togethers all over the East Coast.

Long Trail Ale 2022 Pours to a beautiful deep burnt amber color with a rocky tan head and a nose of Bit-O-Honey malts. A thick layer of Brussels Lace forms on my glass and follows the liquid all the way to the bottom. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body and pops with notes of toasty nutty malt goodness. I get a hint of the Bit-O-Honey the nose promised but more of that nutty goodness and well toasted bread, and some burnt treacle. Finishes with a balancing hop bitterness, but just balancing.

I have been drinking craft beer since 1984 and this is one of the few beers that it is as good three decades later as the first time I tried it. I am glad to be able to keep enjoying it, and you know I will.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??