Hibernator - Long Trail Brewing Co.

ybnorml

Rhode Island

3.2/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A clean dark amber/brownish beer. Has a nice off white head, with a good lace. The aroma is a malty sweet with some caramel and a hint of coffee. The flavor is light malt with a quick note of chocolate and coffee just before the hop finish. Not enough of an alcohol warmth to be considered a strong WeeHeavy.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2005 22:42:56 | More by ybnorml

PeatReek

California

3.23/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Nice deep amber color, almost copper, crystal clear. Head starts thick and rocky, just a touch off-white, and dissolves to a lid fairly quickly.

Smell: very faint, but some bready malts are coming through with a touch of orange-pine hop smell at the end.

Taste: much drier than I thought it would be. Bread is strong in the initial attack, but not really sweet at all. After the bread come the hops, a little more grapefruit than orange this time but still piny. Finish is hoppy-bitter, with the bread kind of lingering as an aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Substantial, full, but a bit oily-feeling. Carbonation is more prominent than I would've expected for a Scotch ale.

Drinkability: After several sips, the grapefruit hops interfere with the nice breadiness. I would probably not choose to drink more than one of these, possibly a couple.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2006 22:35:07 | More by PeatReek

animal69

Louisiana

3.23/5  rDev -12%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

# 2 in the sampler was this one ; pours a hazy med. copper color w/ a very thin head which dissipates rather quickly leaving little to no lacing in my nonic ( crap, noticed an oily film from my lip balm on top) ; a sweet malty smell, rich w/ alcohol and some hop and diacetyl undertones ; starts w/ a stronger than expected hop bite, followed by a malty, alcoholic "whiskey"-like flavor, a little hop flavor present as well ; a med body w/ slight carbonation, true to style, feels a little thick w/ all the hop bitterness lingering ; not a bad beer at all, just a little too hopped for the style...

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2007 01:13:13 | More by animal69

mschofield

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a dark honey-red, head is a yellow-tinged white.
The smell is a sweet honey-malt. In the mouth it comes across as buttery, with a rum undertone, a good amount of malt flavor. Mouthfeel is smooth but thin.

Overall not bad, but nothing to write home about. There are better winter brews out there. I might have been expecting too much with the -ator name, I wasn't expecting a doppel, but I did want something more than this.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2003 16:22:27 | More by mschofield

HappyHourHero

Indiana

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Light cream colored head that leaves just a tad of lacing. The color is somewhere between a dark copper and a ruby bronze. It smells like skunky hops, not all that appealing.The flavor is not too strong, mostly hops that are just barely bitter, a bit of burnt malt and butterscotch hold it back. The body is light and the beer is pretty carbonated, it's almost like swallowing a frothy beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2003 05:15:44 | More by HappyHourHero

thekevlarkid

Maryland

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Out of the bottle and into my glass this beer is an amber color with some reddish hues. Off-white head laces a little but not much retention. Nose of roasted malts, hints of caramel. Palate is predominantly malts with subtle hops underneath. Unbalanced. Caramel, wheat bread, slightly sweet. Medium carbonation, decent mouthfeel, but not as filling as I was expecting (or hoping for in a winter seasonal). About par for LT and it does display their usual drinkability and smoothness. But there are far better Winter brews.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2008 15:22:17 | More by thekevlarkid

Cylinsier

Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz.

Pours a reddish honey gold, slightly hazy, off-white head dissipates from a half inch to a lacing.

Smells of dry barley malt, slight caramel and scotch, and a light woodiness.

Mildly sweet like honey and molasses followed by a dry woodiness with a barley character. Whisper of a hop bitterness. Bready in the end.

Medium body with tingles of carbonation on the roof of the mouth.

A so-so ale and a descent Scottish, a bit bland ultimately. Interesting and worth a try as it goes down easy but presents a good body and a stronger flavor, but probably not something I'll return to in the future.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2012 00:40:16 | More by Cylinsier

mountdew1

New Hampshire

3.3/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into pint glass. A dark orangey brown color with a slight head that disappeared quickly. Slighty warm malty aroma. Looked like a good beer. Taste was ok, but not what I was expecting for the beer. Slighty bitter with some malts and a hint of spicy. I was expecting more spices. Very easy to drink and felt ok in the mouth. Not a bad beer, and since it's fairly easy to find in New England, much better than the BMC usually on tap.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2007 01:43:06 | More by mountdew1

beerbutcher

Maine

3.3/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

this beer is deep red in color with an offwhite head

the aroma is malty with accents of caramel and biscuit

the flavor is some what rich, and dextrinous. the sweetness doesn't come across so much as caramel though, nor malty in the german way.. hops are negligible and the finish is rather average aside from the sweetness.

mouthfeel is quite pleasant. i love dextrines. wish there were more hops to hold up the sweetness, but the carb. level is good and the finish is nice as well.

drinkability is moderate. it is a malt forward beer that's a touch off balance for me. it's not interesting, but it is quite drinkable, winning points for not being offensive.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2008 04:14:02 | More by beerbutcher

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.3/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This was served from the tap at The Distillery in Victor, NY. It arrived in a house pint glass and glowed a golden brown color, with amber hues to the light. It held a half finger tall tan head, which showed poor retention. This left chunky bubbles atop the liquid, with surrounding sheets of lacing. No sediment or haze was noticed, and carbonation appeared light. The aroma opened with mild, steely malts. With warmth these took on great complexity, showing chocolate and deeper toffee components. Otherwise the nose met light earthy hops, with minerals, honey, and nectary floral sweetness. Our first impression was that this beer was not bad, and had a curious bitterness. The flavoring opened up with a strong synthetic cherry vibe. The malts here were coffee-esque, with a surprisingly strong roastiness. The middle peaked with bitterness of floral hops and booze. This gave a metallic and medicinal feel to this stage of the tasting. The malts deepened, becoming more chocolatey and chalky here, and only slightly sweeter. The finish showed even grassiness to take over all else. This washed the palate, leaving room for a final twinge of brown sugar sweetness in the final drops. The aftertaste breathed of bready grain, cherry cough syrup, metals, grassy hops, booze, raw honey bomb, and raw bananas. The body was medium and the carbonation was average. There was a light metallic coating around the mouth, with a final dryness, but this never approached astringency. At times the feel was a little watery, with only decent froth and pop. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank somewhere in the middle.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the malty inclusion, and the eventual complexity to the flavoring. While not all the flavors were necessarily well blended, that malty complexity of toffee, caramel, chocolate, and coffee all coming together was nice. We felt the nose to be a bit mild, and ultimately the beer need a bit more sweetness to fit the classic stylistic guidelines.

Serving type: on-tap

04-24-2012 15:14:20 | More by TheBrewo

Gavage

New Jersey

3.33/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: deep amber / brown in color with a thin 1/2" head that fell quickly. Some spotty lacing develops.

Smell: barely any aroma, only some malt sweetness can be detected.

Taste: nice strong maltiness, somewhat bready, with a very faint chocolate tone. Decent piney bitterness. No real peat tones noticeable. Actually quite tasty, just not in a scottish ale sense.

Mouthfeel: smooth at the start, and the finish is dry and smooth. Medium bodied. Short malt-filled aftertaste.

Drinkability: Nicely drinkable if you like a nice malty brew. Try it, everyone will have a different opinion on this one.

Serving type: on-tap

03-23-2006 23:33:52 | More by Gavage

Chico1985

Massachusetts

3.33/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottled 10/21/11.

Pours a slightly hazy burnt orange, big ol off-white head retains well at about half a finger and leaves good lace. Some sediment floats about.

Smell is quite faint, but not bad once it warms. Sweet malts, caramel, some tea, maybe a hint of chocolate.

Taste is big on the sweet malts and caramel malts, a tea leaf feel and herbal hops balance it out a bit along with some spice. Toasty bread in the finish. A light peat presence comes around with warmth and makes it a little more well-rounded.

Carbonation is a bit stinging but not bad. Decent mouthfeel.

An okay winter ale, doesn't offer much beyond that, definitely improves with warmth.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 23:39:09 | More by Chico1985

MoreThanWine

Massachusetts

3.33/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured a quarter inch off-white head with short life. The body is a hazy amber/peach, almost a simple tea color. It smells simply of malt. And the taste is malt, too, with a slightly nutty aftertaste. The body is lightweight. There's an exceedingly long bitternut finish. Frankly I find this sample one dimensional.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 09:38:52 | More by MoreThanWine

pbrian

Connecticut

3.35/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A touch of honey on the nose. A bit of the signature Long Trail toastiness on the tongue but that and the hops are overwhelmed by the malt and honey sweetness. The first one is quite enjoyable, the second one is hard to finish due to this mouth-coating sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2002 08:52:40 | More by pbrian

shippos

New York

3.35/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

pours a clear brillant red amber color with a decent thick white head. sweet malty aroma with some honey standing out in the end. very balanced and subtle taste, not much stands out in the way of malt honey or hops...very easy to drink though...could go for a few of these...but they might get to be too much after awhile.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2005 21:48:53 | More by shippos

HogHill

Massachusetts

3.35/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a mahogany brown, the body is quite clear. A light tan colored head wisps away after a few minutes.

Smells of lightly roasted malts, not much hop bitterness in the nose.

Tastes clean, malt is the main flavor here. There is an earthiness to it, reminiscient of tea. There is a mild hop bitterness on the finish. Again, very clean tasting.

Feels medium bodied, moderate amount of carbonation.

Overall: a decently enjoyable winter ale, at 5.6% it is nice to drink on a cold winter's day. Though it is not interesting enough to me to drink more than one or two.

Notes from the bottle: Hardy and robust, this full-bodied, malty brew with a smooth finish features a blend of 6 malts and a dash of honey. A great Winter Warmer!

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2005 20:03:27 | More by HogHill

patreely12

Maryland

3.35/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - dark reddish brown color, ruby. thin dissolving head, but a good amount of lacing.

S - first hops and wheat. lingering smell of malt and alcohol.

T/M - mild malt and hops, medium bodied. somewhat sweet but with a sharp finish where you can taste the alcohol, though it isn't off-putting.

D - a good scottish ale, haven't had too many of these. good cold weather beer, would be great with a holiday dinner.

Serving type: on-tap

11-24-2010 19:14:10 | More by patreely12

ksimons

New York

3.35/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A-pours a clear deep amber red with a nice amount of head that leaves some lace and stickiness on the glass

S-malts and a hint of earthy hops

T-a mix of malt and hops, a little watery, has a bit of a metallic taste to it

M-moderate carbonation, light body

D-I wish it was a little maltier and richer, but overall a decent sessionable winter beer to enjoy since its so easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2011 22:23:31 | More by ksimons

Folderol

New Jersey

3.38/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

First of all, with the name Hibernator, why couldn't this be a doppelbock? Anyway, this was a decent, but not overly impressive brew. It looked quite nice, an opaque tan/brown with a nice head that receded to a thin film. Smell was pretty neutral malt and hops, nothing special. I think I was expecting more in the flavor and mouthfeel - it's malty but not sweet, hoppy but not in your face, and dryer in the finish than I'd like. I also caught a lot more warming alcohol than I expected from a 5.6% beer. Not bad, but not worth a whole 6er. Double Bag remains my favorite Long Trail brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2009 13:21:46 | More by Folderol

mdaschaf

Washington

3.38/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Review from notes (11/25)

A: Pours an amber/copper color with a tan 1 finger head with slow dissipation. Leaves a layer of foam on the top of the beer. Nice lacing.

S: Very grainy, a little bit of biscuity malt, but not as much as expected.

T: A good bit of caramel and toffee from the malt. Also slightly nutty. Has a toasty bread flavor at the end.

M/D: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Very clean drinking. Overall its not bad. I would drink it again, but would prefer to try some others in the style to get a better handle of what a Scottish should be.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2010 02:09:19 | More by mdaschaf

scottum

Vermont

3.4/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Another good beer by Long Trail... Not as good as Double Bag though.

Excelent carbination levels. The label has a nice by the fire scene of a bear presumably doing what all of us would like to do in the winter by hibernating. the beer was a nice treat after sledding all day in northern VT.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2003 14:13:22 | More by scottum

Hagbard

Connecticut

3.4/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

This beer strikes a fairly impressive image. A beautiful dark ruby color. It has a small head, but it sticks around forever and leaves a great lacing on the side of the glass. The aroma isn't very strong. What's there is obviously very malty, but also earthy in a very scotch-ale type way. The taste is very malty with a wet earth touch in the background. There is the tiniest amount of hop bitterness at the finsih, but is almost indetectable. The malt rules here, as it should in a scotch ale. There's a slight metallic taste in the finish, but it isn't strong enough to detract from the overall experience. It has a fairly full mouthfeel, which is appropriate. The drinkability is OK, but since I've discovered a love of the hops, I yearn for a bit more bitterness to cut through the malt sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2004 04:36:14 | More by Hagbard

SaCkErZ9

Florida

3.4/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to DrDogbeer for this bottle.

Pours from the 12oz bottle a dark amber color with a small white head. Slighty hazy due to the beer being unfilitered.

Aroma isnt typical of most scottish ales I have had. Smells almost wheat like with some yeast aromas as well. Very grainy. Brown ale like as well. A melange of aromas that do not indicate scottish ale.

A bit hoppy and bitter for the style. Pretty aggresively hopped with some earthy hops. Caramel and toasty backbone lend their ears.

Not bad overall. Kind of basic on all fronts but a nice tasting beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2009 19:40:49 | More by SaCkErZ9

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pulled out of a mixed case. The appears is a simple brown with a white head. The aroma leaves a lot to be desired with a plain, too-clean mix of mineral-y water and a hint of toffee. The flavor gets a little better with a deep caramel and toffee flavor and hint of chocolate. It's not perfect, the flavor is too weak for the style, but overall this is an OK beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2009 23:49:00 | More by tempest

brianjay

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clean, clear, light-red-orange-brown with a very thin white head which disappeared almost instantly. Smells of butterscotch, molasses. The taste starts with a strong, sweet maltiness then ends with a nutty finish which hangs around on the tongue. Goes down smoothe and easy.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2009 02:19:37 | More by brianjay