Trail Candy Tropical IPA

Review Date 3/28/2026 By John Staradumsky

  Style: India Pale Ale   Brewery: Lazy Hiker   Country: USA   State: North Carolina   $ Per OZ: $.50 (D)   ABV: 6%

Dinner time! The wife and I were on vacation and enjoying a night at Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino in Murphy, North Carolina, and it was dinner time. We were both hungry, though I had enjoyed a snack at the Valley River brewery downtown a few hours earlier. She hadn’t eaten since lunch, so we decided to hit the Brew Brothers pub and restaurant. Which of course meant I was getting a beer, and the beer I got was a Lazy Hiker Trail Candy Tropical IPA.

It seemed like the right thing to do; it seemed like a beer well suited for pairing with my entree, which was Chili Lime Grilled Salmon ($27). The salmon is topped with a roasted corn Pico de Gallo, cilantro, and lime crema and comes with two sides. I chose Spanish rice and onion rings.

Lazy Hiker, like most breweries these days, has a number of IPAs. I had enjoyed their Slack Pack IPA in the past, broadly in the style of a classic American IPA with resiny piney character. Trail Candy IPA is more tropical, though I did get some citrus, too. Lazy Hiker says:

A sight for sore eyes after a long day on the trail, this Tropical IPA is bursting with juicy flavors of mango, papaya, pineapple, and citrus. But don’t fret – no fruits were harmed in the making of this beer. A blend of various tropical and fruity hops brings massive fruit flavors to the forefront of your palate, with a soft finish on the back end thanks to large quantities of flaked grains. Get Lazy and enjoy this luscious Trail Candy!

Lazy Hiker Trail Candy IPA has an alcohol content of 4.7% by volume with 35 IBUs and I paid $8 for my pint draft at Brew Brothers.

My glass of Lazy Hiker Trail Candy Tropical IPA arrived a brilliant golden color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of citric grapefruit and tropical fruit. Taking a sip, the beer is light to medium body with more citrus and to my taste tropical mango and pineapple notes. It finishes dry with grapefruit pith and peel and a long dry bitter finish.

This was very tasty indeed, with the citrus notes working well with the lime of my salmon, while the mango and pineapple was a perfect complement to the Pico de Gallo.  

If I am not mistaken, I have a can of this on hand in one of the beer fridges. Looking forward to enjoying this treat again.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??