12 oz single from Kevin - many thanks. Different label than the one currently in the BA db picture. Good looking, hazed butterscotch pour with good depth of color but a wispy, ill-retained head and virtually no lace. Plenty of banana in the nose and tastes. The finish offers a little spice and bitterness that seems like orange peel. Lingers a touch as the beer establishes its aftertaste but the spice is not as big a feature as the fruity banana. A bit prickly in the mouth as well which doesn't...
Notes on beers brewed by
Tröegs Brewing Company
Tröegs Java Head Stout
12 oz single. Nice deep brown/black body with plenty of high, mocha head. Head color is particularly pleasing. Roasty and dry in the nose and the roast continues in the initial tastes. Some light, teeth coating tannins come forth quickly with some alcohol in there too. SA little organic tree bark and a green, fresh hop note also present. Perhaps a touch of smoke in th aftertaste. A bright beer that gives the impression of being drop-hopped. The oatmeal doesn't make its presence felt in the one...
Flying Mouflan
22 oz bottle shared with a few at Cypress Pint & Plate, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pretty interesting beer this one, not really my cup of tea but a few extra things to report. Pour is an impressive, garnet one with nice clarity and a better head than one would expect from the style and the ABV. Even some retention and lace. Initially the nose gives away little other than the standard hop-forward alcohol that one would anticipate for the style...but.... ...as it warms it gets more interesting. I got...
Scratch Beer 10 – 2008
12 oz bottle as a single. Pour is very dark for a Belgian Pale of any description. Has a copper hue with (obviously) limited lace, head and retention. Film forms on the surface white a white collar. Nose has some serious sherry and liquor notes alongside the alcohol. It seems quite aggressive. Tastes come on strong with loads of alcohol. It's hot and unbalanced. Drinks a little Quad-like and has plenty of solvent like character. Thin in the mouth which adds to the obvious alcohol. Some organic...
Scratch Beer 14 – 2008
12 oz single bottle. Bright yellow body, fine sediment and creamy head and lace. Clouded. Pretty good representation of the style in terms of looks. Light clove in the nose with a touch of overripe banana. Taste replicates the nose but give a bit more alcohol. Prickly carbonation seems a bit above average for the style but still maintains its creamy nature. Finish is noticeably dry, somewhat unique and enjoyable. It adds to the overall experience. Has what I would call some "French, vinous...
Scratch Beer 15 – 2008
12 oz single. Some of these Scratch brews seem to be stylistically challenged which may be a function of the BA database or perhaps a function of the beer. Either way it could lead to some confusion and disappointment. This appears to be a coffee infused stout as opposed to an oatmeal version. Pour is the requisite black with brown highlights. Fair enough. Head is average, but lace is disappointing. Nose is roasted malt and some alcohol. Tastes are HUGELY coffee based and the oatmeal stout...
Scratch Beer 16 – 2008
12 oz single bottle. Winter Warmer??? I thought it was more like an American IPA. Dark, mahogany pour with good clarity in the body. Head is small and clears quickly to give a thin, off-white collar and some film on the surface of the beer. Nose gives away a little alcohol and some more solvent like character. Not much else. Tastes are bitter rather than spiced. Very American IPA like in terms of aggressive hops. This is tempered by some malt but the whole combo is not very good. It has a dry...
Scratch Beer 18 – 2009
12 oz bottle. Hazy orange body sits underneath a white, bubbly head that forms quickly on top. A thin film is left on the beer as the pour settles. No lace in the Terrapin snifter. Nose and tastes are dominated by citrus hops. The rye takes a back seat, and at first I would not have put his down as anything other than an American IPA. The dry finish gives the rye away somewhat, but outside of that the beer takes on a typical, fairly harsh American IPA stance. It's a pretty aggressive beer in...
Scratch Beer 12 – 2008
Interesting since this beer ultimately drinks a little more like an English IPA than an American version. Nice lace form the 12 oz bottle into the 20 oz, Youngs (real) pint glass. Relatively light and subtle with good, orange color and mild alcohol. There are big floral notes in the nose and tastes for me that accentuate the light touch with the hops and meld weel with the malt backbone. Floral is the lingering memory of this beer. Ultimately this beer represents a simplier version of the...
Tröegs Sunshine Pils
Quite surprised that I haven't reviewed this before now. 12 oz bottle. Pour is classically clear and carbonated with great, golden color. Head is not hue, nor is it well retained or does it leave much lace. Initial Saaz bitterness is surprisingly early in the mouth rather than later as I would usually expect for the style. The beer drinks very cleanly which is obviously good, but to the point of almost being slightly bland. The best I can do is describe it as neutral. I dunno, this looks nice...
Tröegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale
12oz single. New label compared to the BA database. Very dark brown pour with plenty of head and some lace. Not much light passing through this one. Obviously a yeasty and malty nose. Taste reveals much more of the sweet nut character than the nose. Medium body that keeps this in sessionable country. Close to a really good sessionable beer (it could be argued that the ABV is still a little high), but it has all the other desirable factors for a session brew. Finishes smooth and sweet, and stil...
Tröegs Pale Ale
Thanks to BigLove as part of Blue Max BIF 48. 12 oz bottle poured into a regular 16 oz glass. Pale, golden orange with not much head but some nice sticky lacing. A little chill-haze. Clean and sharp in the taste with some lemony hops. Balanced with really nice sweetness. Mild grapefruit twang in the finish. A little more "west coast" than I was expecting. A very simple, balanced APA. Not usually a favorite style of mine since I think this can be really bland, but this was above average.
Tröegs Hopback Amber Ale
Thanks to Travis (BigLove) as part of Blue Max BIF 48. 12 oz bottle. Nice dark orange color with some impressive sticky lacing. Very unusual nose - a real floral, fruity mix with a combination of watermelon and marmalade. Unique and very attractive. Tastes are balanced with some hop bitterness and sweet malts in equal measure. I get some orange based, grapefruit tartness that is very attractive too. Quite light and floral and zesty. Hoppy to the extent that this doesn't really drink much like...
Tröegs Oatmeal Stout
Thanks to BeerBeing and SilentSabre. Good bitterness. Lots of oat character. Dark brown pour with a nice head and some good lacing. Real earthy character that revealed oatmeal charateristics. Significant cereal character in the nose, really nice. Not much sweetness nor is there much smoothness - this is a stout with some rough edges - as it should be.
Tröegs Nugget Nectar
=== Updated Review 02/08 === This vintage seems MUCH hoppier than my original review would suggest. VERY aggressive and less balanced than my tasting in 2006. Frankly I liked it much less than in 2006. === Original Review 08/06 === Thanks go out to Silentsabre and Beerbeing for the opportunity to try this one. Light orange marmalade colored body with good clarity and a very light head. Some retention but both the head and lacing are very fine and delicate rather than substantial. Sweet hops in...
Troegenator Double Bock
Image is taken from a newer bottle in the summer of 2021. Not as malty and full as I was expecting or had been led to believe. A simple Doublebock with a low profile character in many respects, and an easy drinker. This is most definitely NOT a Celebrator. Mid-brown pour with some reddish highlights and a nice head. I drank this one quickly which says something about its smoothness and its non-overpowering malt backbone. Hides the ABV well, another beer that you could use as a crossover. I...
Tröegs Mad Elf
I'm not at all sure that I would classify this as a Belgian Strong Dark, in as much as its characteristics seem much more like an Old Ale or an American Barleywine. As expected, very little carbonation on the pour and a quick to form (and to disappear) head. It's very sweet, with lots of honey, but not much of the advertised cherries. The alcohol content means it's pretty warming on the way down. Full in the mouth without being overpowering, this is a beer that needs to be treated with respect...