Beer of the Week

The beer: Double Nugget

The brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "Let's take Nugget and double it. Well, it wasn’t quite that easy, but it sure was a fun balancing act. To start, we boosted the Simcoe, and this complex hop’s notes of apricot, peach rings and bright citrus are the star of the show. Azacca enters the picture to add hints of juicy orchard fruit, and Munich malt brings a bready sweetness. To strike a balancing note, Columbus joins Nugget hops, grounding this limited release with a layer of dank pine."

Would I buy it again? I reviewed the normal Nugget Nectar four years ago (almost to the day), which I generally enjoyed but felt was a bit too hoppy. And here we have an imperial amber ale on steroids. Doubled, you might say. And honestly? This one's so close to being amazing. I want to love this one, I really do, but once again, it's just a bit too hoppy. There's that annoying little bit of bitterness on the aftertaste, and while it definitely doesn't ruin the beer, I can't help but be incredibly frustrated by it. So, just like the original, I'm not about to rush out to buy more

Beer of the Week

The beer: Jacques Au Lantern

The brewery: Evolution Brewing Company, Salisbury, Maryland

Description (from the website): "Our fall seasonal is an unfiltered amber ale brewed with pumpkin and spices, and fermented with a Belgian yeast strain. Roasted pumpkin is added to the mash along with traditional pumpkin pie spices creating a classic fall beer."

Would I buy it again? For our official Halloween beer, of course I was going to review a pumpkin beer. And fortunately, we've got ourselves a good one here. The pumpkin and beer flavors are extremely well balanced, it's fairly light and easy to drink, this beer is just straight-up enjoyable. Not complicated, but sometimes you don't need complicated. I would absolutely buy this beer again. Also, I like the name. Who doesn't like a good pun?

Beer of the Week

The beer: Nugget Nectar Ale

Brewed by: Tröegs Brewing Company, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "It’s impossible to forget your first squeeze. Once a year, as the newest humulus lupulus harvest arrives at Tröegs, we blend these super-fresh hops into an Imperial Amber Ale. Excessively dry-hopped, Nugget Nectar is an explosion of pine, resin and mango."

Would I buy it again?: This beer is an interesting one. A hoppy amber ale is clearly not a winter beer, but Tröegs only releases Nugget Nectar once a year, in January. And that's kind of the point; it's a taste of summer in the middle of winter. As for the beer itself, I wish it was a little less excessively dry hopped, to be honest. It's definitely a good beer, but it's a little too hoppy for my taste. Not something I'd rush to buy again.

Twilight Of The Amber Ale

I won't say I'm a huge fan of amber ales, but they're a classic drinkable beer. The sort of beer you don't lead off with, but something when you're a few in and just looking to enjoy the buzz while you're out with friends. And they're perfect for times when you're sitting at home on a summer day after a long day and you just want something cold and refreshing.

But while I highly doubt any beer style will completely disappear, amber ales have certainly seen more popular days. Their height was a bit before my time (15 year old me wasn't drinking too much), but still, I like seeing amber ales on menus, and the Hopback by Troegs is something I get every time I go there. Now it seems like most breweries deal heavily in IPAs, which I can tolerate, and sours, which I really can't. Drinkability does seem like a lowered priority, which is a shame. Wacky, off-the-wall beers are nice on occasion, but most of the beer I drink is simpler. Don't get me wrong, I love Yuengling, but more choices would be nice.