Beer of the Week

The beer: Patagonia Provisions Kernza® Lager

The brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "This is the start of a new brewing project in our small-batch beers. In partnership with Patagonia Provisions, a portion of select beer’s malt bills will use the regenerative perennial grain Kernza®. The plant’s deep roots, high yield and long life are positively impacting both agriculture and the environment. The clothing company’s side focus on cuisine has a goal to benefit soil and a sustainable food chain. 

Our first-ever time using the wheatgrass grain is in a Helles lager. As 15% of the grain bill, Kernza® combines with organic Pilsner malt to build a crisp backbone. Lightly hopped with organic Perle hops, this wildly drinkable lager has notes of rustic crackers, bright wildflowers and a touch of grassiness."

Would I buy it again? Doesn't everyone love a beer with a copyright symbol in the name? Yeah, yeah, reserved, I know. The point stands. 

This is still Troegs, though, a brewery who is extremely good at making both beer and lagers specifically. It's a good light beer, pleasant and easy to drink. The only issue is that they have so many beers in that niche that this one sort of falls through the cracks. I wouldn't say no to getting it again, but there are more interesting choices.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Gingerbread Cookie Stout  

The brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "Gingerbread is a holiday tradition that begs for a robust dark beer. Loaded with oats, roasted barley and chocolate malts, we’ve elevated this pastry stout to suit your baking rituals. Additions of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla and clove help hone in on grandma’s time-honored recipe. While others may crumble, Gingerbread Cookie Stout is more than icing on the cake!"

Would I buy it again? I haven't always loved ginger-forward beers, but befitting a beer from my favorite brewery, this one balances the ginger and the breadiness extremely well. It does taste pleasantly like a gingerbread cookie. I hope they keep making this one, because I'll keep buying it.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Mad Dreams

The brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from Untappd): "Born many moons ago, a semi-secret ritual is ready to mix up your celebrations. Mad Dreams, the 50-50 fusion of Mad Elf and DreamWeaver Wheat, combines the complementary notes of cherries and honey with subtle clove and bready wheat. It’s a holiday blend that's 100% delicious."

Would I buy it again? Winter may be gone, but that's no reason to stop drinking winter beer. And Mad Dreams, a representative from Troegs' Winter 2024 variety pack, is an amazing beer to celebrate the changing of the seasons. It's got the Mad Elf cherries and honey flavor, but since this is ultimately a wheat beer, it still has some lightness to it. I think it almost makes more sense now than in the winter. Yes, I would buy this again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Scratch #521 - Schwarzbier

Brewed by: Tröegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "Long live lagers! Especially dark ones like this Schwarzbier. Scratch #521 starts with a base of Munich and pilsner malts and a touch of de-husked roasted barley. Our house lager yeast lends a snappy character, giving the deceptively dark beer a crisp finish. With notes of toasted bread, coffee and a hint of cocoa, our take on this German-style will warm your lederhosen."

Would I buy it again? I'm a bit torn with this one. On the one hand, it was very good. It's malty and quite easy to drink, kind of like a Troegenator. But on the other, it feels a bit too much like a Troegenator. Like, if I wanted a malty dark lager from Tröegs, I would just buy a Troegenator. One could argue that, since this beer is significantly less alcoholic than a Troegenator, there's a place for something like this on the menu. But Tröegs also has the Little 'Nator, which occupies the same niche while being less dark and even more drinkable. I just don't see any circumstances where I would want this specific beer.

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: Master Of Pumpkins

The brewery: Tröegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "It takes a long time to plant, raise, pick, slice, clean and roast 3,000 lbs. of local PA pumpkins. But come fall, Master of Pumpkins takes shape and suits the season just so. Subtly spiced with cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg, this is a pumpkin beer that’s worth the wait."

Would I buy it again? It's kind of crazy that I haven't had Tröegs' pumpkin beer before now. It's only my favorite brewery. But hey, better late than never. And I'm happy to report that this particular pumpkin beer is excellent. The pumpkin flavor is in harmony with the beer, neither coming in too strong or too weak. So yeah, I'd absolutely buy this again.  

Beer of the Week

The beer: Scratch 452 - Dry-Hopped Rice Lager

Brewed by: Troegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the can): "Scratch #452 starts with a grain bill of puffed Jasmine rice and two-row pilsner malt. Layered onto this super-crisp, clean, and delicate base are El Dorado's notes of pineapple, stone fruit, and pear. The result? A crispy lager that's hoppy and aromatic but not bitter."

Would I buy it again?: I would absolutely buy it again, but unfortunately this is one of Troegs' Scratch beers, which means it's experimental and not likely to be made again. Which is a shame, because this beer is great. It combines the simplicity of a lager with the hoppy flavoring of an IPA, just without the bitterness. Troegs should absolutely make this one again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Bourbon Barrel–Aged Triple Nator

Brewed by: Troegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the bottle): "This is the big, malty, and ageable Triple Nator with a bourbon barrel twist. Munich malt, chocolate malt, and Belgian candy sugar deliver deep toffee and complex malt notes, and months in bourbon barrels add hints of toasted coconut, vanilla, and molasses. Put it in a glass or put it in your cellar. The next chapter is yours!"

Would I buy it again? Not an ideal picture there, but oh well. Needless to say, this is an absolutely amazing beer, with all the taste of the previous Triple Nator plus a definite bourbony vanilla feel. I'm not sure if I prefer this one to the normal one, but it's close, and that puts this in my top five beers of all time. Only problem here is the price: It's twice as expensive as the Triple Nator, and that's a lot. $10 for a single bottle of beer is way too much to be anything other than a very occasional splurge. Which is probably fine, it's 14% and dangerously drinkable, just like the normal Troegenator it's based on. If the pit in your wallet didn't stop you from downing way too many, nothing would. It took most of my resolve not to buy as many of these as I could, though I couldn't resist buying one more. 

Beer of the Week

The beer: Mad Elf

Brewed by: Tröegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "The holidays at Tröegs start with our inner Mad Elf momentarily taking over the brew deck. So blame 'him' for this cheerful ruby red creation reminiscent of ripened cherries, raw honey and cocoa with notes of cinnamon, clove and allspice."

Would I buy it again?: We have a bit of a redemption story here. I got Mad Elf years ago and I thought it tasted like cough syrup. So I passed it up for quite a while, since I thought I didn't like it. But I finally came around to trying it again, and what do you know, I like it now. I doubt they changed the beer, so maybe my taste buds have changed. Either way, I'd buy this beer again. Just be aware, it's 11% alcohol, so it's got the strength of ten beers, plus two.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Triple Nator

Brewed by: Tröegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "What if we took the big and malty Troegenator and made it even bigger, even maltier? So big, you could tuck it away and age it for a year or four. For this sippable triple bock, we stuffed our mash tun full with Munich and chocolate malts and added Belgian candy sugar for a rigorous fermentation. In the end, Triple Nator delivers deep toffee and crisp malty notes. Put it in a glass or put it in your cellar. The next chapter is yours."

Would I buy it again?: I have some good news and some bad news on this one. The good news: This is the best beer I've ever had. No exaggeration, no question in my mind. It's everything I love about the Troegenator and more. It's malty and sweet in all the right ways, and it's still got that liquid bread taste that all dobbelbocks should have. And the best part? It maintains a certain drinkability that the fancy stouts just don't. I wouldn't chug one down, but it's not a chore to drink. I enjoyed it just as much at the end as I did at the beginning. This is, after all, a lager, and it's kept a bit of that lager identity. It's malts, hops, yeast, and water, with only sugar as an added ingredient. It's not even hopelessly bad value, either: $20 for a four pack isn't cheap, but when you consider how strong the Triple Nator is, it's not incredibly expensive. One of these has almost exactly as much alcohol as three Yuenglings. I've paid as much or even more for beer that I liked a lot less than this.

Now for the bad news: Don't bother looking for this beer in stores, you can only get it at the brewery itself. It's on tap as of late June, and there may be bottles floating around their general store, but if you want some, you have to go to Hershey. Which is annoying, but this is some seriously good beer.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Dunkel Lager

Brewed by: Tröegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "Walking the line between a refreshingly crisp pilsner and a hearty bock, this Munich Dunkel is our take on the classic dark lager. Brewed with Munich and chocolate malts and hopped with the noble and floral Hersbrucker and Tradition, this limited beer has a bread crust-like maltiness with subtle notes of caramel, nuttiness and chocolate."

Would I buy it again?: I'd say the description is pretty accurate here, in that this beer has a lot of the taste of a bock, but it's a lot easier to drink. Yeah sure, I can chug the Troegenators down, but that's not the experience most people have. This beer strikes a happy medium, and I'd definitely buy it again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Haze Charmer

Brewed by: Tröegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "Haze Charmer emerges from a soft, swirling cloud of oats and unmalted wheat. Vigorous dry-hopping adds a second phase of haze, propping up the oils of Citrus and El Dorado. Each sip delivers notes of juicy pineapple, fresh grapefruit and candied peach balanced by a hint of white pine and low bitterness."

Would I buy it again?: Honestly, I wouldn't mind getting it again, but I also wouldn't mind if I didn't. It was fine in every single way, but not standout in any way. I love Tröegs, so odds are that I will get it again.

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.

Beer of the Week

The beer: JavaHead Stout

Brewed by: Tröegs Brewing Company, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "JavaHead is like a day at Tröegs; it’s hard to tell where the coffee ends and the beer begins. This creamy oatmeal stout is infused with locally roasted, cold steeped coffee through our HopBack vessel releasing subtle hints of cocoa, roasted nuts and dark mocha."

Would I buy it again?: Yes, but that has less to do with my enjoyment of this particular beer and more to do with the fact that I visit the Tröegs brewery on occasion and I limit the number of Troegenators I let myself get. It's a good beer, and in isolation, I'd get it more often. But Tröegs has better beers, at least in my opinion.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Troegenator Double Bock

Brewed by: Tröegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "Monks had fasting figured out. No food? No problem. Just drink a Double Bock. Thick and chewy with intense notes of caramel, chocolate and dried stone fruit, ‘Nator (as we call him) serves as a tribute to this liquid bread style."

Would I buy it again?: Ha. Good one. Is it cheating for me to review my literal favorite beer? Well, I'm going to do it anyway. It tastes good, it's incredibly smooth and drinkable, and while this a beer for cooler weather, it's not so heavy and dark to be unpleasant to drink during the summer. And that's not even mentioning the alcohol content. It says 8.2%, but I swear it's more than that. No beer affects me quite like a Troegenator.

Simply put, this is a wonderful beer and you should definitely try it out if you haven't already.

A Trip to Troegs Brewery

Some of my friends and I recently went up to the Troegs brewery in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  We got a tour of the place, got to taste some very good and rare beers, and then went to the bar there for more beer.  I was surprised by the size of the place, the brewery was in a very large building, and the size of the operation inside was equally large.  This was only a microbrewery that produced about 60,000 cases a year, I can't imagine how big the operation is at a much bigger brewery.  Sure, they probably have multiple factories, but still, its a lot of beer.

One of the tanks where the beer-making process begins

The tour was very informative, and of course, there was plenty of beer.  Certainly one of the highlights was getting to try a beer before it was completely finished, or what they referred to as green beer.  It still tasted like beer, and it was beer, but at the same time it was completely different, and actually not too bad taste-wise.  There were a whole lot of fermenting chambers, and they were very big, and very expensive, apparently.  

A few of the fermenting tanks

Through a happy coincidence, we went on the brewery during Craft Beer Week.  None of knew that was a thing until our tour guide mentioned it.  What it meant was that we got to sample some very special beers.  Troegs makes their primary beers, but they also make what they call their Splinter series of beers.  We got to have two of those, Gold and Brown.  The Gold was particularly interesting, it tasted like apples and was more than a little reminiscent of white wine.  We had two other special kinds of beer, one of which is aged in old bourbon barrels, and that was very good too.  You could definitely taste the bourbon.  I enjoyed all the special beers, although I think there were quite a few of my friends who did not.  I got to have a bit extra because some people didn't finish, which I was perfectly okay with.

Barrels in the tasting room filled with beer.

This is where the Splinter beers are brewed.  It's a much smaller operation.

Next we moved to the bar, where I had a Sunshine Pils, their summer beer, and a Belgian Saison.  I preferred the Belgian over the Pils, the Pils had a wheaty aftertaste I didn't care for.  Of course, you can't go to a brewery like that and not bring back any beer.  Well, I don't, anyway.  So, I've got a 6-pack with 6 different beers just waiting to be drunk.  I've never had Troegs before this trip, so these will be all new experiences for me.  This is a lot of ado about beer, but hey, enjoying a good beer is one of life's great pleasures.
















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