Beer Review- Troegs Brewing Company

One of the great things about trying beer from another region is finding a brewery that you love. However, the flipside is discovering a beer you wish you could get on a regular basis. So is the case with the three beers from Troeg Brewing Company I got sent to me. Hopback Amber, Nugget Nectar and Mad Elf were sent to me by Dave at Muckney Brewing Blog, and each beer was fantastic!
Troeg's Brewing Company is a brewery out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and owned by two brothers. I was blown away by each beer, here's the breakdown:


Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber
Holy hops! This beer is very similar to Bell's Hopslam. Right after popping the cap, there's a strong citrusy-grassy hop aroma. I have said in the past that I'm not much of a hop head, but that might be changing. Despite the 93ish IBUs it lists, I really didn't find the beer to be bitter. It pours a beautiful copper-orangish color with very little head, just a thin white lace on top. There is a slight sweetness, but its mostly hops! Very citrusy, with a grapefruit flavor typical of West Coast hops. A very good beer.


Mad Elf Belgian Strong Ale
I was really excited about this beer. Brewed with honey and cherries, this beer sounded really intriguing. It's 11% alcohol, but that is masked very well. For starters, this beer pours a nice cloudy light brown with ruby redish hues coming through. There is a two finger lacy white head. Right away you get a bready, yeasty aroma with a hint of sour fruit. At first there is a musty, yeasty taste that is quickly followed by a nice cherry tartness. This beer has a wonderful balance of tartness and sweetness. As it warms up, the beer becomes more flavorful, but the cherries are never overwhelming. It reminds me a lot of Three Philosophers from Ommegang. Mad Elf has a nice carbonation that makes it quite refreshing and crisp. While this beer was fantastic, its almost a good thing I can't normally get my hands on it, because I could drink several of these in a sitting!


Hopback Amber Ale
This was actually the first of the Troegs beers I had and led me to drink the other two instead of try some of the other beers Dave sent me. This beer is outstanding. This is their flagship beer, and would be a regular beer of mine if I could buy it. I wrote "perfectly balanced" in my notes. The beer pours a beautiful amber color with a white head. There is a soft floral hop aroma. There is a perfect balance of caramel and biscuit flavors and is slightly sweet. The hops create a bit of bitterness, but not too much and there is also a slight spiciness as well. I think Amber ales can be hit or miss, but I love Fat Tire and a local beer, Rush River Unforgiven Amber Ale. I think that Hopback falls perfectly in between. Not as biscuity as Fat Tire, and not as hoppy as Rush River, just a perfect balance of hops and a sweet, flavorful body.

I sadly have no more Troegs left to drink. I had to lump these together because each one was excellent. I also love it when a brewery has quality beers from a wide range of styles, and Troegs seems to. Mad Elf is nothing like Nugget Nectar, and I like seeing that. Some breweries make a few really good beers, but tend to get mediocore outside of the their comfort zone. Breweries like Bells, New Glarus, and a few of my other favorites seem to be able to make a wide variety well. Based off what I've had, I'll add Troegs to that list and will make sure to try some other varieties the next time I get out to Pittsburgh.
Salud!
The Bearded Brewer