Tröegs Nugget Nectar

Tröegs Nugget Nectar



Tröegs Brewing Company is an independent craft brewery located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (our esteemed state capital). Their distribution is limited to areas within a 3 hour driving distance from the brewery, so their products are only available in PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, NY & DC. They have no brewpub, but the Troegner brothers do offer personal tours of their facility every Saturday. Unlimited free "samples" are available in their gift shop at the end of the tour, as they have no license to sell alcohol (but apparently can give it away for free). Nugget Nectar is a seasonal offering, highly anticipated and usually arriving in the dead of winter...a perfect harbinger of spring.

Tröegs Brewing Company said:

Squeeze those hops for all they’re worth and prepare to pucker up: Nugget Nectar Ale, will take hopheads to nirvana with a heady collection of Nugget, Warrior and Tomahawk hops. Starting with the same base ingredients of our flagship HopBack Amber Ale, Nugget Nectar intensifies the malt and hop flavors to create an explosive hop experience.

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Style: Imperial Amber Ale
ABV: 7.5%
Availability: Seasonal
Brewed: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Appearance: Poured into an Imperial Pint Glass. Color is crystal clear and a bright orange/amber. A dense one-finger head of foam with above average retention tops the glass. Lacing is excellent and clings to the sides of the glass for up to an inch.

Smell: A citrusy-floral aroma is most evident, with hints of grapefruit, and orange peels. Floral aroma dominates as I drink. Very clean, bright and spring-like.

Taste: Citrus and hops hit the palate first. The bitterness I associate with highly-hopped beers isn't here. I keep waiting for that mouth-puckering hop explosion but never get it. The strength of the hops is balanced out quite well by the malt. Floral hop and malt flavor keep exchanging themselves, and a touch of sweetness lingers on the tongue. A pleasant slightly bitter finish rewards each sip.

Mouthfeel: Pleasant and crisp. Not too bubbly, not overly creamy. Just right for a ale. Excellent for the style.

Drinkability: The wonderful balance between hop and malt makes this beer exceptionally drinkable. Unlike many hop bombs, you could easily have more than one in a sitting without your palate being completely overcome by bitterness. All-in-all a near perfect beer for the late winter/early spring season...a wonderful sign of things to come (Spring Training, anyone?). Tröegs has a real winner on its hands here, and the fact that it's only brewed seasonally makes it that much more desirable when it's available.

Well done Mike! I'm looking forward to getting mine.

I have had about 3 cases worth this winter, and I love it!!!!! Only beer I am into more at the moment is the Hoptical Illusion. Forgot the brewery however. lol. Wonderful tasting beer. I actually brought a 6'er to the last Gettysburg HERF! I hope you gonna make it Phlicker! Bah, nvm. I think you pm'ed me you had something going on that day.

Don

Excellent and tasty review Mike :thumbs: I think some of these are in my future. :whistling: :laugh:

Got this in a trade with Mike a couple weeks ago and have drank all but one so I figured I better review the last one. Thanks Mike for hooking me up. :thumbs:

Appearance
Poured a hazy amber with a 1 finger head. Head had little if any retention, and the lacing was very thin.

Smell
Bring the beer to your nose. Note the beer's aromatic qualities. Malts: sweet, roasty, smoky, toasty, chocolaty, nutty, caramelly, biscuity? Hops: dank / resiny, herbal, perfumy, spicy, leafy, grassy, floral, piney, citrusy? Yeast will also create aromas. You might get fruity or flowery aromas (esters) from ales and very clean aromas from lagers, which will allow the malt and hop subtleties to pull through.

Smelled of piney hops, and lots of them. I was a little scared at this point the first time I had one of these, as I’m not a hop head at all. There also was a hint of some kind of sweetness that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, and some type of citrus that was also hard to get a grasp of.

Taste
Piney hops was the dominant flavor in this beer, but wasn’t overpowering as I had feared from the aromo. It is VERY generously hopped, but the level of hoppiness wasn’t offensive like it is in a lot of hopped up beers. The bitterness was very understated, which to me is a good thing, and it finished with very nice sweet malt. There are also hints of orange throughout. The hops and malt are perfectly balanced and enhance each other beautifully.

This tasted unlike any Amber I’ve ever had, and to be honest tasted more like an IPA to me.

Feel
The hops made this finish very crisp and clean. Heavily carbonated, which worked perfectly with this brew.

Verdict
WOW! :whistling:

This is simply put, a great beer. Very well balanced and very drinkable. This would definitely be a staple in my fridge if I could get it around here. Thanks again Mike!

Yay! :thumbs:

Thanks for the review. Now you've got me doing the PP dance waiting for it.