Troegs Nugget Nectar

Brewery: Troegs Brewing Company
Style: American Amber Ale
ABV: 7.5%
Country: USA, Pennsylvania

Another big seasonal release that gets purchased rapidly as soon as it is released. Came in a giant 22oz bomber and given the alcohol content, makes this equal to nearly four regular beers. Poured a bright amber color with hints of red. Big and fluffy head left plenty of lace and lots of ringing going down the sides. Aroma had plenty of pine up front with some citrus and hints of sweetness. Sweet flavor up front with a huge taste of hops. Both pine and citrus flavors present. Flavor turned to bready malts and a bracingly dry and bitter finish. Nice medium body with plenty of spicy carbonation. Bitterness lingers a long time after drinking. This beer is in the same class as Hopslam but a bit scaled down. Essentially a Hopslam lite. Incredibly delicious and quite drinkable. This made its presence felt and was fabulous. I'll be picking this up again when it comes out again next year. A

Troegenator Doublebock

Brewery: Troegs Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
ABV: 8.2%
Country: USA, Pennsylvania

Sill working through my gift pack. This is the second Troegs on this blog, the first being the awesome Mad Elf. The Doppelbock is a more potent version of the Bock style. For those that prefer SATs, Doppelbock is to Bock as Imperial IPA is to IPA. More malts, flavors, and alcohol.

This particular version poured a dark, ruby brown with a thin white head and a wispy lace.
The aroma was strong and spicy, plenty of malts and sweetness were present as well. The first sip contained plenty of fruity flavors. Raisins and cherries dominated with a spicness in the end with plenty of alcohol presence. The thick and syrupy body was sticky and sweet. This came off as a milder version of the Mad Elf. Less cherries and sweetness than the Elf, but a similar syrupy feel. Overall, it was a bit to thick and sticky for my liking, but was still pretty good. B-

The Mad Elf Ale

Brewer: Troegs
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
ABV: 11%
Country: USA, Pennsylvania

Since it 'tis that time of year, I decided it would be a good time to review a holiday beer. Bo beat me to the punch with the Delirium Noel but there are plenty of holiday ales out there for all.

I gave my pint glass the night off and decided to go with a stein for this one. It poured a dark amber with a little bit of ruby, a rich and wonderful color. It was very clear, and had only a hint of a head which vanished without a trace of lace.

A big wave of sweetness was evident as soon as I stuck my nose in the glass. Plenty of honey and cherries dominated with hint of alcohol.

The taste was incredibly sweet, almost syrup like. The main flavor was cherries with a good bit of honey in the mix as well. The taste of alcohol is present in the background reminding you that this contains nearly as much alcohol as three lite American beers. The body is on the lighter end of medium with a good bit of carbonation. Not so much that it burns your mouth, but enough for a pleasant fizziness. Aftertaste had enough tartness in it to remind you that this wasn't a soda.

This is a great beer to have at your next holiday party. Plenty of good sweet flavors to spread the holiday cheer and enough alcohol for roasting chestnuts. I was surprised at how easily this went down and with the ABV punch it carries, it wouldn't take many before lampshades are on heads. One of my first thoughts was about how much sugar Troegs had to add initially in order to hit the alcohol content while leaving enough residual sugars to still be incredibly sweet. This could use a bit more bitterness to balance out the intense sweetness but it was still quite delicious. A-