Tröegs Splinter Red

Formerly brewed at Tröegs Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Hershey, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Drought. I tasted this as ’Mad Elf’ and I am assuming that Ratebeer knows what is says by directing me to this beer. Rich yellow color, small foamy beige head, no specific aroma, sweetish hops taste, long finish.

Shared by yourefragile. Thanks Michael. Served side by side with 2008 Mad Elf, also thanks to Michael. The beer is a relatively hazy reddish amber hue with a small, fleeting head. The aroma offers candy, sugar, cherries, Belgian yeast, booze. Flavor continues this path with additional notes of vanilla. Pretty good. A bit sweet and still boozy. A bit of age seems to have served this well, though I never sampled this fresh. Light to medium feel. This is definitely best shared with a group, as more than a small serving would be overkill. perhaps a touch of cocunt in the finish with subtle, lingering oak. Not my favorite, but certainly a special treat.

750ml bottle. Cloudy amber color, small off-white head. Aroma was some malty notes, a touch of cherry, woody vanilla notes. Sweet, light cherries. Alcohol pretty well masked in this particular one. Not bad!

750mL thanks to yourefragile! Thank you! Pours flat, tea red. No head. Nose is caramel, thick Twizzlers, tomato, rum, sugar, candy basket. Taste is sugar, paper, some harsh butyric acid type laceration on the palate. Very harsh.

75cl bottle. Minimal off-white head atop murky amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, cherry, some caramel, light vanilla, coconut. Taste is moderately sweet, vanilla, some cherry, light coconut. Medium-full body, light stickiness.

Bottle. Cloudy amber color, not enough head to mention, although I guess I did just mention it. Aroma of sweet caramel. Taste is similar.

UPDATED: JAN 2, 2013 Bottle. First beer of 2013. Pours brown copper. Nose and taste of fig, candied cherry, caramel malt, vanilla, bourbon and oak. Medium body. Some alcohol in finish. A bit sweet.

Awesome. Finally broke open this treasured bottle. My wife went to the brewery and waited in line for hours to be lucky enough to get a bottle or Splinter Red and Splinter Gold. We’ve been aging it for years. Now, at four years we popped the cork... which was no easy task in itself. The Red is... awesome. Not much carbonation. Aroma is balanced sweet and warm with a bit of berry and vanilla. Flavor is malt, cherries and honey, balanced by oak and bourbon. Appearance is a pleasant rich red-amber. Some moderate sediment in the bottle. This is a lovely brew.

UPDATED: JUN 9, 2012 A: Dense red-brown body with a slight head which left an ever so light lacing on the sides of the tulip glass. S: Fresh cherries, figs, raisins, sweet caramel malt and an ever so delicate bourbon/oak undercurrent. I was impressed with the restraint and subtlety in the nose. Not quite what I was expecting from a "bourbon barrel aged mad elf." Was actually expecting way too much bourbon, so this was a nice surprise. T: Unfortunately, the restraint in the nose carries over a bit too much into the flavor arena. The flavors are soft and muted, verging on generic at times. Then you occasionally get a sip that reminds you why Troegs’ Mad Elf has been successful despite the slightly-polarizing love-hate paradox of the style. The dark fruits and cherries reign as they dance atop the sweet lightly boozy underbelly. A nice effort, perhaps a slightly fresher bourbon barrel could improve this beer. M: Velvety, medium-heavy body. Nice clean finish with an ever so slight bourbon lingering feel. O: I found this to be a more palatable and quaffable brew than the regular Mad Elf. Between this and the impeccable Splinter Gold, I am glad I made the early morning trek out to Troegs for the release.

(750ml bottle thanks to Exiled) cloudy red-orange with a film of tan bubbles. Nose of currant, caramel, cream, barrel and maple. Taste of caramel, maple, barrel, bourbon, vanilla. Finishes well with plenty of carbonation and quite rich.