Tröegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale

Brewed by Tröegs Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania USA

12 oz bottle into a Dimpled Mug glass. Thanks to Kirk for bringing this one back from NJ with him!! Pours a ruby light brown color with a foamed tan head. The aroma brings a very roasted nut sense with bits of roasted and sweet malts. Quite roasty overall, with a small sense of a buttery English brew. The flavor has a carmalized malt sense at the beginning before moving into a moderately roasted malt and nut body finishing out with a light bittered hop sense. During the finish a nice nutty flavor is present throughout as well. Somewhat thin of a palate feel, very light, smooth, and easy to drink. Nothing fancy, but a well crafted nut brown.

Ruby/mahogany pour with tight foam that dissipates quickly and laces the glass nicely. Aroma of light hoppiness and caramel malts. Slight nutty flavor with caramel malts present again and overtones of chocolate malts. Medium to thin body. Decent beer but not a standout for the style.

On tap. Clear brown with a small beige head. Soft, nutty nose and flavor.Solid but not a standout.

Clear mahogany pour with violet and burgundy hues. Quickly diminishing off white head, no lacing at all. Aroma is nutty malts, a backnote of chocolate, caramel and salty crackers. Mild scents of dark berries and hops sneak in at the finale. Flavor is big caramel chews strewn loosely throughout the body, with notes of salty chocolates, and a vegetal character that causes no detriment to the flavor, but certainly doesn’t compliment it either. The nut taste is peanuts and salted cashews, maybe a little almond as well. Very clean and crisp mouthfeel is a little bit sticky towards the end. Seems to me like Troegs is just treading water, progress is just ahead but always moving a little quicker than the pace of the brewery.

Bottle. Aroma of nuts, caramel, lights chocolate and roast. Mostly nuts. Pours very deep ruby/blood red with a tan head. Watery texture, nuts and malt with roast and what may be a hint of smoke. Touch of caramel, light sweetness and bg bitterness, light malt and metal, some earthiness. Not really good, but certainly chuggable.

Excellent nut brown ale. Troegs rarely lets me down and this time was no exception.

Troeg’s, another well respected beer brewer from PA, but I must say from the other end of the state. Usually the highly respected Troeg’s brings a higher dollar along with it. Most troeg stuff is well rated so I am looking forward to tryin this brew. All the troegs I’ve tasted have been good except for the mad elf. So, I’m looking forward to this beer. Also, my brown ale experiences except the Saranac have been good and above average. 12 oz brown bottle, once popped has the aroma of a good flowery porter or stout, something like roasted malts or coffee, but sweeter. Pours darker than brown ale, also more like a stout or porter, I am a bit surprised. No bubbles rising from the brew that I can see. It is transparent even tho it is dark. Has a hint of spruceyness or pine in there with the roasty flavors. Carbonation is slightly below average but it is ever present. I can’t detect any chocolate in there, tho on the label it says there are hints of chocolate notes in there. Cannot detect any alcohol in the taste and this is probably due to the fact there is only 4.4%. Finish is not bitter per se but there is a linger that lasts for a few moments after you swallow. Not too bad and overall I would rate this beer above average as with most troeg beers.

Not what I was expecting. I’ve loved all of the Troeds beers I’ve had to date, this one was just average. I should note that I think Nut Brown Ales all tend to be pretty similar, but this one wasn’t my favorite of a fairly bland style, imo. It looks good, but that was the best aspect of the beer. Aroma is minimal as is the flavor -what you’d expect form a nut brown ale.