Tröegs Scratch 10

Formerly brewed at Tröegs Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Hershey, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

Poured from a Troegs growler into my brand new Mad Elf Chalice. This is the first glass from the growler bought on Friday 7/25. I am drinking this as I review it. A- Body is a thick, cloudy, glowing bright amber hue. Pours with a 1-2 finger foamy off-white (rusty) head which quickly disappears completely. No lacing is left behind in the glass. Cloudiness is very thick and uniform. When held up to the light this beer glows bright orange. This would have perfect Belgian Strong Amber appearance-if it had SOME head retention. S- The first scent that come through for me is anise, which is strange because I have never noticed anise in the scent of a beer this light before. A strong exotic fruit fragrance comes through with a boatload of sugar and booze. The nose comes through as incredibly sweet with a kick of phenols to balance it. T-Exotic fruit flavors come through the carbonation and are first to arrive with a hint of anise to mix in.There soft, mildly sweet, and big yeast backbone. A big sugary sweetness, citrus flavors, a cinnamon spiciness and a splash of piny hops kick in for the finish. These flavors fade as an alcohol warmth and bitterness linger along with a nice cinnamon spiciness. P- Body is well carbonated upfront but the carbonation vanishes and the mouthfeel becomes incredibly smooth and velvety on the swallow. Body weight is medium with yeast and alcohol consistencies coming through. O- This is a very nice and unique interpretation of a Grand Cru. I really appreciate the use of Nugget hops as opposed to the floral hops that are generally used for this style. It makes it less bitter and more refreshing on the finish. I would have rated this a bit higher if the alcohol was hidden a little better. It just needs to age more...and I’m not going to age a beer in a growler. I stopped at Troegs on Friday on my home from vacation. Its a 3.5-4 hr drive from my house but is one of my top 3 American craft breweries. I picked up this growler and a growler of Mad Elf. I would have bought a case of this-but I didn’t know how much I was going to like it. But I guess I don’t travel as fast as the Troegs...who only distribute in a 3 hr driving radius. Serving type: growler Reviewed on: 07-28-2008 18:09:18

Pours a slightly hazy light orange copper with almost no head. Aroma of black licorice, cotton candy, candied malts and anise. Taste of sweet candied malt, licorice, cotton candy and belgian spices. Has a slight gingery/peppery aftertaste. Not bad at all.

i liked this yummy guy. Nice body, has a nice bit of a sweet aroma, nice flavor, maybe a bit citrus and juniper or something like that, fine brew.

Pours hazy gold with nose of rock sugar, florals, Belgian spices, fruit. Tastes fruity, with bready malt, spicy dry florals, and some limey citrus. Rich palate with notable complexity and a nice balance of fruity, spicy, floral, and hoppy elements.

Bottle from CaptainCougar. Aww yeah. Free! He’s the man. This is strong, boozy, and extremely fruity, and after another strong ale has gotten me rather tipsy. +1. Does saying things like that lend credibility to the site? Let’s hope so. Anyway, I like this, I like the sweetness, I like the complexity (lots of spices, fruit, yeast notes), I don’t see what everyone is complaining about with this. But maybe I’m just drunk.

UPDATED: SEP 15, 2008 Bottle, big thanks to BossHossBikes! Pours a dark orange with massive, huge chunks of yeast all over the place. The aroma is very, very juicy with strong orange/tangerine character but no real bitterness. A pleasing level of spices is found in the background. Mouthfeel is nice and sticky, works well with all the fruity junk going on. I’m surprised to see this listed as a Tripel. I don’t get that at all. It seems more like a Belgian golden ale. No real funk or banana is here, just lots of juicy citrus, sticky sweetness, and a spiced finish. There’s hints at candy canes, oranges (lots of orange), cloves, and a slightly drying seltzer water sensation. I thought this beer was quite enjoyable, certainly better than the score indicates. I’ve had quite a few underrated beers lately IMHO.

Bottle from capones. Pours a Light brown changing to a lighter yellow as you finish the body. Head quickly diminishes to nothing. Aroma is sweet malt and loads of spices. Flavor is sweet malt with a strong overlying spicy yeast character and a good warming. Solid beer.

Bottle: Pours a hazy bright golden with a well-lacing wispy white head. Aroma of sweet biscuity Belgian malt and lots of orange, clove and coriander spice. Body starts with good fullness and sweetness balanced with lots of orange and peppery spices with some licorice and lavender notes. Finishes slightly more bitter and the spices help to conceal the alcohol. A pretty authentic beer that should age well.