Tröegs Splinter Gold

Brewed by Tröegs Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Hershey, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Rating #5,000! Poured hazy medium golden with a well-retained cap of sticky white head. The aroma was right up there with the best I’ve ever smelled.. tangy oak and vinous notes over darker fruit, vanilla, and bready malts.. warmth brought out a soft, yet supple and savory funky Brett impression that settled with the barrel character around the nose.. vinous character also rose with warmth.. just perfect. The flavor opened with tangy lemon zest, vinous notes, and Bretty funk, with bready and fruity notes settling behind.. tangy and engaging throughout, with fruity Brett and residual barrel impression at the end.. warmth brought out clovey accents.. delicious! Medium-plus bodied and delightfully dry on the palate.. perfect barrel impression over a damn near perfect base beer. I couldn’t ask for anything more out of it.

Big thanks to Jeremy, Kevin, and Frank...awesome tasting! A-big gusher here, pours a nicely hazed golden color with a creamy white head, good retention and a nice lace. S-the nose is brilliant, notes of red wine, vinous, good oakiness to it, vanilla behind. great earthy tones towards the middle, wild yeast with a touch of funk. bananas, peach and pear come in last. T-a well done cabernet, vinous and oaky up front with notes of vanilla. nice light wild yeast flavors with a good lemon zest behind. the finish adds some nice sweetness, peaches and a hint of tartness. M-so soft and smooth, creamy medium body. perfect carbonation gives it a good clean crisp finish that is slightly dry. D-this is awesome, so smooth and soft, the flavors blend together so well adding nice complexity and a great drink. simply awesome!

UPDATED: AUG 28, 2011 Bottle from the release, finally getting around to drinking this. Shared with Nate. Cork popped of, giving rise to some major gushing. It sat a somewhat hazy peach orange in the tulip glass. Aroma consisted of lots of ripe peaches, mangos, pineapples. A oaky, funky note definitely comes in too. Pretty robust aroma, outstanding. Flavor was a lot more dry and oaky, I guess more funky than the aroma. Still very peachy with lots of tropical fruits, but bone dry and way more wild in the flavor. Wow, this beer is like a book that keeps changing with each page. Carbonation is a little high but works well with the elegance of this. The wine isnt all that strong but it really melded the base Scratch tripel into something magical. This might be the best beer I’ve ever had and It’ll be a struggle not opening my last bottle.

Pours hazy yellow with white head, big thanks to Jason. Aroma has notes of horse, lemon, cheese, barnyard, some yeasty spice. Taste is some nice barnyard, funk, cheese with some sweat, in a good way, some tart notes, slight yeasty spice, touch of bitter finish. Excellent beer, unbelievably complex, and delicious.

UPDATED: MAR 1, 2013 A: Nice pop and hiss as I uncorked this 750ml bottle. Hazy golden-orange body. Massive, frothy white head. Holds up for a while before forming a condensed but sizable skim. Heavy lacing left behind. S: Rich, soft oak-woodyness. Heavy blast of sour fruits (apple, pear and perhaps some lemon). The brett certainly made itself known as there is a nice whiff of funk throughout. Some softer, more typical belgian yeast notes shine through as I picked up some spice and banana. T: While the nose was pungent and powerful, the flavor is an entirely different animal. Sublime, textured, and delicious. Lots of brett funk upfront balances a nice spice presence. Towards the middle sour apples make themselves known, before concluding with a softer pear jab. Some oaky-chardonnay white wine character as well. There is quite a bit going on here and the beer really benefited from both the brett and the Westmalle yeast. In many ways this was reminiscent of Russian River’s (batch 2) Sanctification (my favorite of the RR wilds). Perhaps a tad more apple flavoring in Splinter though M: Light-medium bodied. Lively, but not overwhelming, carbonation levels fade effortlessly from the first splash on the tongue through the finish. The sour fruits and funk from the flavor don’t ripple into the mouthfeel as there is no noticeable puckering. Refreshingly crisp and dry finish. O: A superb effort from the Troegs brothers. I’ve always respected their efforts but this beer really pushes them up there along with Nugget Nectar and a handful of their Scratch Beers (#20 in particular). Totally worth the trip. Somewhat sad I traded my other bottle of the Gold, but I am glad that a fellow beer geek is going to get to enjoy a really impressive brew

750ml bottle shared thanks to Tom. Poured a deep and cloudy golden color with a large sized and frothy off white head. Aromas of brett, funky, woody, oaky, vanilla, and some fruitness. Tastes of brett, honey sweetness, oak, vanilla, fruity, and citrus. This one grew on me more and more as I drank it...well done!

Thanks Jason! The beer pours to a murky straw colored body with a dense coating white head. The aroma is funky and Orval-ish and/or JP Bam Biere. Lots of crisp funky grains, lemons, and saison like yeasts. The flavor is yeasty, crisp grains, lemon zest, lots of brettanomyces. The palate is really dry and clean. 12% is masterfully hidden. A joy to drink!

Bottle shared by Javier and Joe smokepot23 at Woodshop 5.0. This is the best beer I’ve ever had from Troegs. I like their brews but this is just plain old fantastic. Pours orange with a bright white ring. Nose is great, sweet belgian yeast. Taste is really great, and properly balanced.

Huge thanks to Albert for the opportunity to try this one. Pours a hazy golden yellow with a small bubbly white head receding to a small collar and spotty lacing. The aroma is tart with lemon zest coming through initially. There is some light sweet fruit with some apricots and peaches and a hint of funk. There is also some vanilla and spiciness for both oak and possibly some other spices. Taste might be a tad sweeter with peaches and apricots even more prevalent. There is a light zesty kick before the finish where the dry oak and funk take over. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with lots of carbonation but still stays very smooth for the style. This is an excellent and very drinkable wild for the high ABV. It seems almost impossible for this thing to have 12%. Excellent stuff.

Bottle, thanks to John. Aroma of brett and funk... golden body with thin head. Flavor is very well balanced between the brett hops, westmalle yeast and hint of wine barrels. Brett is the most distinct, followed by the yeast with a great wine barrel aftertaste. Dry finish leaves your palate wanting more...