Troegs Nugget Nectar: Where have you been all my life? I must admit that this is the first bottle of Nugget Nectar I've ever sampled, thanks to the generosity of one Jeff Evans. Troegs beers are not sold in Georgia, and though I have enjoyed them on and off since the 90s, they've always been somewhat elusive where I have lived.
Be that as it may, I'm savoring and enjoying every drop of Nugget Nectar. It's an amazing beer, malty and hoppy, and much like a classic American IPA. Troegs calls it an "imperial amber', though that's a lot like an IPA. The malts are different certainly, more akin to a German lager than an English IPA. Whatever you call this one, it works, and it is delicious.
Ingredients from the website:
Malt: Munich, Pilsner, Vienna
Hops: Nugget, Palisade, Simcoe, Tomahawk, Warrior
HopBack Hops:Nugget
Troegs Nugget Nectar has an alcohol content of 7.5% by volume with 93 IBUs.
Update 6/23/2022: As per usual, Troegs Nugget Nectar is a sheer delight, a wonderful beer, packed with caramel and toasty malts, and earthy and resiny-piney hops. This time, I am enjoying it in a pint can. The can says this is a once-a-year beer, and I got my can from Half Time Beverage and paid $5.99 for it. Total Wine sells it in 4-packs of pint cans for $10.49, as well as six-packs of 12-ounce cans ($12.99) and bottles ($13.99). The pint cans then are the best deal. My can is stamped on the bottom FRESHEST BY MAY 11 2022. I got it on June 17th, so it was already past that date. Still, it was quite delicious and showed no ill effects.
About Troegs Brewing
Founded in 1997 by brothers John and Chris Trogner, Troegs has grown from a small Harrisburg operation into one of the most respected and recognizable breweries on the East Coast-all while staying fiercely independent and true to its roots.
Today, their home in Hershey, PA is a destination in its own right: part production brewery, part creative studio, part community hub.
Tasting Notes
Troegs Nugget Nectar pours to a deep orange amber color with a thick creamy head and a big grassy herbal, resiny and grapefruit peel aroma. Taking a sip, the beer is rich and full in body with thick caramel and toasty malt quickly yielding to a massive herbaceous hop aroma and flavor. The hops are grassy, sticky, piney, and a tad citrusy in the bitter peel kind of way. They're resiny and beautiful and all around wonderful. This is how IPA (or imperial amber ale) should be.
Value & Verdict
The price is the only downside, as it runs $13.49 a six-pack at Total Wine in North Carolina. half star off for that.
Bursting with resiny pine, robust with malt, this is a winner, folks.
