There are very few other breweries that come to mind when someone asks me what my favorite brewery is. Over 25-years ago when I started enjoying better beer, I also started visiting local breweries to taste what they had to offer. My early travels took me a few hours south to Harrisburg, PA and I knew when I first walked in the door and sampled a few beers that I had found what would become one of my absolute favorite breweries.
Of course that brewery is Tröegs Independent Brewing and to this day I consider them one of my favorite places to visit and one of my favorite places to enjoy a beer. With their move to Hershey, PA and their amazing new brewery, I always recommend Tröegs as a must-visit brewery for those in the area.
For a long time I was able to say that I had tasted every beer from Tröegs, but with the proliferation of Scratch beers over the years and the rare brewery-only gems coming out of the Scratch series, I can only say that I’ve sample “almost” all of their beers. I’m also excited to say that today I’m getting a chance to sample not one, but two beers I’ve never tried before; and both of them are part of their 2020 Holiday Releases.
The first beer beer is called Double Blizzard and it’s a double IPA brewed with Galaxy, Centennial, Chinook and El Dorado hops. This beer is a double version of their Blizzard Of Hops Winter IPA, and if you’re familiar with this beer, you’ll taste the family resemblance in Double Blizzard. I should mention up front just how cool the 16oz dark-labeled cans look. The colors and finishes compliment the beer and beer name, and you literally start enjoying the beer before you even open the can. Tröegs used cooler temperatures for the kettle hop additions and dry-hopped the beer with 4-pounds per barrel of Chinook and Galaxy hops, and as you’ll see, you can really taste the difference.
The second new-to-me beer is called Grand Cacao and it is a chocolate stout brewed with Peruvian cacao nibs, vanilla and lactose as well as chocolate malts and Galena hops. This beer reminds me a lot of Scratch # 422 and I suspect it’s probably pretty close from a recipe standpoint.
Tröegs was also cool enough to include their other 2020 holiday releases with 2020 Mad Elf and Haze Charmer as well as some holiday goodies and swag. Since I’ve reviewed these beers already, I’ll focus on the new beers and just quietly enjoy the others.
Of course I’m anxious to get to the tasting, so off we go…
Tröegs Double Blizzard 2020
ABV: 8.3%
Style: Double IPA
Packaging: 16oz Cans
Appearance: Slightly hazy amber orange
Aroma: Grapefruit, citrus & mild pine
Mouthfeel: Medium & satisfying
Taste: Fresh oranges, resinous spruce, juicy pineapple with a slightly earthy finish.
Overall: Double Blizzard carries a really exciting mix of flavors and complexity. I love resinous pine flavors in a beer and this beer takes that flavor to a new level. Add in the sweet citrus notes, the canned pineapple flavors and the almost sweet but still earthy resinous finish and you have a winning combination. Overall Double Blizzard has a lot of the great flavors found in it’s younger sibling with but with a whole new level of dankness and citrus presence. The overall balance of Double Blizzard is spot on and the beer is really unique and flavorful.
Tröegs Grand Cacao
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Chocolate stout
Packaging: 12oz Cans
Appearance: Deep chocolate black brown
Aroma: Milk chocolate mild roasty aromas
Mouthfeel: Rich and silky
Taste: Sweet milk chocolate, sweet cream and vanilla
Overall: Grand Cacao is a really drinkable and satisfyingly sweet stout. The dessert flavors of sweet milk chocolate work perfectly with the mild roasty flavors and the sweet vanilla. The lactose on board nicely softens the overall balance making for a really amazing chocolate stout.
Tröegs Double Blizzard, Grand Cacao, Mad Elf & Haze Charmer 2020 are available now from the brewery and throughout the Tröegs distribution footprint; so get out there and taste for yourself why Tröegs is one of my absolute favorite breweries. When you do try these beers for yourself, be sure to let us know what YOU think.
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