Splinter Gold was released on Friday, May 17 in both our Tasting Room and General Store. Splinter Gold originates from the Scratch #3 Triple recipe and is fully fermented with Westmalle yeast. The beer is then inoculated with two barrels of Splinter Gold (2010) infusing the beer with Brettanomyces for a secondary fermentation in oak wine barrels from Allegro Winery & Vineyards and virgin Pennsylvania oak barrels sourced from Keystone Cooperage. Three years in the making, Splinter Gold is a highly-carbonated, bone-dry wild ale boasting a rich Bret “funk” married with lush vanilla, toasted coconut, and oaky tannins.

Cellared to perfection – pop the cork, pour into a chalice… and savor!

Splinter Gold bottles are currently sold out in our General Store. Bottles are still available for on-site consumption in the Tasting Room for $22.95 + tax per 750ml bottle. Limit one bottle per person/per day.

SCRATCH #94-2013 – IPA

RELEASE DATE: 5/16/13

Our collaboration with Chef Matt Haley, in celebration of his latest restaurant, Papa Grande’s in Fenwick, Delaware, marries the bright flavors of his indigenous Mexican dishes with a with waves of tropical fruit in this dry IPA. We added more than one hundred pounds of puréed apricots to the wort during fermentation, and then dry-hopped it with three pounds of Citra hops per barrel creating an insanely vibrant citrusy character. This latest Scratch creation is extremely limited, so stop in sooner than later to experience this deliciously fresh, juicy apricot IPA!

Availability: draft only (no growler fills).

ABV is 6.3% and IBU is 50.

MALT

Munich, Pilsner, Vienna

Pilsner carries a strong, sweet malt flavor, while Munich adds a bit of depth to the malt profile and a slight reddish amber hue. Vienna provides a distinctive toasty, biscuit-like aroma.

HOPS

Chinook, Citra, Nugget

Chinook hops impart substantial piney characteristics with a subtle spicy flair. As the name implies, Citra lends obvious citrus attributes as well as hints of tropical fruit. Nugget hops bring a floral, resiny aroma and flavor into the mix.

YEAST

House Ale

SCRATCH #93-2013 – Altbier

RELEASE DATE: 5/10/13

The name Altbier, or “old beer,” refers to the pre-lager brewing method of using warm, top-fermenting yeast. As time went on, the Alt yeast eventually adjusted to lower temperatures, and brewers would store – or lager – the beer after fermentation, which they discovered yielded a cleaner, crisper beer. This process soon became the standard for other top-fermented beer styles. A Düsseldorf specialty, Altbier is a moderately dark German-style brown ale that exhibits the dryness of a lager but also boasts pleasant fruity notes. The extended conditioning mellows the fruity characteristics to produce an exceptionally smooth, delicate, and balanced beer.

Availability: draft and growler fills only.

ABV is 5.5% and IBU is 30.

MALT

Crystal, German Pilsner, Munich

Crystal malt imparts caramel-like sweetness and Munich provides the beer with a rich, dark bronze hue. German Pilsner malt lends a bright, clean, full-bodied character.

HOPS

German Northern Brewer, Hersbrucker

German Northern Brewers provide woody, earthy notes and a slight hint of evergreen. Hersbrucker hops bring a mix of fruit and spice with some mild floral characteristics.

YEAST

Düsseldorf Alt

We are pleased to announce that Tröegs was recently named one of the top fifty craft breweries in the United States based on production statistics from The Brewers Association, the largest organization of brewers in the country. “Out of 2200 breweries, we are number fifty,” said John Trogner. “It’s amazing to see how we’ve grown from our humble beginnings over the years.” Since moving our operations from Harrisburg to Hershey in October 2011 and tripling our floor space, we have been able to increase production to meet current demand for such popular beers as Perpetual IPA, Nugget Nectar, and Mad Elf Ale. “We’re still growing in our home market,” said Chris Trogner. “Sixty percent of the beer we produce is sold in PA.” With that said, we’re expanding our capacity in 2013 in order to make the brewery more efficient while keeping our creative juices flowing. Currently, we are in the process of adding two new bottling lines, an automated packaging line, and more fermentation tanks, which will allow us to expand our Splinter series, add corked and caged bottle releases, and bring 22oz. bomber bottles back into the mix. “The new tanks will also allow us more flexibility to experiment with our Scratch beer series, our line of limited small-batch beers,” said John Trogner. This year should prove to be an exciting and pivotal one for us, and you can count on Tröegs to keep bringing fresh, flavorful and inspired beers to the table in 2013 and beyond!

Our annual resurrection of Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale hit draft lines in our Tasting Room on Friday, April 26. Rugged Trail is our rendition of a classic English Brown Ale. Originally released simply as “Nut Brown Ale,” Rugged Trail was eventually given a makeover and became one of Tröegs’ first year-round beers. Rugged Trail boasts a deep bronze hue, rocky head, and subtle hop aroma. The Toasted Amber and Chocolate malts impart a rich nutty character and creamy texture, making Rugged Trail an obvious quaffing delight!

4.6% ABV and 22 IBU.

Availability: draft and growler fills only.

PA Flavor brings together up to 40 Pennsylvania breweries along with 20 PA Preferred food producers and 20 PA Preferred restaurants in a unique sampling event with all vendors intermingled in a 45,000 square foot floor plan. Attendees are able to sample from all vendors and purchase take-home items from all food producers, as well as sample the numerous beers brewed from around the state and partake in restaurant samples.

For tickets and other information, please visit www.paflavor.com.

Flying Mouflan, our bold and intense American-style Barleywine Ale, is currently being shipped to wholesalers in all of our distribution markets. Described as “pushing Nugget Nectar off the side of a cliff,” Flying Mouflan is delicious and complex. Think hops dipped in candied sugar and rolled in dark chocolate nibs, and you get an idea of what this beer is all about. Due to the commissioning of our new packaging line, Flying Mouflan will not be available in bottles this year. Expect Flying Mouflan to start popping up in drinking establishments and retailers throughout our eight-state distribution footprint in the coming weeks. Growler fills are also available in our Tasting Room at the brewery.

I saw it written and I saw it say, “Pink Moon is on its way.”

Once again the full moon is upon us, so on Thursday, April 25 we’re giving you one last chance to enjoy Nugget Nectar before it vanishes until 2014. To entice you even further, each firkin has been dry-hopped with an additional hop variety: Cascade, Chinook, Columbus, Nugget and Simcoe. Five firkins, five different hops. The first customer through the door who orders a pint will have the honor of tapping the first firkin.

Love the full moon, love the firkin.

SCRATCH #92-2013 – Munich Helles Lager

RELEASE DATE: 4/19/13

If ever there was a beer style that epitomizes the marvels of German brewing, it is the Munich Helles Lager. “Helles” (a German word meaning “light”) is the perfect adjective for this pale, straw-colored, thirst-quencher of a beer. With its origins in Munich, Germany, the Helles style traditionally shares a similar spicy hop character of a Czech Pilsner with a more subdued aroma and less assertive bitterness. Subtlety is the name of the game for this sessionable lager, yet it is artful and majestic in all its simplicity. With that said, Scratch #92 will reward you with a wonderful balance of rich, malty sweetness and a lingering, noble hoppiness followed by a slightly dry finish.

Availability: draft and growler fills only.

ABV is 4.4% and IBU is 21.

MALT

Floor Malted Bohemian Pilsner

The use of Floor Malted Bohemian Pilsner malt produces the signature pale straw/golden color for which the Helles is recognized. It also lends an authentic, Bohemian-style flavor and aroma with hints of fresh baked bread, toasted barley, and sweet caramel.

HOPS

Magnum, Tradition

Magnum hops provide a clean and forceful but not too severe bitterness in the finish, while German Tradition hops impart refined sweet floral and herbal characteristics.

YEAST

House Lager

We are pleased to introduce the newest rage in hop transportation technology. Enter a better beer dimension with the Tröegs HopCyclone™!

Click here to learn more about The HopCyclone™.

Consumer Nation and CNBC Beer News recently embarked on a most noble task: To find the most-loved beer label in a March Madness-inspired contest. After a gruelling week-long competition, we are pleased to announce that Nugget Nectar has reigned supreme! Thanks to everyone who voted to help propel Nugget to the top!

Click here to view the full competition brackets.

Deer Lake Pub presents...

The Bling Pigeon Records / Tröegs Brewery

ROCK and HOPS FEST!

Featuring 10 Tröegs Beers and 10 bands including the Tröegs Brewery band, Starsan!

When? Saturday, April 27

Where? Deer Lake Pub 1596 Centre Turnpike, Route 61, Deer Lake, PA

Doors open at 12:00 Noon. Music goes from 1pm to 10pm. RAIN or SHINE! Outside if sunny, inside if not.

SCRATCH #91-2013 – Dunkel Lager

RELEASE DATE: 4/4/13

Another first in the Scratch series, this Dunkel Lager is based on a recipe by Tröegs brewer Jeff Campbell. A traditional Bavarian dark lager, the Dunkel is typically regarded as “the world’s first true beer style.” Keeping our roots in traditional German brewing in mind while simultaneously exploring a beer style that we had yet to visit, we brewed Scratch #91 with Chocolate and Munich malts and German noble hops. The result is a smooth, rich and complex lager without the heaviness of many other dark beer styles. Combining a slightly dry chocolate note and bready sweetness with the roundness and crisp character of a lager, Scratch #91 is a refreshing, slightly gentler take on the Dunkel Lager style.

Availability: draft and growler fills only.

ABV is 5.5% and IBU is 20.

MALT

Chocolate, Munich

Chocolate malt produces complex undertones of caramel and chocolate as well as a subtle roasted flavor. Munich adds even more depth to the overall malt profile while also lending plenty of crisp, bready sweetness.

HOPS

Hersbrucker, Tradition

Since Dunkel Lager is a classic Bavarian style, we utilize Hersbrucker (a noble hop variety) to impart a subtle blend of spicy, floral, and fruity attributes. Tradition, another German hop variety, lends a slight hint of fresh-cut grass.

YEAST

House Lager

Join us in the tasting Room on Wednesday, March 27 for another installment of our "Full Moon Firkin" series. This month's event will coincide with the release of Scratch #90, a single-hopped Pale Ale using an experimental hop variety known simply as "01210." Scratch #90 will hit the draft lines when we open at 11am, and we will tap the first firkin (also Scratch #90) beginning at 5 p.m.

Love the full moon. Love the firkin!

The wintry weather we’re currently experiencing in Central PA won’t put a damper on the release of our spring and summer seasonal, Sunshine Pils. A crisp, refreshing European-style pilsner with a kicked-up hop character, Sunshine Pils won a gold medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Cases, six-packs, and single 12oz. bottles are currently available in the General Store, and cases have started shipping to retailers in Central PA and will continue throughout the rest of our eight-state distribution footprint. Sunshine Pils is also included in our Anthology #1 sampler cases. Expect the draught version of Sunshine Pils to hit the lines by mid-April.

Please note that Tröegs Tasting Room and General Store will be closed to the public on Easter Sunday, March 31.

Thank you.

SCRATCH #89-2013 – Irish Red Ale

RELEASE DATE: 3/15/13

Just in time for St. Patty’s Day, Scratch #89 represents a first for Tröegs – a traditional Irish Red Ale. With an emphasis on “traditional” yet still driven by our desire to experiment, we brewed our version of this classic style using a variety of specialty malts, giving the ale a surprisingly complex aroma and flavor. While dark beers are quite trendy around this time of year, our Red Ale is sure to provide you with a welcome alternative to the otherwise abundance of brown and black beers. Sweet and malty with just a touch of hop bitterness, we wouldn’t be surprised if this Red Ale actually brings out the green in you.

ABV is 6.3% and IBU is 25.

MALT

Irish Ale, Melanoidin, Roasted Barley, Vienna

Melanoidin imparts a biscuity malt character and reddish coloration, while Roasted Barley lends caramel and toffee sweetness. The ale’s full body and smooth flavor both come courtesy of Vienna malt. Finally, Irish Ale malt gives Scratch #89 its signature sweet, toasty aroma and flavor.

HOPS

Cluster, German Northern Brewer

Cluster, the oldest hop variety grown in the United States, offers delicate floral and subtle spicy notes as well as a hint of black currant. German Northern Brewers provide a fragrant hop presence with a tinge of mint-like evergreen flavor.

YEAST

Irish Ale

In 2007, Tröegs introduced the Scratch Beer series, a line of experimental, small-batch beers using non-traditional ingredients and brewing techniques. While some Scratch beers have followed the path to greatness, the vast majority have trailed off into obscurity. That is, until now! We’ve picked what we feel to be the best Scratch beers we’ve produced, and we’re letting you – the FANS – vote for which one we will revisit and brew again as a Scratch beer!

Vote on-line at Tröegs Facebook page, or simply vote at one of the designated boxes right at the brewery! Click HERE to watch the video.

What makes DreamWeaver Wheat Ale so dreamy? Check out this VIDEO and learn more about the open-top fermentation process we use exclusively for our GABF Gold Medal-winning DreamWeaver Wheat Ale. Cheers!

Nugget Nectar is now available on draft in our Tasting Room. Stop in for a pint or growler fill... or both!

The Snow Moon is upon us, and even if Old Man Winter decides to rear his ugly head and douse Central PA with a flurry storm, we’ll be ready! For our Full Moon Firkin event on Monday, February 25, we decided to have an encore presentation of last month’s insanely popular Nugget Nectar vs. Perpetual IPA throwdown. We will have one firkin each of Nugget and PIPA on the main bar when we open at 11 am. The first person to order a firkin of either Nugget Nectar or Perpetual IPA will get to tap it! Once a firkin kicks, we will tap a fresh one. Simple, right? Our guarantee to you is enough firkins to satisfy the masses of hopheads likely to convene for this event! If you are still wary, please do not hesitate to call the brewery to verify the firkins are still flowing.

Love the full moon, love the firkin.

PLEASE NOTE: The Snack Bar will be closed on Monday 2/18 and Tuesday 2/19 for equipment upgrades. We will have a limited menu with munchie-type snacks only. We appreciate your patience as we make improvements to better serve our customers. Thanks!

SCRATCH #88-2013 – Chocolate Stout

RELEASE DATE: 2/14/13

For our most recent Scratch offering, we let our inventive nature shine. An ambitious undertaking by any stretch of the imagination, Scratch #88 served as the “guinea pig” for John Trogner’s latest experiment: The Infüz-O-Matic 5000, an apparatus poised to alter the landscape of our Scratch Beer series forever. By design, we constructed this prototype to extract the essence of a variety of ingredients and infuse bold flavors directly into our beer. For Scratch #88, we circulated the Chocolate Stout in The Infüz-O-Matic 5000 for more than 150 hours through four circulation units filled with more than 100lbs. of cocoa nibs, 50lbs. of cocoa powder, thirty vanilla beans, and copious amounts of Cascade hops. Released just in time for Valentine’s Day, Scratch #88 will entice you and your sweetheart to visit our Tasting Room and share this delectable treat. Come taste for yourself and savor the flavor!

ABV is 7.0% and IBU is 32.

Availability: draft and growler fills only.

MALT

Chocolate, Crystal 80, Munich, Pilsner, Roasted Barley

Chocolate produces complex undertones of vanilla and caramel, while Crystal 80 and Pilsner bolster the sweetness. Roasted barley adds dark brown coloration and a hint of coffee. Munich lends a robust body and full mouthfeel.

HOPS

Cascade, Cluster, Galena

Cascades impart a fragrant floral aroma and spicy, citrus-like flavor. Cluster hops offer a hint of black currant. Galena hops add a tinge of spicy and earthy tones.

YEAST

House Ale

JUJU

Cocoa Nibs, Cocoa Powder, Flaked Barley, Lactose, Vanilla Beans

We've unearthed a hidden vault within the walls of Tröegs Brewery. What secret lies inside? Uncover the mystery with us...

Click here to watch the video!

Despite some very tough competition, Tröegs walked away with $3320 for the Gift of Life program in memory of Danny Glover this past Sunday at the inaugural “Band of Brewers” charity concert held at World Café Live in Philadelphia. Even though our band Starsan was defeated by Yards Brewing Company’s metal band, we were glad to see Nugget Nectar bring home the "Best Beer" award in honor of such a worthy cause. Thanks to Philly Beer Scene magazine for organizing such a fun afternoon of great music and beer. Starsan will return next year with a vengeance!

Tröegs is pleased to announce our new Winter 2013 Snack Bar Menu! We will unveil the new menu on Friday, February 8. You'll find plenty of delicious items including braised lamb shepherd's pie, local mushroom flatbread and house-made Tröegswurst made from local Retland Farms pigs. We've also added the already famous meatloaf sandwich and updated some old favorites such as our Ahi tuna tacos, duck confit and house cured charcuterie. Click here for the full menu. Bon appétit!

From the mind of John Trogner, we are pleased to present an apparatus that will change the landscape of our Scratch Beer series forever…

The Infüz-O-Matic 5000

This prototype was constructed to extract the essence of a variety of ingredients and infuse the bold flavors directly into our beer. Click here for a photo collage of our brewing team adding special ingredients to our upcoming Cocoa Stout Scratch beer release. For this particular batch, we added 4lbs. of cocoa nibs and 2lbs. of cocoa powder per barrel, plus thirty vanilla beans and copious amounts of Cascade hops directly to beer via the Infüz-O-Matic 5000. The Cocoa Stout will be available in the Tasting Room in mid-February around Valentine’s Day. Come taste for yourself and savor the flavor!

SCRATCH #87-2013 – Bourbon Barrel-Aged Troegenator

RELEASE DATE: 1/30/13

It’s been quite some time since our last barrel-aged release. Well, we were so excited about this bourbon barrel-aged version of our flagship year-round Double Bock, Troegenator, that instead of bottling it, we decided to make it available exclusively in our Tasting Room! Everything you love about Troegenator is present – the strong malt aroma, rich chewy body, and warm, tingly spiciness. With that said, it was time well-spent in the bourbon barrel for this already dense, delicious treat. The Nator returns after more than five months from its holiday inside Heaven Hill bourbon barrels. The result is a lush Double Bock with undertones of vanilla, oak, toasted coconut, and tangy bourbon warmth. Given the recent Arctic temperatures in Central PA recently, this is one beer that’s sure to warm you up from the inside out!

ABV is 11.5% and IBU is 25.

Availability: draft only. Sorry, no growler fills.

MALT

Chocolate, Munich

Chocolate produces complex undertones of vanilla and caramel sweetness, while Munich lends a robust body, full mouthfeel, and rich malt character.

HOPS German Northern Brewer, Magnum

German Northern Brewer hops impart a blend of pleasant fruity and drier earthy notes to both the flavor and aroma. Magnum hops provide a clean and forceful but not too severe bitterness in the finish.

YEAST

Lager

SCRATCH #86-2013 – Weizenbock

RELEASE DATE: 1/16/13

Thanks to an epic Mayan fail, our Scratch Beer series continues into 2013! We kick off the new year with the return to a style that can be traced all the way back to – if memory serves us correctly – Scratch #7. Scratch Beer scholars may also remember when we revisited the Weizenbock for Scratch #57, but threw caution to the wind by adding cocoa powder, vanilla beans, and a variety of berries into the mix. This time around, we’re keeping things simple. Our take on this classic Bavarian wheat beer incorporates 50% malted wheat (German law requires that a Weizenbier, regardless of strength, must utilize at least 50% wheat) and German Northern Brewer hops. The result is our interpretation of a style steeped in the rich heritage of traditional German brewing. Prost!

ABV is 7.3% and IBU is 21.

Availability: growlers and draft only.

MALT

Bohemian Pilsner, Bohemian Wheat, Chocolate

Bohemian Pilsner provides a full body and golden coloration, while Bohemian Wheat offers a pronounced wheat malt character and creamy mouthfeel. Chocolate produces complex undertones of vanilla and caramel sweetness.

HOPS

German Northern Brewer

German Northern Brewer hops impart a blend of pleasant fruity and subtle earthy notes to both the flavor and aroma.

YEAST

Bavarian Wheat

Please note that we will close at 5 p.m. on Monday, January 28 for our annual co-worker party.

The date and approximate time of a specific full moon can be calculated from the following equation:

d = 20.362955 + 29.530588861 x N + 102.026 x 10-12 x N2

For those of you who are mathematically challenged, our “Full Moon Firkin” series continues into 2013 with its first event scheduled to occur on Saturday, January 26. We will tap firkins of Nugget Nectar and Perpetual IPA for a special side-by-side tasting beginning at 3 p.m. Attributed to Native American folklore, the name “Wolf Moon” is derived from hungry wolf packs heard howling outside the natives’ villages during January’s full moon. In anticipation of the throngs of hopheads this event is likely to attract, we feel it is rather fitting to offer up this dog-eat-dog throwdown between two of our hoppiest contenders that will leave you foaming at the mouth!

With The Mad Elf entering hibernation mode, now seems a fitting time to unleash our revered mid-winter seasonal, Nugget Nectar. With a heady collection of American hops, Nugget Nectar will rekindle your romance with the succulent humulus lupulus overload you’ve come to expect from this bold Imperial Amber Ale. “Nugget Nectar was inspired by fresh new hops rolling in from the harvest,” said John Trogner. “The concept has always been to deliver that fresh hop flavor and aroma. When it comes off the bottling line, it goes into trucks and right out to retailers.” Drenched with healthy doses of only the freshest hops we’re able to source, Nugget Nectar is further intensified with even more whole flower Nugget cones added to our hopback vessel. The result is an explosive hop experience that will deliver hopheads to nirvana! Keeping freshness in mind, we have decided to stagger the release of Nugget Nectar in 2013. Cases, six-packs, and bombers are available beginning TODAY (1/14) throughout our Central Pennsylvania market (Harrisburg/Lancaster/York) and we will continue expanding through our eight-state distribution area over the following four weeks. Draft Nugget Nectar will be released in mid-February and into early March.

Tröegs Brewery’s very own award-winning brewery band, Starsan, is set to come off a lengthy hiatus to participate in the inaugural Philly Beer Scene Band of Brewers event! This special charity concert will pit six local PA breweries against each other in a no-holds-barred, Battle of the Bands-style showdown. Participating breweries include Weyerbacher, Yards, Dock Street, Sly Fox, Victory, and of course Tröegs, who will be playing for the Gift of Life Organ Donation Program in memory of Danny Glover. Band of Brewers will take place at World Café Live in Philadelphia on Sunday, February 10 beginning at 1 p.m. and will also include draft beer and a special firkin from each participating brewery. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit http://phillybeerscene.ticketleap.com/band-of-brewers/.

Tickets for Philly Beer Week's third annual Benefit Raffle are now available. You could win a trip to the renowned De La Senne Brewery to help brew the next Philly Beer Week collaboration beer! Simply visit www.phillybeerweek.org/pbw_raffle.cfm by January 12 to buy raffle tickets and cast your vote (for Tröegs, obviously). Assuming you vote for Tröegs and win the contest, our very own Andrew Dickson will accompany you to Belgium to brew a world-class beer for Philly Beer Week 2013! A second-place winner will receive an exclusive Philly Beer Week gift package featuring some great beer and festival tickets. All proceeds benefit Philly Beer Week Inc., a non-profit organization to promote Philadelphia's beer culture and tourism.

Well folks, it appears that the Mayans were full of it. Yes indeed, the planet is still intact, so what better way to celebrate than with a few firkins of our Doomsday beer? We will tap the first firkin of ¿Impending Descent? at 3 p.m. on Friday, December 28. We’ve doused this already outlandish beer with even more goodies to intensify the flavor profile – vanilla beans, Mexican cinnamon, and a fruit blend of cherries and raisins prepared especially by our chef. Don’t wait for another Mayan faux pas. The earth survived… and so did the moon!

Love the full moon, love the firkin!

SCRATCH #84-2012 – Belgian Pale Ale

RELEASE DATE: 12/20/12

Scratch #84, a Belgian Pale Ale, is yet another wedding beer. Brewed for one of our very own brewers, we figure if it’s good enough for his wedding, then you know it’s going to be good! The Belgian Pale malt and Westmalle yeast brings out the ale’s “Belgian” traits, while the largely American hop bill elicits a variety of notes ranging from citrus to spicy to herbal and intensifies its bitterness and aroma. Slightly dry and brimming with plenty of orange character, we simply couldn’t resist Americanizing this classic Belgian style and experimenting with some unique flavors… and that’s what the whole Scratch Beer series is about!

 ABV is 6.7% and IBU is 39.

Availability: growlers and draft only.

MALT

Belgian Pale, Munich, Vienna

Belgian Pale provides Scratch #84 with a smooth texture and mouthfeel as well as its signature golden coloration. Munich adds a hint of sweetness while Vienna lends a distinctive toasty, biscuity malt character to the flavor and aroma.

HOPS

Amarillo, Crystal, German Northern Brewer, Mt. Hood, Vanguard

The use of primarily American hops gives this Belgian Pale Ale a well-rounded hop character with hints of floral, spicy, and herbal notes. Scratch #84 was dry-hopped with Amarillo and Mt. Hood to help bolster the beer’s aromatics. Amarillo provides a citrusy flair with a distinct orange-esque bouquet, while Mt. Hood imparts a mild spicy quality.

YEAST

Westmalle

SCRATCH #85-2012 – Cocoa Porter

RELEASE DATE: 12/20/12

Followers of our Scratch Beer series may remember last year’s Cocoa Porter, Scratch #54. It was a rousing success, so we decided to return to the original recipe but give it a bit of a tweak. When we brewed it last year, we utilized approximately one pound of cocoa powder per barrel. This time around, we amped up the recipe to include a whopping THREE POUNDS per barrel! Now I don’t claim to be a mathematician, but I think that works out to be three times the cocoa powder we used last time. So if you like your beer with some intense chocolately goodness, then Scratch #54 was brewed especially for you.

ABV is 7.0% and IBU is 54.

Availability: growlers and draft only.

MALT

Chocolate, Crystal, Munich, Pilsner

Chocolate produces complex undertones of vanilla and caramel, while the addition of Crystal and Pilsner helps to sustain the sweetness of the porter. Munich imparts a rich, robust mouthfeel and hints of toasted bread.

HOPS

Cluster, Warrior Cluster lends traces of black currant to the flavor and aroma profile. Warrior provides a fairly intense bitterness for the style that also works nicely with the cocoa powder.

YEAST

House Ale

JUJU

Cocoa Powder

SCRATCH #83-2012 – ¿Impending Descent?

RELEASE DATE: 12/12/12

As we spiral further toward the end of the Mayan calendar, we at Tröegs felt obligated to brew a special beer to commemorate the expiration of planet Earth. We think it’s a pile of gibberish (just don’t quote us on that, though… you never know)! Either way, celebrate the countdown to extinction and raise a goblet of this colossal Russian Imperial Stout as we plummet into utter oblivion. If your tongue doesn’t disintegrate as a result of the birthday party cheesecake jellybean BOOM, at the very least this beer will wreak major havoc on your taste buds. Yes, ¿Impending Descent? is as enormous, face-melting, and palate-numbing as it sounds. If there ever was a last beer to enjoy before Doomsday, this is it. Here at Tröegs we say, “Bring on the apocalypse!”

ABV is 10.9% and IBU is 98.

Availability: cases, six-packs, growlers, and draft.

MALT

Chocolate, Crystal 80, Munich, Pilsner, Roast, Special B

This rich Imperial Stout utilizes six different malt types, giving it a full body and chewy mouthfeel with underlying notes of chocolate, vanilla, dark fruit, and coffee.

HOPS

Bravo, Columbus, Galena, Nugget

Teetering at just under 100 IBUs, we use copious amounts of American hops to impart a potpourri of floral, woody, and resin tones, giving the malt bill a serious run for its money!

YEAST

House Ale

JUJU

Demerara Sugar

SCRATCH #82-2012 – Belgian Style Triple

RELEASE DATE: 12/7/12

The term “Triple” was popularized by Trappist brewery Westmalle to describe its brawniest of strong pale ales. Well, we assure you that this is indeed one brawny Triple! Brewed with 450lbs. of local PA honey and Westmalle yeast, our latest Scratch Belgian Style Triple is subtly sweet and quite earthy. But the star of the show is undoubtedly the honey, which gives the body a robust and almost chewy texture. The honey also bolsters the alcohol content without coming across as too warm or boozy. But take heed of the lofty 8.1% ABV. Triples are known to be stealthy brews, and Scratch #82 is no exception. You have been duly warned!

ABV is 8.1% and IBU is 37.

Availability: cases, six-packs, growlers, and draft.

MALT

Belgian Pale

Belgian Pale malt gives this Triple its distinctive golden hue and fortifies the body with a smooth, full mouthfeel.

HOPS German Northern Brewer, Hersbrucker

German Northern Brewer hops impart a mild, clean flavor and woody, earthy tones akin to mint and evergreen. Hersbrucker hops enhance the aroma with pleasant notes of grass and hay.

YEAST

Westmalle

JUJU

Pennsylvania Honey

Please note that Tröegs Brewery will recognize the following special hours of operation during the holiday season.

Christmas Eve: 11am - 5pm

Christmas Day - CLOSED

New Year's Eve: 11am - 5pm

New Year's Day: CLOSED

Tröegs would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Cheers!

SCRATCH #81-2012 – Export Lager

RELEASE DATE: 11/30/12

To compete with the more fashionable Bohemian pilsners of the day, the Export Lager style originated in Dortmund, Germany. Often referred to as “Dortmunder Lager,” the style gained popularity in the late 19th Century among German industrial laborers, making it a true working man’s beer. In keeping with the tradition, Scratch #81 harkens back to one of the first Tröegs beers ever produced - Bavarian Lager. This slightly dry, pale golden lager has subtle hop bitterness and a moderately low ABV, making it a perfect session beer… or for that matter, a suitable shift beer after a hard day’s work.

Scratch #81 is available on draft only.

ABV is 4.9% and IBU is 27.

MALT

Floor Malted Bohemian Pilsner, Melanoidin

Lighter in color than other Pilsner malts, the Floor Malted Bohemian Pilsner gives Scratch #81 a full body and an authentic Bohemian barley flavor. Melanoidin lends pleasant aromatics and a slight biscuity malt flavor.

HOPS

Magnum, Tradition

Magnum hops provide a hint of crisp bitterness and spiciness, while Tradition hops release a slight sweet, floral aroma.

YEAST

House Lager

Join us at Tröegs Brewery for the fourth installment of our “Full Moon Firkin” event on Wednesday, November 28. To warm you up as the winter season rapidly approaches, we will tap a firkin of JavaHead Stout at 3 p.m. followed by subsequent firkins as needed. Sometimes referred to as the “Full Beaver Moon,” you’ll definitely want to come out to celebrate and sink your teeth into this chewy, coffee-laced goodie!

Love the full moon, love the firkin.

As of Monday 11/19, Mad Elf is available on tap in the Tasting Room. Cheers!

SCRATCH #80-2012 – Belgian Brown Ale

RELEASE DATE: 11/5/12

For this latest Scratch Beer offering, we’re revisiting one of Chris Trogner’s favorite beer styles. We originally brewed this Belgian Brown Ale last year as Chris’ wedding beer. Well, we’re pleased to announce that the honeymoon isn’t over and the beer has returned to commemorate his first wedding anniversary. Rich and malty with a decadent chocolate note and tangy dried fruit characteristics, Scratch #80 pays homage to the Abbey-style Ales brewed by monastic monks in Belgium. The addition of Westmalle yeast (a Trappist yeast strain) enhances the flavor and texture of the ale, giving it an authentic Belgian flair. Dark Belgian Candi Sugar helps to maintain the high alcohol content attributed to many Belgian-style ales. It’s sweet, colorful and not bitter at all… just how all marriages should be!

ABV is 7.2% and IBU is 16.

MALT

Abbey, Chocolate, Special B, Two-Row Belgian Pale

Abbey malt lends a distinctive reddish-brown color and chewy texture. Expect a complex malt character that suggests hints of caramel, toffee, toasted bread, and chocolate.

HOPS

Tradition

Tradition hops impart a faint sweet, floral aroma to this otherwise malty Belgian-style ale.

YEAST

Westmalle

JUJU

Dark Belgian Candi Sugar

SCRATCH #79-2012 – Pumpkin Ale

RELEASE DATE: 10/31/12

It had to happen sooner or later. We’re referring to our Pumpkin Scratch Beer, of course! Realizing this monumental endeavor should not be taken lightly, our brewers explored the nether regions of the Pumpkin Ale spectrum to brew a serious beer suitable for the harvest season. Starting with a heavy fifty-pound load of neck pumpkins from Strites’ Orchard, we roasted them to perfection right in our Snack Bar. To infuse the essence of fall, we added traditional pumpkin pie spices, cane sugar, honey, and vanilla. The use of French Saison yeast intensifies the spicy dryness of the ale and interplays nicely with the malt sweetness. The result is a masterful Pumpkin Ale that will have you crawling faster to Tröegs. Taste it you will see, more is all you need. Dedicated to how I’m drinking you. Obey your Master of Pumpkins!

ABV is 8.4% and IBU is 22 

MALT

Chocolate, Munich, Pale, Special B

Munich and Pale malts provide sweetness, while Special B malt delivers a heavy caramel flavor. In addition to displaying roasty and nutty characteristics, Chocolate malt also produces undertones of vanilla and caramel.

HOPS

Magnum, Northern German Brewer

Magnum hops impart a hint of crisp bitterness and subtle spicy notes, while German Brewer hops add a tinge of woody earthiness to the aroma and flavor.

YEAST

French Saison

JUJU

50lbs. of Roasted Neck Pumpkins, Cane Sugar, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger, Pennsylvania Honey, Nutmeg, Vanilla

We will open today (Tue. 10/30) at 11am. We will release Scratch #79 - Pumpkin Ale on Wednesday 10/31 at 11am, with the Full Moon Firkin event following at 5pm.

Hopefully everyone is recovering from Sandy.

Due to the impending Frankenstorm, Troegs Brewery will be closed all day Monday 10/29. This includes the Tasting Room, General Store, Snack Bar, administrative offices, and all general brewery operations. Also, the Full Moon Firkin event scheduled for Monday will be rescheduled for a later date. We'll keep you posted of more details as soon as they become available. For those of you anxious to try the Pumpkin Ale... you had to wait over 15 years, so what's a few more days? Stay safe, and be sure to stock up on beer if you haven't already!

This month, phase three of our Full Moon Firkin series falls two days before Halloween! Join us on Monday, October 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Tasting Room for a very special firkin AND the release of our much-anticipated Scratch #79 - Pumpkin Ale. In the spirit of Halloween, bring your kids in costume and we’ll give them a special treat. Heads will roll if you miss this event… pumpkin heads, that is!

Love the full moon, love the firkin.

You can always tell that the holidays are right around the corner when Christmas displays begin popping up in department stores all across the country. Here at Tröegs, it isn’t officially Christmas until Mad Elf is released. Well folks, Christmas is upon us! The bottled version of Mad Elf shipped to distributors and retailers on October 15. Expect Mad Elf on draft by mid-to-late November.

Festive and exuberant, Mad Elf is our nod to the hectic holiday season. Revered by beer geeks far and wide, The Mad Elf Ale weighs in at 11% ABV and features the lavish combination of chocolate malt, spicy Belgian yeast, sweet and sour cherries, and Pennsylvania honey. Get yours right away, because when the Elf goes into hiding, he won’t appear again until next year!

We are pleased to announce that Tröegs walked away with THREE Gold Medals at The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) this past weekend in Denver, CO. Our year-round beers DreamWeaver Wheat and HopBack Amber, as well as our summer seasonal Sunshine Pils, topped their respective categories. In addition, Tröegs and John Trogner also won the coveted Mid-Sized Brewery/Brewer of the Year award! For a complete list of winners and beer categories, please click here.

SCRATCH #78-2012 – Fresh Hop Ale

RELEASE DATE: 10/10/12

So, just how fresh is our Fresh Hop Ale? Well, first we begin with 400 pounds of fresh, whole flower hops from B.T. Loftus Ranches in Yakima, WA. These hops are hand-picked right from the vine, placed into boxes, and immediately shipped to our brewery. Once they arrive, we pack a double dose of these glorious green, sticky cones into our hopback vessel until it is bursting at the seams. This equates to two pounds of hops per barrel! Due to the volatile nature of recently harvested hops, we must use them immediately in order to capture the bold aromas and flavors released by the hop oils. The payoff is a fresh, flavorful ale dripping with the essence of oily hop goodness.

ABV is 7.7% and IBU is 56.

BARLEY

Pilsner, White Wheat

The use of Pilsner malt provides light grainy notes and a pale gold coloration. White Wheat imparts a milder wheat flavor than traditional Red Wheat, resulting in a slightly sweeter, malty character.

HOPS

Amarillo, Citra, Nugget

Amarillo hops impart orange-like citrusy tones, while Nugget hops offer spicy and herbal bitterness. However, the fresh Citra hops really shine through and tempt the palate with mouthwatering tropical and citrus fruits.

YEAST

House Ale

JUJU

Pennsylvania Honey

SCRATCH #77-2012 – Rye IPA

RELEASE DATE: 9/26/12

Brewed for the upcoming nuptials of a Tröegs employee, Scratch #77 begins with the courtship of spicy rye malt and zesty Galaxy hops, then bonds the two in holy matrimony. This marriage of bold flavors captures the essence of a traditional IPA and the crisp, dry characteristics of rye. You’ll love and cherish every moment of this Rye IPA and make a vow to drink more. So raise a glass and make a toast to Scratch #77. “Here’s to hoping the honeymoon ain’t over anytime soon!”

ABV is 6.3% and IBU is 51.

BARLEY

Pilsner, Crystal, Munich, Cara Red, Rye

The complex malt bill of Scratch #77 begins with Pilsner and Crystal base malts. Munich imparts a darker, richer malt flavor, while Cara Red provides a fuller body and slight reddish tint. Finally, the addition of 15% Rye gives the beer a tinge of subtle spiciness in the finish.

HOPS

Galaxy

The exclusive utilization of Galaxy, a versatile Australian hop variety high in alpha acids, imparts not only a distinctive pungent hop aroma, but also a bold, fruity flavor suggesting notes of citrus and passionfruit.

YEAST

House Ale

HOOOOOOOWWWL!!!

The lunacy continues with “Full Moon Firkin” at Tröegs Brewery. Join us on Saturday, September 29 beginning at 3pm in the Tasting Room for phase two of our monthly firkin frenzy as we feature our brand new Scratch #77 - Rye IPA, as well as a special firkin of our Pale Ale dry-hopped with Cascade. This time around, the event falls on the Full Harvest Moon, the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. Sometimes referred to as the “Wine Moon,” we here at Tröegs disagree; the Harvest Moon is undoubtedly the “Beer Moon” for sure!

Love the full moon, love the firkin!

To usher in the turn of the seasons, we recently unveiled our brand new fall seasonal Snack Bar menu at the brewery.  One of the menu's highlights is a duck confit plate served a hearty white bean ragout and fig marmalade, which makes for a delectable food pairing with our fall seasonal beer release, Dead Reckoning Porter.  Check out this quick video, which gives a glimpse of our chef, Christian DeLutis, preparing this dish.  Please click here to view the video.

The first-ever HydroWorx Underwater Marathon was held at Tröegs brewery yesterday to benefit The Eagle Fund, an organization providing wounded American soldiers access to high quality care. Over 200 runners participated in the marathon, including a dozen U.S. servicemen who traveled from around the country just to participate. Tröegs very own Bob Read, a brewery tour guide, participated in the e vent by running on one of the treadmills. To commemorate the event, Tröegs brewed a special Scratch beer called Special HOPS Ale, and portions of the beer’s proceeds were donated to The Eagle Fund. Event T-shirts and pint glasses were also produced especially for the event. All in all, the Underwater Marathon raised $350,000 for the Eagle Fund. With the money raised from the event, The Eagle Fund is able to assist fifty wounded warriors with necessary care and rehabilitation. If you missed the event, you can still make a contribution to this worthy cause. Simply visit www.underwatermarathon.com for details. Thanks to all who attended and donated their time and efforts to make this event a huge success! Also, please be sure to check out the link below for CBS 21 coverage of the event.

http://www.whptv.com/?mediacenter/?local.aspx?videoid=3747603

The HydroWorx Underwater Marathon is less than two days away! Join us at Tröegs Brewery on Sunday, September 9 for a day of fun and fitness as we help to raise money for The Eagle Fund, an organization providing wounded American soldiers access to high quality care.

The first heat kicks off bright and early at 7 a.m. followed by a second heat at 1 p.m. Please note that we have limited parking at the brewery, so we ask that participants and spectators please park at a designated lot across from Hersheypark Statium (NOT at Houlihan’s, as originally announced). We will run shuttles from 6:30 a.m. until the end of the marathon every 15-20 minutes throughout the day.

For your convenience, Tröegs’ Tasting Room and Snack Bar will open at 9am, and the General Store will open at 10 a.m. Don’t forget to try our brand new Scratch #76 – Special HOPS Ale, a bold Imperial Red Ale, to commemorate the event. Special HOPS will be on tap in the Tasting Room for pints and growler fills, and also available in single bottles, six-packs and cases in the General Store. We look forward to seeing you at the brewery this Sunday morning to help support a great cause!

Special HOPS is an Imperial Red Ale brewed especially for the HydroWorx Underwater Marathon event to benefit The Eagle Fund.  Just like the highly-trained military units used for unconventional, often high-risk missions, Special HOPS is bold, aggressive and sure to sabotage your palate and bombard your taste buds with hop bitterness.  There’s nothing covert about Special HOPS.  An elite beer in its own right, expect an all-out hop assault on your senses.  Afterwards, we’re sure you’ll embrace the slogan, “I love the smell of hops in the morning!”

ABV is 7.5% and IBU is 40.

BARLEY

Pilsner, Dark Munich, Cara Red

Special HOPS begins with a Pilsner malt base.  Dark Munich malt is added to impart dark, rich malt backbone, while the Cara Red provides a fuller body and deep, saturated red coloration. 

HOPS

Warrior, Cluster, Bravo, Tomahawk, Chinook

While 40 IBUs may not sound like the result of an intensely hoppy beer, Special HOPS utilizes five different hop varietals in the boil.  We then further doused our hopback vessel with more Chinook and Tomahawk than it could handle.  As if that wasn’t enough, we dry-hopped furiously with Bravo for a bold hop experience.

YEAST

House Ale

Our house Ale yeast lends itself to the citrusy characteristics of the hops, resulting in a semi-dry finish with a pleasant crispness.

Calling all lunatics and lycanthropes!!!

Coinciding with August’s blue moon on Friday, August 31, Tröegs Brewery will feature three Perpetual IPA firkins for our inaugural “Full Moon Firkin” event. Similar to the folklore of dogs being twice as likely to bite a victim during a full moon, we want to give rabid beer lovers a special nip at our newest year-round offering. Join us at the Scratch Bar in the Tasting Room on Friday, August 31 at 3 p.m. for the first tapping. Additional tappings occur at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., as needed.

Love the full moon, love the firkin.

Tröegs Dead Reckoning Porter will be available in all Tröegs Markets beginning mid-August

HERSHEY, PA – Tröegs Brewery announced today the release of the perennial favorite, Dead Reckoning Porter. The autumn seasonal will be released starting in mid-August and will be available throughout Tröegs’ eight-state distribution network by the end of August.

Dead Reckoning Porter will be available in 12-ounce bottles and 1/2-barrel kegs.

“We feel that Dead Reckoning is a perfect fall seasonal for us, and we’re glad it has become a regular addition to our portfolio,” said Chris Trogner, co-owner of Tröegs Brewery. “It makes for a great segue between Sunshine Pils and The Mad Elf. It’s a beer to savor and enjoy during the colder months of fall.”

Dead Reckoning has since been included in the Tröegs Anthology #2 variety packages as the seasonal offering for the months of August through October.

“The coffee and cocoa characteristics typical of the style are definitely apparent,” said John Trogner, co-owner of Tröegs Brewery. “However, it’s quite a robust porter. The hop bitterness is pretty assertive, which gives the flavor plenty of sharp, earthy tones.”

Weighing in a 5.8% ABV and 53 IBUs, Dead Reckoning is unfiltered and aggressively hopped for the style. It utilizes Pilsner, Caramel, Chocolate and Roasted malts along with Chinook and Vanguard hops. Dead Reckoning took home a Silver medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver CO.

Suppose a lanky, mild-mannered and malcontent Brown Ale from across the pond started its journey to America, but along the way decided to bulk up and develop a boisterous attitude. Then you might consider this latest Tröegs concoction to be an unabashedly Americanized version of the quiet British style. Bursting with intense hop bitterness and boasting a beefed-up body, this latest Scratch Beer could quite possibly become the Intercontinental Champion of Brown Ales. Belt up!

ABV is 7.1% and IBU is 68.

BARLEY

2-Row Pale, Dark Crystal, Chocolate, Special B

Toffee, vanilla and caramel undertones emerge as a result of the Dark Crystal and Chocolate malts, while the Special B malt adds depth with notes of roast and dark fruit as well as a hint of nut flavor.

HOPS

Bravo, Amarillo, Centennial

Bravo hops exhibit a pleasant fruity and floral aroma. Amarillo and Centennial hops impart a citrus-like bitterness, while further dry-hopping intensifies the aroma and flavor profile.

YEAST House Ale

Our house Ale yeast lends itself to the citrusy characteristics of the hops, resulting in a semi-dry finish with a pleasant crispness.

To commemorate the annual German tradition of Oktoberfest, Tröegs unveils Scratch #73 – 2012, an OkTröegerFest, if you will. This rich, pumpkin-colored lager goes against the grain by boasting a fairly hefty hop presence for the style, giving the flavor a moderate bitter twist while still maintaining the classic malt character that you’ve come to expect from a traditional Fest Bier.

ABV is 5.5% and IBU is 35.

BARLEY

Pils, Munich, Melanoidin, Special B

The generous amounts of Pils and Munich malt add a fairly substantial body and a slightly darker coloration compared to traditional fest biers, while the Melanoidin malt enhances the aroma of the beer and beefs up the malt profile without adding too much residual sweetness.

HOPS

Magnum, Tradition, Saaz

Magnum hops add a crisp bitterness, while the Tradition and Saaz hops impart slight spicy and earthy notes.

YEAST

House Lager

Our house Lager yeast imparts the classic dry, bready finish that is indicative of the Fest style.

NAKED ELF

RELEASE DATE: 8/8/12

Naked Elf is an exercise in deconstruction and minimalism. This ale has distinct roots in The Mad Elf minus some key components.

The cherries? Gone. The honey? Gone. The chocolate malt? Gone.

Coming in at 8% ABV and 16 IBUs, Naked Elf is an unfiltered golden beauty that displays a pronounced yeast flavor that made The Mad Elf famous as well as a touch of alcohol and some mellow malt flavors.

BARLEY
Pils, Munich, Crystal, Special B
This barley blend unveils are light chestnut derived from the Munich and Special B Malts.

HOPS
German Northern Brewers, Magnum
Hops add no noticeable bitterness and merely serve as a balance to the sweetness of the malts.

YEAST
House Belgian
Strong spice and fruity overtones dominate this beer.

Draft premiere of the Drafting Room 18th Anniversary Ale brewed at Tröegs on Saturday, July 21st at noon in Exton, PA. Available at the Drafting Room only.

Our Drafting Room Anniversary Ale sojourn continues with a return to the hoppy roots that started this collaboration eight years ago. The Drafting Room brain trust spent a day with our brewers chewing on barley and sniffing copious amounts of hops to create a brew that blurs the line between an IPA and a RyePA.

The Munich malt gives Drafting Room Anniversary Ale a rich amber color and the combination of rye and Nugget hops creating a signature spicy note that stands out in this ale. Centennial and Meridian hops bring a citrus/lemon aroma and finish to this beer.

Cheers to The Drafting Room and congratulations on your 18th Anniversary!

SCRATCH #72-2012 – Tim’s Brown Porter

RELEASE DATE: 7/13/12

Scratch #72 is a walk down memory lane for one of our brewers. Inspired by a thirst for neither big nor hoppy, Tim Mayhew drew inspiration from the London porters he frequently consumed. Here are Tim’s tasting notes: “Most people drink robust porters and are familiar with that dominant roasted flavor.

Scratch #72 has strong caramel and chocolate notes with hints of roast. Fuggle hops impart an earthy flavor found in many English ales.” ABV is 5.5% and IBU is 27.

BARLEY
Maris Otter, Brown, Crystal, Chocolate
Maris Otter and Brown, both English malts, dominate the grain bill and give Scratch #72 its distinctive caramel/chocolate flavors.

HOPS
Cluster, Fuggle
Cluster hops give a well-balanced bitterness and minimal aroma. Fuggle is traditional English bittering hops that imparts and earthy, woody finish.

YEAST
Fuller’s A classic English yeast that imparts hints of fruit and biscuit.

SCRATCH #71-2012 – DMB Wit
RELEASE DATE: 6/29/12

For Scratch #71, we’re revisiting the blissful world of white ales. This beer typically features a blend of wheat and barley along with spices and yeast to create a refreshing and complex flavor.

With a dense haze from the red wheat and a foamy white head, Scratch #71 incorporates tartness and a delicate orange aroma that complements the spices and the LaChouffe yeast. The finish is dry and crisp. Scratch #71 is 5.2% ABV and 10 IBUs.

We hear it’s Dave Matthews’ favorite beer.

BARLEY
Pils, Red Wheat, Oats
A low mash PE and the addition of red wheat add a distinctive tart flavor.

HOPS
Magnum, German Northern Brewer

JUJU
Coriander, Sweet Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Pink Peppercorns, Schezuan Peppercorns, Tellicherry Peppercorns Our Juju mix is added to the hopback. Coriander and Szechuan peppercorns reveal a soft, floral/citrus aroma, while the three pepper blend and peels peek through in the finish.

YEAST
LaChouffe
Adds a distinctive spice flavor and softens the mouth feel.

Is there a better way to honor Dad this Sunday then to smoke a pig, tap a firkin of Perpetual IPA and also release Scratch #70 (triple IPA)?

We didn't think so.

The food menu is $13 and will not include beer.

Also included this day will be our regular snack bar menu and the most scratch beers we have ever had on tap.

smoked pig parts:

grilled corn

cucumber & tomato salad

white bread watermelon with chili & lime

Perpetual IPA firkin tapping - 1 pm

Scratch #70 (Triple IPA) draft releas

Scratch #70, Fancy That Triple IPA, is the creation of our filler operator Joel Bigler. Joel originally brewed this intensely bitter & aromatic brew for the Al’s of Hampton Triple IPA Homebrew Contest finishing in the top three.

Hints of alcohol come through on this beer but the playmaker is the bold hop flavor that dominates this beer.

At 10.4% ABV Fancy That Triple IPA is nicely drinkable as it bludgeons you with intense hoppy goodness.

Getting hungry? We just updated our Snack Bar menu here at the brewery. View it here.

Today in the tasting room Scratch #69 is available. Bottles are also available in the General Store.

Scratch #69, More Helles, Less Bock, is an easy-drinking lager that blurs the lines between Helles, Bock and Maibock styles. At 5.6% ABV, 21 IBU, and light straw color, Scratch #69 portrays itself as a Helles; but inside the glass lurks a more complex beer reminiscent of the Bock style.

Aromatic toasted chestnuts and hints of honeysuckle flower present themselves before the first sip. After tasting More Helles, Less Bock you will immediately want more. The floor-malted barley gives an earthy flavor that pairs with the hints of bitterness from Tradition. The finish is sweet and malty, yet still refreshing; a light filtration adds bread notes at the end.

Three new Scratch Beers pouring today in the Tasting Room! Draft only.

SCRATCH #68-2012 – Zwickel Licker
RELEASE DATE: 6/5/12

A collaboration between beer writer Lew Bryson and brewer Jeff Musselman, Scratch #68-2012 has been brewed specifically for Philly Beer Week. Lew chose to brew a Dortmunder Lager as he loves to drink session beers as much as he loves to write about them. Staying true to style, Zwickel Licker delivers a delicate barley field aroma with an earthy bitterness.

At 5.4% ABV and 23 IBUs this beer deserves to be consumed outdoors while wearing lederhosen.

SCRATCH #67-2012 – Brotherly Suds Vol. 3
RELEASE DATE: 6/5/12

This year’s Philly Beer Week Beer, Brotherly Suds Volume 3, was created collectively by brewers from Iron Hill Brewing, Sly Fox Brewing, Stoudt’s Brewing, Tröegs Brewing, Victory Brewing and Yards Brewing, and brewed at Tröegs Brewery in Hershey. Via a flurry of emails, this collective cobbled together a Vienna Red Lager recipe that incorporates rye, American hops, and Kolsch yeast. By combining the spicy rye along with Centennial hops and subtle fruity flavors of the Kolsch yeast, hints of cream sickle shine through as this pungent American hop intertwines with a rich mix of barley. At 5.2% ABV and 40 IBU, Scratch #67 is a testament to team work and impeccable taste! Enjoy!

SCRATCH #66-2012 – Biere de Grouch
RELEASE DATE: 6/5/12

A collaboration between beer writer Jack Curtin and brewer Tim Mayhew, Scratch #66-2012 has been brewed specifically for Philly Beer Week. Like his snark-filled rants, Jack’s beer tastes veer toward the peppery, yeasty flavor that dominates this French-style lager. The high-temperature fermentation and the addition of Tellicherry Black Pepper combine to create a deceptively, crisp, clean flavor for a 6.8% ABV beer.

2 Beer Writers - 1 Brewhouse 

WATCH THE MOVIE TRAILER HERE

We let them brew their own beer on the scratch system.

"Uncle Jack and I were contacted by John "Latent Homebrewer" Trogner and Ed "Music Man" Yashinsky at Tröegs. 'Look,' they said, 'you guys are always snarling at each other. Why not settle it with a Scratch Beer showdown? Both of you come up to the brewery, sit down with our brewers, and we'll brew what you come up with for a head-to-head grudge match during Philly Beer Week?' Kind of like the Royal Stumble, only with just the two of us, mano a mano (the tap-working hand, that is).

So we did, and we invite you to come out to Standard Tap for the fun, 1st Sunday of Philly Beer Week, and enjoy the hell out of my Zwickel Licker, an unfiltered Dortmunder Export lager! You can get a sample taste of Jack's biere de vieux petard, too. It's all PAYG, and we'll see you there!" from Lew Bryson on his blog - http://lewbryson.blogspot.com/

SCRATCH #65-2012 – Kolsch RELEASE DATE: 5/25/12

Brewed as his wedding beer by Jeff “Moose” Musselman, Scratch #65 is designed for maxxin’ and relaxin’. Starting with an all-organic grain bill, this Kolsch is light pale in color and unfiltered to retain yeast notes. The malt gives a full body and mouth feel with complementary fruity flavors coming from the Kolsch yeast and Amarillo hops.

At 4.8% ABV and 34 IBU, Scratch #65 is best enjoyed on a sunny day relaxing under a big shade tree. Congrats to Moose and Andrea!

BARLEY

Pils, Wheat, Vienna, Carahell Comprised of an all organic grain bill, the Vienna malt provides full body while the wheat and carahell malts give a full mouth feel.

HOPS

BOIL – Magnum, Vanguard, Amarillo Amarillo hops emanate fruity flavors that complement the Kolsch yeast.

YEAST

Kolsch

Kolsch is a lager yeast fermented at slightly warmer temperatures to release subtle fruity flavors.

In case you haven't seen the entire list yet, here is a complete list of the awards given out at this year's 2012 Philly Beer Scene Awards. Thanks to Mat Falco  who helped put this event together and also everyone who filled out the survey and voted.

Tröegs took home 5 awards! Below is a list of all winner's. 

Best Area Brewery  – Victory Brewing Co.

Best Area Brewmaster  – Chris Wilson (Weyerbacher)

Best Brewpub – Iron Hill

Best Bar in Philadelphia – Standard Tap

Bar in the Burbs  - Hulmeville Inn

Best Bar in NJ/DE – The Pour House

Best European Bar – Monk’s Café  

Best New Bar  0 Barcade®

Best Bar Food   Monk’s Café

Best Happy Hour  – South Philadelphia Tap Room  

Best Beer Distributor in Philadelphia – Bella Vista

Best Beer Distributor in the Burbs – Beer Yard  

Best NJ/DE Beer Store – Total Wine & More  

Best Bottle Shop in Philadelphia – The Craft Beer Outlet  

Best Bottle Shop in the Burbs – Capones  

Best Homebrew Shop  – Keystone Homebrew  

Best Bar to Watch a Game – City Tap House

Best Entertainment Venue – Citizens Bank Park  

Best Beer Writer – Lew Bryson

Best Tap Handles – Dogfish Head

Best Label Art – Tröegs

Best Beer Festival  – Philly Craft Beer Fest

Best Beer Event – Sly Fox Goat Races  

Best IPA/Pale Ale – Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale

Best Stout/Porter – Victory Storm King  

Best Lager – Victory Prima Pils

Best Barrel-Aged Beer – Weyerbacher Insanity

Best Belgian Style Beer – Weyerbacher Merry Monks’

Best Seasonal – Tröegs Nugget Nectar

Best Fruit/Spice Beer  – Tröegs Mad Elf

Best Wheat – Tröegs DreamWeaver

Best Session Beer – Yards Brawler

Philly Tap Finder Award – Tröegs Nugget Nectar

Brewery Rep of the Year – Mike Lubieski (Weyerbacher)

Wholesaler of the Year – Origlio Beverage

Thanks to Jack Curtin for putting this list together.

Chris and John Trogner sit down with Chef Matt Haley to discuss the opening of the Snack Bar here at the brewery. Watch HERE

Brian Howard from Flying Kite gives a nice behind the scenes look at the brewing of the Brotherly Suds Beer #3. It was brewed at Tröegs and will be available during Philly Beer Week.

"It's fitting that the third installment of Brotherly Suds -- the annual collaborative brew that accompanies the now-juggernaut Philly Beer Week (June 1-10) -- was put in jeopardy by beer. "

Read the full article HERE

Watch the Video from Tröegs  HERE

Starting today, May 21, Troegs Brewery’s Tasting Room and General Store will be open seven days a week.  Our new expanded hours are:

TASTING ROOM

Sunday-Wednesday: 11 am – 9 pm
Thursday-Saturday: 11 am – 10 pm

GENERAL STORE

Sunday: 12 noon – 5 pm
Monday-Saturday: 11 am – 8 pm  

Beer garden is now open!

Tröegs Perpetual Imperial Pale Ale will be available in all Troegs Markets by mid-June HERSHEY, PA – Chris and John Trogner, owners of Troegs Brewery, announced today they are adding a new beer to their current year-round line-up. Perpetual Imperial Pale Ale (IPA) will be released starting in late May and will be available throughout their eight-state distribution network by the middle of June.

Perpetual IPA will be available in 12 ounce bottles and half-kegs.

“With the opening of the new brewery and increased production capabilities we’ve wanted to start adding beer to our line-up since opening in October 2011,” said Chris Trogner. “In early March we finally caught up with customer demand and we are excited to finally add a new year-round beer to our roster.”

“In our constant evolution as a brewery, we’ve developed on undying drive to meld the organic and the mechanical,” said John Trogner. “Perpetual IPA is a tribute to building our new brewery and our desire to continue exploring beer.”

Perpetual IPA utilizes our hopback and dry-hopping to engineer a bold Imperial Pale Ale. Perpetual IPA is 7.5% ABV and 85 IBUs. It features Bravo, Chinook and Mt. Hood hops in the boil, Mt. Hood and Nugget hops in the hopback and Citra, Cascade and Nugget hops during the dry-hop stage.

Perpetual IPA was released in 22 ounce bottles and limited half kegs. It sold out almost immediately.

###############

Founded by brothers Chris and John Trogner in 1996, Tröegs Brewery is a small, family-owned specialty brewery that started selling beer in 1997. Located in Central Pennsylvania, Tröegs beers are distributed in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, New York, Ohio, Massachusetts and Washington, DC.

Tröegs year-round beers include: Tröegs Pale Ale, Hopback Amber Ale, Javahead Stout, DreamWeaver Wheat and Troegenator Doublebock. Seasonal beers include: Nugget Nectar, Flying Mouflan, Sunshine Pils, Dead Reckoning Porter, and Mad Elf Holiday Ale.

HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA — Tröegs Brewing Company recently claimed a bronze medal in the Brewers Association (BA) World Beer Cup© 2012, a global beer competition that evaluates beers recognizes the most outstanding beers being produced in the world.

"Brewers from around the world received awards from an elite international panel of judges in the 2012 Brewers Association World Beer Cup. The ninth bi-annual competition boasted the strongest field of entrants on record, with 799 breweries from 54 countries and 45 U.S. states entering 3,921 beers in 95 beer style categories. A 17.7 percent increase over 2010, the entries were eligible for gold, silver and bronze awards in their respective categories. Judges presented a total of 284 awards." from www.worldbeercup.org

Tröegs Brewery was awarded a bronze medal in the Traditional German-Style Bock category for Troegenator Doublebock, a smooth, mahogany-colored lager. Owners Chris and John Trogner first created Troegenator—inspired by German monastic brews it became a year-round beer in 2003, and is the brewery’s second best-selling beer.

Troegenator was also served at the awards dinner for the third course for 2034 people! http://www.worldbeercup.org/about/award-ceremony/dinner-menu

SCRATCH #64-2012 – Helles

RELEASE DATE: 5/04/12

As if you needed another excuse to put off hosing down the patio furniture and taming the lawn, Scratch 64 is a cannonball jump into the pool of refreshment. Authentic to the style of an everyday German lager, this Helles is brilliantly clear and absolutely golden. At 4.8% ABV, Scratch 64 can be enjoyed glass after glass, leaving the yard work forgotten well after the sun sets from an afternoon of enjoying this balanced, refreshing lager.

SCRATCH #63-2012 – DANNY’S IPA
RELEASE DATE: 4/27/12
Scratch #63-2012 was brewed to honor Danny Glover, our good friend who passed away earlier this year. Dubbed Danny’s IPA, this Black IPA is modeled after Danny’s favorite beer, Nugget Nectar. It clocks in at 7.0% ABV and 100 IBUs.

Per John Trogner III, “If anyone says it’s not hoppy enough, punch them in the face.”

Rotten grapefruit flavors from Columbus hops dominate Scratch #63. The dry-hopping rate is nearly one pound per barrel creating a dank, piney aroma that gives way to a grassy finish. This beer was dry hopped at a rate of 1.25 lbs. per barrel, more than two times the rate of Nugget Nectar. Tröegs Brewery will donate $10 from every case of Danny’s IPA sold out of the brewery in Hershey to the Gift of Life donation program.

BARLEY Pils, Munich, Crystal, Midnight Wheat
Hints of caramel come from the Crystal malt; the Midnight Wheat gives a dark black color and a hint of roast without the astringency associated with other roasted malts.
HOPS BOIL – Bravo, Columbus, Nugget, Palisade, Apollo
HOPBACK – Bravo, Columbus DRY HOP – Palisade, Apollo, Zythos, Columbus, Summit

Read more about Danny here

Join us on Friday, April 27 for the release of Scratch #63 – Danny’s IPA. This Black IPA was brewed as a tribute to Danny Glover, a Troegs Brewery family member who passed away in late February. Cases, drafts and growler fills available starting at 11 a.m. Firkin tapping at 3 p.m. $10 from every case of Scratch #63 sold will go directly to the Gift of Life Donor Program in Danny’s name. For more information on becoming an organ donor, click here: http://www.donors1.org/ Read more here http://blog.troegs.com/?p=1084

Want to Train Like a Special Forces Soldier? -- Hear the Brave Stories of Our Nation’s Heroes, and Discover How to Help Them by Running 10mph… Underwater.

Media event grants insider access to the inspiring story of Eagle Fund recipients and how they will be supported during September's ultimate underwater running experience. Join Middletown company HydroWorx, and Eagle Fund Founder, Alex Lincoln, as they host a media event Thursday, April 26, from 2-4 p.m. at Tröegs Brewery, Hershey, to announce the first Underwater Marathon to help heal wounded special forces soldiers.  An operational underwater treadmill, which will be featured during the Underwater Marathon, will be on display and available for test runs.    

To share the personal impact of the Eagle Fund and the funds raised through the September Underwater Marathon event, a Special Forces Soldier who was injured and, through the Eagle Fund program, has return to active duty, will also be on site to share his inspiring story of bravery and service.   

Read more HERE

Tickets available online at www.greenbeltevents.com and at Troegs Brewery in Hershey. "Focusing on Pennsylvania beer and food, this event brings together up to 40 Pennsylvania breweries along with 20 PA Preferred food producers and 20 PA Preferred restaurants in a sampling event for 1500+ attendees." For more information visit PABrewers.com

SCRATCH #62-2012 – SPRING IPA
RELEASE DATE: 4/18/12
Scratch #62-2012 is a true experiment for us. In 15 years we have never brewed with Summit hops so we decided to crank up the bitterness and knock out a test batch. Spring IPA delivers the taste of fresh-cut grass and pine along with hints of grapefruit and spring onion. The blend of a piney aroma along with grassy and spicy hop notes mask the 8.5% ABV.

BARLEY Pils, Munich, Crystal, Acidulated Malt Munich malt gives a slight bready flavor to the grain bill.
HOPS BOIL – Bravo, Apollo, Nugget, Cascade
DRY HOP – Cascade, Apollo, Summit Grapefruit, pine and spice notes come from the blend of brewing hops. The dry-hopping rate is nearly one pound per barrel creating a dank, piney aroma that gives way to a grassy finish.
YEAST House Ale

Cheers! Only on tap at the brewery only, no growler fills due to limited quantities.

It's that time of year again! Sunshine Pils is now available in bottles in our general store.

Here is a little info on this Pilsner:
Tröegs Sunshine Pils®
Alcohol by Volume: 4.5%
Hop Bitterness (IBUs): 45
Color (SRM): Straw/ Golden
Availability: Seasonal
Malts: Pilsner, Crystal
Hops: Saaz, Hallertau Mitt.
Yeast: Lager

TASTING NOTES Hop fans rejoice! Sunshine Pils combines the crisp taste of European style pilsners with a kicked-up hop character to create a balanced, refreshing seasonal beer. Golden in color with a fluffy white head, Sunshine Pils is the perfect beer for Summer.

FOOD COMPLIMENTS Since Sunshine Pils is a Summer beer, it is a fine compliment with all types of salads. It also pairs well with all shell fish and mild fish filets.

Serving Suggestions: Temp: 40-45º F Glassware: Pilsner Flute

We are very excited to be a stop on the very first Susquehanna Ale Trail!
The dates are: April 13-14 & April 20-21

Please enjoy our free self-guided tour path then meet in our Barrel-Aging Room at 1:30, 2:30 or 3:30 for a tutored tasting.

For more information on the Trail please go to http://susquehannaaletrail.com/. We look forward to seeing you soon. Cheers!

We just released Scratch #61 in the tasting room! Scratch #61-2012 is brewer Jeff Campbell’s recreation of his wedding beer. When Jeff first homebrewed this barrel-aged imperial stout he shared some bottles with the brewing team and it was immediately tagged for a future Scratch beer.

Scratch #61 was aged on oak chips for three weeks following fermentation adding a bourbon-esque note. Dominated by rich toffee, toasted coconut and vanilla flavors with enough hops to cut through the sweetness this 9.1% ABV and 42 IBU brew is incredibly drinkable with minimal alcohol burn. On tap at the brewery only.
Cheers!

The Tasting Tour gives visitors a behind-the-scenes look at a working production brewery. A small tour group will see the entire production process and taste and smell the building blocks of beer from raw ingredients through fermenting beer to fresh beer from our packaging line.

Go to our reservation page to schedule yours now.

Scratch #60-2012 is our harbinger of the coming spring. After reading about the annual German beer festival – Starkbierzeit – and shuddering at the thought of drinking Trogenator all day long in honor of “strong beer time,” we’ve created a Spring Fest designed specifically for “patio time.” Measuring in at 5.1% ABV and 39 IBUs Spring Fest pairs nicely with smoked trout and seems to magically disappear from your glass while spending time with friends.

The brewery tasting room and general store will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20 for a private event. We hope this doesn't cause any inconvenience.

Congratulations to the winners of the Beertorgaphy contest, Greg Jones, Lance Whitmire and Jonathan Steele! Thank you to everyone who submitted photos. click link below to view the winners:

Beetography Contest Winners

HydroWorx Underwater Marathon at Troegs Brewery in Hershey, PA to benefit the Eagle Fund on Sunday, September 9, 2012

200 East Hershey Park Drive, Hershey PA

Start Time: 7:00 AM

Distances: 5K, 10K, Half or Full Marathon
Parking Details:  Troegs Brewery has limited parking available.  Please park at 27 W. Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033. 
We will be running shuttles to and from the event all day for participants and spectators. Click here to view parking information

Reserve Your Treadmill Today Underwater treadmills for corporate and individual sponsorship are going fast! Please see the chart here for a snapshot of the underwater treadmills still available for sponsorship.

Don’t get caught running on land, click here to reserve yours today.

Can YOU Run An Underwater Marathon? Don’t worry that you can’t run 3 or even 26.2 miles on land. On a HydroWorx underwater treadmill— literally anyone can do it.

Here’s why and how YOU can do it: Water’s buoyancy take away 80% of your body weight (a 200 lb. person is approximately 40 lbs. on the underwater treadmill) Water’s hydrostatic pressure helps remove lactic acid and metabolic waste by optimally "flushing" the lymphatic and cardiovascular system — so, you won’t be sore during or after! The Marathon pool for the event will be a perfect 86-88 degrees so the run will be both enjoyable and therapeutic The HydroWorx underwater treadmills have an adjustable speed control so you can pick your ideal pace.

To learn more about Hydroworx please click here.

Get your cameras ready! Tröegs and Beertography have teamed up for the newest beertography contest. Get out there and take some beertography of Tröegs beers. Win some Tröegs gear!

See the Beertography blog post for more details.

Here are the rules:
1. All submissions must be emailed to beertography@gmail.com with the subject line Beertography Contest before 11:59pm on Thursday March 1st.
2. All photo submissions must somehow feature Tröegs Brewery in order to be considered. We're looking for a combination of most creative along with best photography here.
3. Winner will be determined by Likes on Tröegs's Facebook Page. Please Note: Your photo submission does NOT have to feature Nugget Nectar. It can feature any of the Tröegs beers!

SCRATCH 57-2012 – WEIZENBOCK

RELEASE DATE: 2/7/12

Scratch #57 is brewed with two cocoa powder varieties and two kinds of berries to create a tart twist on a classic German style. Unfiltered and carbonated to a near-champagne finish, the beer is 7.9% ABV. 

Fermented in our open-top fermentation room, the yeast gives hints of pepper and clove designed to complement the fruit flavors.
The cocoa powders add bitterness and some mouthfeel; the boysenberries and raspberries provide a tart, dry finish and the vanilla yields a subtle, sweet finish to the beer.
Now on tap and available in bottles!

Our wholesalers will receive Nugget Nectar drops between February 16th and February 24th. It will be available in the brewery on the 21st. We thank you for your patience and fear not, we are squeezing those hops for all they are worth and Nugget Nectar will be out this year!

We have some exciting brewery news to share with you! Today in the tasting room we will be releasing a small batch of Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale on tap around 2-3pm. It was brewed on the scratch system and will not be bottled. The Chocolate Berry Weizenbock Scratch beer will be packaged early in the week of February 6th. The Triple Mango IPA is scheduled to be released around March 1st.

A set of hi-hat cymbals was “borrowed” from Troegs Brewery sometime over the weekend of January 28. These cymbals belonged to our grandfather have sentimental value far greater than their monetary value. We will ask no questions upon their return and will offer the returnee two bottles of SPLINTER BLACK and a healthy dose of good karma. Thanks for your help. Cheers - Chris & John Trogner

Working with Olewine’s Meat and Cheese House and Ciao! Bakery in Harrisburg, we are proud to be serving sandwiches featuring hand-cut meats, artisanal cheeses, freshly baked bread and other locally sourced high quality ingredients. Also on the menu are pecan bars and brownies.

Top Ten: Craft Beers of 2011 in Washington Times Bryan Kolesar lists his top ten craft beers of 2011 in his Washington Times column, "After Hours at The Brew Lounge". We are honored to have made his list! Click HERE to read more.

Today Scratch #55 was released on tap in the tasting room as well as six-packs and cases in the general store.

Nugget Nectar won a gold medal for the 2012 Fifty Best Beers by www.thefiftybest.com. See what others made the list. Click here for the Fifty Best Beers

From CBS News "Beer sales have been down during the current economic slump, but Eliane Quijano found a pair of brothers whose craft brewery has been creating jobs along with their signature beers."

WATCH VIDEO HERE

SCRATCH BEER #54-2011
OG: 14.0
ABV:5.5%
IBUs: 30
Malt: Pils, Crystal, Chocolate, Roast
Hops: Warrior,Cluster
Juju:  Cocoa Powder, Cocoa Nibs, Vanilla Beans, Lactose
Codename:Cocoa Porter  

Our goal when playing with non-traditional ingredients is to find balance between the ingredient and the beer. For Scratch #54-2011 – our third foray into cocoa – we wanted to design a drinkable (under 6%), subtle and satisfying beer.  

Starting with a base recipe for a mild porter, we added cocoa powder from Ghana and Ivory Coast to the brew kettle during final hop addition. The powder, made from “dutched nibs” typically used in baking, adds a slight bitterness and a rich chocolate aroma.  

After fermentation, we aged #54 on Ghanaian vanilla beans and medium roast Ghanaian cocoa nibs for ten days.   The malt has a slight roast but is designed with a lighter body to let the cocoa flavors show through. The addition of lactose gives a smooth mouthfeel.

The vanilla emerges in the aftertaste and the beer reaches room temperature and hints of chocolate linger in the finish.  

Cheers!

SCRATCH BEER #53-2011
OG:            15.4
ABV:           6.4%
IBUs:          21
Malt:           Floor Malted Bohemian Pils
Hops:          Hersbrucker
Codename:   Helles Bock    

Scratch 53-2011 is a classic overachiever. As the first beer brewed on our new pilot system we wanted to create an easy-to-drink traditional Helles lager that might become a regular draft beer in our Tasting Room.

However, due to an incredibly efficient extraction rate in the lauter tun we have been blessed with a Helles Bock – the slightly bigger brother to our initially-desired Helles. In all honesty, we are not disappointed.

The floor-malted Bohemian Pils delivers a distinctive nutty flavor with a bready finish. This taste is counter balanced by Hersbrucker noble hops’ distinctive spicy notes. Finally a slight yeast flavor comes through delicate beer.     Cheers!

We had a really great year of artists submitting funky and creative works of art featuring Troegs bottle caps. This year's Grand Prizer winner was Doug Kreiser for his stained glass hop vine entitled "Forever Hops".
Not only did Doug make this hop vine by hand, but he also included a book with it explaining the type of environment that it would grow best in and a watering guide.

To make it more interesting this year, we decided to also include a "Fans' Choice Award" that was chosen via "likes" on Facebook. Denise and Jim Glenn won with the artfully crafted Troegs Light.

It's that time of the year again where we pick our favorite Art of Drinking Tröegs winner. The rules were simple: Make art using Tröegs bottle caps. It could be flat, it could be 3-dimensional, it could be anything (as long as you used Tröegs bottle caps). 

This year we made a twist and added an award that you guys get to pick. The winner will be decided on November 18th 2011 at 3 pm by which photo has the most "likes". Vote HERE. You can like as many as you want.

Then on Saturday, Nov 19th at our Grand Opening Celebration we will announce the Grand Prize winner selected by a panel of judges, and our Fans' Choice Award picked by you!

We asked our artists three questions about their creative process and we will be featuring each one during the week on Facebook. So keep checking in throughout the week to get to know the artist better.

Feel inspired? Grab some bottle caps and use your imagination and get creative to submit something for 2012. Further instructions will be listed at http://www.troegs.com/ArtofTroegs/

SCRATCH BEER #52-2011

ABV: 6.9%

IBUs: 70-ish

Malt: Pils, Munich

Hops: Cascade, Nugget

Hopback: Whole Leaf Nugget

Codename: T2 Ale

Scratch #52 – T2 Ale – is the beginning of a great adventure and a grand experiment. The first brew through the new brewhouse was designed to research yield and extraction rates, test our new boiler system and dial in the hop dosing system and hopback.

The results? Our fermentable extraction rate was higher than expected meaning T2 Ale is a bit higher in alcohol than planned The hop dosing system and new boiling system were equally efficient creating an intense, lingering bitterness stronger than expected.

Scratch #52 will be served two ways – filtered and unfiltered – so try them both. It was 100% naturally carbonated and we are excited to share this first brew with our customers. 

Cheers!

Come by and check out the Tasting Room & General Store. Grab a pint and cruise the Self Guided Tour. Three Saturdays with live music.

Saturdays 11am-8pm

November 5
Liederkranz Hobby Chor

November 12
The Passionettes

November 19--Music starts at 4:30pm
The Greatest Funeral Ever

The Tasting Room and General Store at Troegs Brewery officially open for business on Wednesday, October 26 at 11 a.m. Stop in for a pint and take a self-guided tour of our new playground. Don’t forget to bring your growler as our automated growler filler is fully operational. Hours of operation are Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Troegs Brewery is located at 200 E. Hershey Park Drive in Hershey, Pennsylvania. For additional information call 717-534-1297.

The General Store at Troegs Brewery in Hershey will open on Monday, October 17 at 11 a.m. We will be selling cases of The Mad Elf and Scratch #50 starting on Monday morning. There will not be any beer sampling opportunities in the General Store.

The Tasting Room will open in about a week. An exact date will be announced in the near future. Hours of operation at the brewery will be Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

For additional information call 717-534-1297. 200 East Hershey Park Drive, Hershey, PA 17033

If the walls of our tasting room could talk there would be a never-ending supply of hilarious stories and great memories. In Troegs' early days we would sit in that room on Saturday afternoons hoping someone would come in. Many of those early customers still remain and we've made new ones as well - so much we expanded the room three times to welcome you.

Thanks for all your business over the last fourteen years. It has been a pleasure to serve you. We look forward to showing off our new digs in a few weeks and hope that we don't have to deal with crazy lines around the tasting room. We will miss everything about Paxton St. - except the occasional flood waters!

The tasting room will officially close on Saturday Oct. 8th. Our General Store at our new location is scheduled to open Oct. 17th and the Tasting Room should follow a week or two after. Please check back for updates.

Troegs General Store Opens

The General Store at Troegs Brewery in Hershey will open on Monday, October 17 at 11 a.m. We will be selling cases of The Mad Elf and Scratch #50 starting on Monday morning. There will not be any beer sampling opportunities in the General Store. The Tasting Room will open in about a week. An exact date will be announced in the near future.

Hours of operation at the brewery will be Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. For additional information call 717-534-1297.

Please check back for regular updates and make sure to come visit us at:

Troegs Brewery
200 East Hershey Park Drive
Hershey, PA 17033
717 534-1297

  Troegenator Doublebock won a gold medal and Sunshine Pils took a silver medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) held in Denver, Colorado this past weekend. The GABF is the largest commercial beer competition in the world, with 3,930 beers vying for medals (compared to 3,523 entries in 2010). A total of 248 medals were awarded. Competition entries were received from 526 breweries from 48 states plus Puerto Rico. This year's GABF competition attracted 167 beer judges from nine countries. Award-winning brewers received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 83 beer categories covering 134 beer styles (encompassing subcategories).

STARTING 9/14/11 @ 10 a.m.

O.G.: 15.1 Plato
A.B.V.: 5.4%
I.B.U.: 25
Malt: Bohemian Pils, Munich, Vienna, Special B
Yeast: Weihenstephan Lager
Hops: Magnum, Tradition

In honor of Oktoberfest (and our German friends building our new brewery) we give you Scratch #48-2011, Fest Bier. This gorgeous lager features German malts including floor-malted Bohemian Pils, and generous amounts of Vienna and Munich malts which add a nice body and a slightly darker color than a traditional fest beer.

All noble hops provide a hint of grapes and a subdued “German stink.” The Magnum hops add a crisp bitterness and the Tradition hops impart a slight earthy taste.

Ich möchte einen Toast auf BrauKon ausbringen!

O.G.: 12.7
ABV: 4.2%
IBUs: 10
Malt: Pils, White Wheat, Unmalted Winter Wheat (local/organic), Oats
Hops: Magnum, Saaz Yeast: Lachouffe/Ardennes
Juju: Coriander, Sweet & Bitter Orange Peel, Black Pepper, Star Anise Codename: Wit (or Witout)

Two Our second foray into the white ale world comes with a little less and a little more from our first endeavor. We’ve reduced the gravity a bit to lower the ABV but dramatically increased the pepper and coriander, as well as adding locally-grown, organic unmalted winter wheat. The coriander, sweet and bitter orange peel, black pepper and star anise were added to the hopback to intensify these diverse flavors. With a dense haze from the unmalted wheat and a foamy white head, Scratch #47 incorporates citrus and spicy aroma notes with a hint of licorice from the star anise. The spices are offset by a doughy taste and the Lachouffe yeast gives a cidery finish. Enjoy!

Scratch #46-2011 Naked Elf

O.G.: 22
A.B.V.: 7.8%
I.B.U.’s: 16
Malt: Pils, Munich, Crystal
Yeast: Belgian
Hops: German Northern Brewers, Czech Saaz

Naked Elf is an exercise in deconstruction and minimalism. This ale has distinct roots in The Mad Elf minus some key components.

The cherries? Gone.
The honey? Gone.
The chocolate malt? Gone.

Coming in just under 8% ABV, Naked Elf is an unfiltered golden beauty that displays a pronounced yeast flavor that made The Mad Elf famous as well as a touch of alcohol and some mellow malt flavors.

The Naked Elf will be available at Troegs Brewery (Harrisburg Location) on tap, growlers, 6pks, and cases while supplies last.

We are getting the Scratch Beer Series back in gear with a few new releases coming out in the next few weeks.

First up will be Scratch #45 – IPA. This is our 7th IPA in our continuing hops saga – which will culminate with the release of Perpetual IPA. (FYI, Perpetual IPA is not any one of these exact IPA recipes; the variations were an opportunity to test various hop combinations.) To celebrate our first Scratch beer release in a few months, we will have a firkin in the tasting room bar on Friday, July 29, tapping at 12 noon. Cases, six-packs and growlers will also be available for take-out starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 29. There is a one-case limit/person or two six-packs and two growlers limit/person.

Scratch #46 – Naked Elf – will follow as soon as #45 sells out. An exact release date has yet to be been determined but keep an eye on our website and Facebook for details.

We are already looking toward the fall for more Scratch Beers with a Wit beer (featuring raw wheat from a local farm), and Oktoberfest, a Wet-Hopped beer (a similar recipe to last year, again featuring Citra hops), and a Abbey slated all slated for brewing. We will announce release dates when the beers tell us they are ready.

O.G.: 21.1
ABV: 9%
Malt: Pils, Munich, Melanoidin, Special B, CaraBelge
IBU: 28
Hops: Magnum, Saaz
Yeast: Westmalle
Juju: Demararra sugar, Zante currants
Code: Team America (Metal Brewer Champions!)

For Scratch #44, we were determined to break our mold of recipe formulation by taking a homebrewed beer and scaling it upward to make a Scratch beer.

Scratch #44, a Belgian-Style Quad, is based on the winning recipe by Team America from the semi-annual Troegs Metal Brewer competition; truly one of the funniest brewery events we hold. For Metal Brewer we divide all our co-workers into teams and ask the teams to brew a beer using a secret ingredient – this year was dried fruit – and develop a marketing presentation for the beer. As an added incentive, the winning team got a Scratch Beer made in their honor, which you have the pleasure to enjoy.

Scratch #44 comprises of a complex variety of malts featuring Special B and CaraBelge that gives this beer a rich red hue and thick caramelized sweetness. Once this uber-high gravity wort made it to the kettle, we added a combination of Magnum hops for bittering, and Saaz hops for an herbal contrast to the caramel malts, along with Demararra sugar. For a unique twist on this style, we used a combination of Saaz whole-leaf hops, and more than 40 pounds of Zante currants in the hopback.

We pitched Westmalle yeast for a complimenting spicy balance and after a long fermentation, we give you Scratch #44—an interesting spin to a style that’s been enjoyed for centuries.

City Island - Harrisburg Senators:  Baseball fans, In addiition to City Island Brews along 3rd base, Troegs has a new location at Metro Bank Park this season.  We're excited to have our Troegs Beer Station on the outfield boardwalk beside our friends at Aroogas!                                   

Scratch #43 is now available in the Brewery Tasting Room. We are still playing with IPAs because hops make us very happy. Here are the vital statistics for the beer:
OG: 16.3
ABV: 6.7%
Malt: Pils, Munich IBU: 85
Hops: Bravo, Chinook, Cascade
Yeast: House Ale
Dry-hopped: Cascade

Sunshine Pils, our summer seasonal, is now being released across our distribution network. Cases will start appearing in retailers in early April and draft will hit bars and restaurants in mid-April.

Bring on the Sunshine! Along with Sunshine Pils, the 2010 GABF Gold Medal Winner The Flying Mouflan will be in the market starting in mid-April. Look for 22 ounce bottles and limited draft.

from 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Exhibition Center Cameron & Maclay Streets Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 

The First Annual PA Flavor - a beer and food expo featuring over thirty breweries and sixty PA Preferred Vendors and Restaurants. Co-presented by The Pennsylvania Brewers Guild and The Department of Agriculture's PA Preferred Program Tickets can be purchased online or at the Troegs Retail Store.

Ticket Info: $40 advance | $50 at the door | Designated Driver $20
http://pabrewers.com/

For the end of this four-beer IPA series, we pulled out some hop warhorses—Cascade and Amarillo—and incorporated a new favorite—Citra—into the mix. Following a similar grain bill to Scratch #38 and #39, #40 is a hazy orange beer with an off-white head, and plenty of hops to spare. In fact, this could be a Troegs record as more than three pounds of hops were added to each barrel brewed!

Bready Munich malts and ample dry-hopping with Citra and Cascade hops gives #40 a sweet and tropical citrus aroma, akin to a hoppy Orange Julius, while a huge Amarillo hop addition in the kettle provides a long, lingering bitterness.

This cycle of uber-hoppy beers has been a blast for us to brew and drink, and gives us plenty of beer for thought as we devise future hoppy concoctions.

Scratch Series #39 is the third installment of our IPA mini-series, experimenting with yet another pair of hops—Simcoe and Palisade.

We’ve replicated the malt bill from #38, tweaking only the hops for this aggressive IPA. With an orange-amber body and off-white head, #39, drops brilliant in a glass. We have not filtered this beer to keep the hops as intense as possible. #39 screams a pine-citrus aroma courtesy of the intense Simcoe hops, and follows through with a blast of piney-flavor thanks to the Palisade hops. Just a touch of malt sweetness comes through.

In this series, the first two IPAs were tasty and the third may be the charm, but we've got yet another hoppy idea up our sleeves, so stay tuned and enjoy!

The IPA mayhem continues on Wednesday, December 23, at 1 p.m. with another Scratch Firkin sneak preview.

Join us for the tapping of Scratch #39 – the next entry in out IPA foray. Cases, six-packs and growlers WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE – just delicious gravity-fed, yummy beer.

Formal Scratch #39 release is Monday, December 27 at 10 a.m.

We have a significantly larger quantity of Splinter Black than other beers in this series. With cold weather approaching, we ask that you don’t stand in line all night. We will begin handing out wristbands at 6 am and will start sales two hours earlier than usual.

There is a two limit bottle per customer. We will have two lines dedicated to cash sales so we ask that you pay with cash to help speed up purchases.

Look for complete parking & sales details on www.troegs.com on Monday, December 13.

The hop "research" continues in the Scratch Series with #38, our second of four Imperial Pale Ales. Featuring Centennial and Chinook hops, #38 adds a heavier malt bill and pours a brilliant golden amber with a creamy off-white head that leaves abundant lacing down the side of the glass. Unfiltered like nearly all of our Scratch beers, #38 has stunning clarity: even our lab guy thought we filtered this one!

Due to some serious dry-hopping, #38 has a predominantly grassy citrus nose, and the flavor follows suit, overwhelming nearly all the bready Munich malt used in this brew. #38 leaves a lingering grassy bitterness on the tongue, making sure you know a lot of hops were sacrificed for this brew. Two down, two to go. Enjoy!

Scratch #37 is the beginning of a journey into hops. After brewing Citra of Brotherly Love and Fresh Hop Ale we decided to do a little hop market research and see what makes our collective tongue tingle.

Scratch #37 features Warrior and Cluster hops with a touch of Columbus. It pours a bright gold with a white cap and soft carbonation. Ripe fruits are present on the nose, and continue in the flavor giving a lush tropical, papaya-like flavor. This ample bitterness is offset by sweet Munich malt that lingers through each taste.

Enjoy our latest IPA foray, and stay tuned for future experiments in the style. Research has rarely been so rewarding.

As the codename implies, the main flavor in Scratch #35 is 100 pounds of fresh Citra hops. This year's Oregon hop harvest took place in mid-September and we received the freshest, wettest Citra hops right off the vine. Opening the boxes of fresh hops, we were blown away at the strength and color of this Oregonian green gold. Our hopback was not large enough to accommodate all the hops so we added them to the lauter tun and ran the hot wort through the hops.

Pouring a cloudy gold-orange color, Scratch #35 yields an arresting blend of ripe orange and grapefruit aromas with just enough bitterness to balance the sweetness imparted by the honey. Kettle additions of Amarillo and Palisade hops nicely complement the fresh hops.

As this beer is a celebration of hops at their freshest, drink this one as soon as possible for maximum enjoyment.

HARRISBURG, PA — Tröegs Brewery took home three medals at 2010 Great American Beer Festival Competition (GABF), the largest national beer competition recognizing the most outstanding beers produced in the United States. The winners in the 79 beer-style categories were announced September 18 at the 29th Annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.

Tröegs Brewery won a gold medal in the Barleywine category for The Flying Mouflan, a silver medal in the Bock category for Troegenator and a silver medal in the Amber Ale category for Hopback Amber. The three medals represent the most medals won by a Pennsylvania brewery at this year’s competition.

“This is a proud moment for all our employees,” said Chris Trogner. “Troegenator has medaled four of the last five years at the GABF and that says a lot about our brewers’ dedication for continued success with a single beer. We are thrilled with Hopback Amber’s recognition since it’s our best-selling beer, and The Flying Mouflan grew from our Scratch series to become recognized as an outstanding barleywine.”

This year’s GABF competition attracted 151 beer judgers from 10 countries with 3,523 beers from 516 breweries competing for gold, silver and bronze medals. The average numbers of competition beers entered in each category was 44. More than 49,000 people attended the three-day beer festival with 455 breweries pouring more than 2,200 beers.

Visit www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com for a complete list of winners.

Scratch Beer #33 is our take on the classic Saison style as seen through the eyes of our brewer Moose Musselman.

Starting with a blend of pale malt and wheat along with honey malt - a pale Canandian barley with a distinctive sweet finish - Scratch #33 includes orange peel, coriander, elderflower and honey bush for a subtle fruit balance that compliments the pepper zest of the Saison du Pont yeast.

Following the boil, wort passed through our hopback (filled with spices) and then began a rapid fermentation at a higher than typical temperature. Following fermentation, Scratch #33 was bottle-conditioned with Westmalle yeast and warm-aged for two weeks to create a vibrant carbonation with an effervescent finish.

Enjoy! Saison de Mueze!

Splinter Blue will be available at Troegs Brewery on Thursday, September 16 at 10 a.m. There is a two-bottle limit per person, and the price is $22.95 for a 750 ml bottle. We have approximately 400 bottles available for sale.

What is Splinter Blue?

Splinter Blue combines three of our favorite things – DreamWeaver, tart cherries, and Brettanyomyces. To begin this process we fermented DreamWeaver wort with Belgian/Lambic yeast blend. After a complete fermentation, we aged the beer in oak barrels with wild yeast and souring bacteria for one year, and then added eighty pounds of tart cherries for another six months of aging. Splinter Blue pours a cloudy rose color with copious carbonation and a Brettanyomyces yeast funk.

The beer's effervescence highlights its sharp acidic cherry flavor, followed by a doughy cereal-like finish that lets you know there's wheat in there.

Scratch Beer #32 takes us full circle in the Scratch Series – sort of. Over three years ago, we started brewing the Scratch series beginning with one of John and Chris’ pilot brew recipes from their back patio brewing days in Boulder, Colorado. With the recent heat wave, everyone at Troegs has been itching for an easy-drinking session beer, so the brewers took us back to Scratch #1 tweaking the original recipe.

Fermenting a lager yeast at slightly warmer temperature is the hallmark of the California Common style, giving this Keystone Common a lager-like smoothness and mild fruitiness. A healthy amount of Vienna malt and a pinch of caramel malt provide bready sweetness. The predominant hop used is German Northern Brewer (mandatory for the style) creating a fruity and earthy flavor. A touch of Crystal and Bravo hops in the hopback finish the picture with a mild aromatic note and deepened complexity.

For the dog days of summer Keystone Common delivers a flavorful brew perfect for the back yard if you can brave the heat.

BeerNews.org features Tröegs' new brewery location in an article: The article begins with the statement "State-of-the-art Hershey brewing facility will offer visitors one-of-a-kind brewing experience." and ends with the Trogner brothers' intent on creating a one-of-a-kind experience for guests. Read the entire article here.

July 1, 2010
HARRISBURG, PA – Chris and John Trogner, founders of Tröegs Brewing Company, announced today they have reached an agreement to open a new craft brewery in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Construction on the existing facility, located at 200 E. Hershey Park Drive, will begin immediately with a projected completion date of Fall 2011. 

“This is an exciting new chapter for Tröegs Brewery,” said Chris Trogner. “When John and I started planning the brewery in 1995, we didn’t even know if we would ever make it to the actual brewing stage. Since opening in 1997, we have been fortunate to grow the Tröegs brand and increase our distribution into eight states. This new location will allow us to maintain our commitment to Central Pennsylvania and continue pursuing our brewing dreams in a state-of-the-art brewery with an expanded tasting room to give our customers an even greater beer experience.”

“Hershey is a special place, not just for people who call it home, but for the millions who come to visit each year,” said John. “We want to create an experience that compliments the other Hershey attractions, creating an even more vibrant and exciting destination for all visitors,” added Chris.

As part of the new facility, Tröegs Brewery will be installing a new brewhouse, fermenters and a kegging line. Once the new brewery is operational, all equipment will be moved from the Harrisburg plant to Hershey with no interruption to the beer production schedule. “Running two facilities simultaneously will create a series of challenges,” said John Trogner. “But we need to continue producing beer in our current location until the new location is completely operational.”

The Hershey facility will provide a unique brewing experience -- featuring a 5,000 square foot tasting room with the new brewhouse as the focal point of the room. The tasting room will open onto an outdoor seating area. “Visitors in our tasting room will be sitting literally in the middle of the brewhouse, said Chris Trogner. “They will be able to watch our brewers in action.”

When designing the concept for the new brewery, the goal was to make a customer really feel like they are a part of the brewing process. Visitors will be able to watch the brewers in action and take a self-guided tour down a window-lined hallway through the heart of the brewery. The smell of barley and hops will fill the air as the customer gets a glimpse at the fermentation process, packaging room and oak barrel-aging room, and lab. One exciting addition to the layout is the pilot brewing room where experimentation takes place and their famous Scratch beer series is dreamt-up and made. Tröegs will also continue to provide guided tours of the brewhouse on designated days.

“John and I have visited a lot of breweries over the years and we want to create an interactive facility where our customer really gets an understanding of what goes into making quality beer, Chris noted. “We want to showcase what we do best.”

click here to view photos and updates on the construction

Tröegs to Grow in Central PA with New Hershey Craft Brewery!

So begins the article on beerinbaltimore.com, released the same day that Tröegs made its exciting announcement.

Scratch #31 – IPA “Our Philly Beer Week Special”
O.G.: 17.8
IBU: 70
ABV: 7.4%
Malt: Pils, Munich, Caramel
Yeast: House Ale Yeast
Hops: Apollo, Citra, Chinook
Dry-hopped: Citra, Cascade
Codename: Citra of Brotherly Love For

Scratch 31, the brothers and the brewers decided to revisit one of our favorite sweet spots – IPA – and have some fun with hop flavors. Dubbed ‘Citra of Brotherly Love’ in honor of Philly Beer week, Scratch #31 has generous amounts of Apollo, Cascade and Citra hops. This is our first use of Citra hops, which is known for an intense grapefruit aroma and flavor.

While showcasing the intense Citra flavor we added additional bitterness with Apollo and Chinook hops as well. Scratch #31 went through a bed of Chinook hops in the hopback and was dry-hopped with Cascade and Citra hops.

Scratch #31 will be showcased at events throughout Philly Beer Week. Also, be on the lookout for Scratch #31 in firkins and pins, which were aged in new wine barrels for about a week before kegging.

Saturday, September 25, 2010: Come get muddy at one of the largest single day urban adventure races in the country! It’s our 10th Year!

Teams of 3 (coed, single sex, masters) get to run (˜5mi), mountain bike (˜20mi), canoe (˜4mi), and complete special team “challenges”. You should be prepared to swim short distances and scale large mountains “maybe some climbing events (no special skills required)”.

Past competitors have repelled, zip-lined, shot off water balloon cannons, lumber jack sawed, and orienteer their way around Harrisburg. Teams are permitted (and encouraged) to help other teams but NO outside support!!!

NO water or food provided during the race, you need to support your own team. Although, all road kill you can eat may be available along the route as well as water from the Susquehanna River.

Cool trophies and prizes for the top 3 teams - all categories. Proceeds benefit the YMCA of Harrisburg's children’s programs. A huge post race picnic with food and beverages for all racers (sponsored by Troeg’s Brewery - hint).

Registration is $225 /team until 9/18/10, $255 after that. Online registration closes Sept. 22. NO RACE DAY REGISTRATION. Race Limited to 100 teams so sign up Now or Miss Out!

More details and pictures at our web site www.harrisburgymcaraces.com

Mention this ad and you will get a map detailing the course – NOT – Did we forget to tell you the course is a secret?! We don't even know the course!!

Come celebrate American Craft Beer week with the release of our newest Scratch Beer! Available in cases, six packs and growlers.

Scratch #30 - Bock
O.G.: 18.6
IBU: 35
ABV: 7.0%
Malt: Pils, Biscuit, Munich, Vienna
Yeast: German Bock
Hops: Magnum, Northern Brewer, Tettnang
Codename: Jerman Bock

Devotees of the Scratch series know it's been awhile since we've turned out a lager—perhaps too long. Fortunately, Tröegs brewer Jeff Jerman has remedied that with a smooth-drinking Maibock-style brew. Featuring a variety of bready malts, including heaping amounts of Vienna and Biscuit, the Jerman Bock brings to mind the "liquid bread" description usually reserved for the old German monks of lore.

Hopheads need not worry, as we added plenty of Northern Brewer and Tettnang hops in the kettle to give the Jerman Bock a more-than-fair 35 IBUs. Our hopback also got its workout with a big pile of Tettnang hops, lending the brew a leafy edge that nicely balances the brew's malty core. Lovingly lagered for six weeks and coming in at 7% ABV, this brew is smooth but doesn’t go down as easy as a first-round knockout.

A Maibock in May? Sounds about right to us. Prost!

Join Brewery as we celebrate American Craft Beer Week May 17-23 with several events throughout the week:

On Tuesday, May 18, we will be releasing Scratch #30-2010.

On Wednesday, May 19 we will have numerous Scratch beers on tap.

On Thursday, May 20, we will feature The Flying Mouflan on draft.

Click here for the official American Craft Beer Week website and full list of events http://www.americancraftbeerweek.com/apps/events/events.html

HARRISBURG, PA — Tröegs Brewery won a Gold Medal for Troegenator Doublebock at the Brewers Association (BA) World Beer Cup®. The World Beer Cup is a global beer competition that evaluates beers from around the world and recognizes the most outstanding. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded in 90 beer-style categories. The awards were announced on April 10, 2010 in Chicago, IL.

Tröegs Brewery won a gold medal in the Bock category for Troegenator. “Troegenator continues to win major awards at the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup,” said Chris Trogner. “This is a proud moment for our company and our brewers.

World Beer Cup 2010 winners were selected by an international panel of 179 beer judges from 27 countries. More than 3,800 breweries in 100 countries were invited to compete, and an impressive field of 642 breweries from 44 countries participated.

About the World Beer Cup

The World Beer Cup has been held every other year since 1996 and is presented by the Brewers Association. Based in Boulder, Colorado, USA, the Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade and education association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their craft beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. Visit BrewersAssociation.org to learn more. The association's activities include events and publishing: CraftBeer.com, World Beer Cup®; Great American Beer Festival?; Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America®; National Homebrewers Conference; National Homebrew Competition; SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience; American Craft Beer Week; Zymurgy magazine; The New Brewer magazine; and books on beer and brewing. The Brewers Association has an additional membership division of 20,000+ homebrewers: American Homebrewers Association. Consumers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com. For the full list of winners, visit WorldBeerCup.org.

About Tröegs Brewery

Founded by brothers Chris and John Trogner in 1996, Tröegs Brewery is a small, family-owned specialty brewery. Located in Central Pennsylvania, Tröegs beers are distributed in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, New York, Ohio and Massachusetts. Tröegs Brewery, located in Harrisburg, PA is open for tours and tastings every Saturday. Tröegs year-round beers include: Tröegs Pale Ale, Hopback Amber Ale, Javahead Stout, DreamWeaver Wheat and Troegenator Doublebock. Tröegs seasonal beers include: Nugget Nectar, Flying Mouflan, Sunshine Pils, Dead Reckoning Porter and Mad Elf Holiday Ale.

Pour through www.troegs.com to see what else is brewing at Tröegs.

O.G.: 16.8 Plato
A.B.V.: 7.7%
I.B.U.: 80
Malt: Pilsner
Juju: Cane Sugar
Yeast: Westmalle
Hops: Bravo, German Northern Brewer
Dry-Hopped: Willamette, Hersbrucker
Codename: Troegian IPA

Incredibly-hopped, lovingly-aged, and ravenously-carbonated, Scratch #29-2010 is a true brewery collaboration with cast of characters involved in recipe formulation, barrel-aging, dry-hopping, bottle-conditioning and finally, taste-testing.

Scratch #29 started off innocently enough as a Pale Ale fermented with Westmalle yeast. After fermentation, the beer was aged for twelve days in virgin Pennsylvania Oak barrels supplied by Keystone Coopers. And then the fun began. Even after brief wood-aging the oak’s intensity overwhelmed the Bravo and German Northern Brewer hops used in the boil. But have no fear, a two-week dry-hop with Willamette and Hersbrucker hops dulled the oak and transformed this beer.

Bottled-conditioned for three weeks before release, Scratch #29 imparts an intense spicy flavor with grassy notes from the Hersbrucker hops. Hints of orange and a slight alcohol burn come through with the high carbonation leaving “pins on your tongue” in the finish.

Join us on Saturday, April 24, at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center for an evening of Live Beer and Live Music featuring Frog Holler, Starsan Quartet and Colebrook Road—along with a delicious firkin of Tröegs beer on the bar.

The evening begins with two bands featuring Tröegs Brewery employees. Colebrook Road has been tearing up the bluegrass circuit for just over a year and keeps getting better with age, while Starsan has finally recovered from their last HMAC appearance in November making their debut as a stripped-down four-piece band delivering lots of original material and a few classic covers. Frog Holler headlines the evening with the first Central Pennsylvania appearance since The Flying Mouflan Experience at the Troegs Brewery 10th Anniversary Party in 2007.

For those who attended (or tried to attend) the Brothers’ Bash at HMAC in November we promise a more comfortable experience with less people in the room.

Tickets are $10 and are now available online. Doors open at 7 p.m. and music begins at 8 p.m. -- right after we tap that firkin of Tröegs Beer! We strongly advise buying advance tickets for this show since it will most likely sell-out.

Tickets are available at www.harrisburgarts.com. Click on the Calendar link at the top of the page and select the event on April 24 to purchase your tickets.

The 7th Annual Harrisburg Brewers Fest takes place on Saturday, June 19, with two sessions—12-3:30 p.m. and 5-8:30 p.m.

The website (www.harrisburgbrewersfest.com) will start taking ticket orders on Thursday, April 1 with tickets shipping in mid-May.

We will begin shipping The Flying Mouflan the week of April 19 with distribution completed in early May. The Flying Mouflan will be available in 22 ounce bottles.

Dubbed the Flying Mouflan (for reasons that become clearer toward the bottom of the glass) this strong alluring ale is two beers in one. Cracking open a fresh bottle unleashes hops and heat with more than 100 IBUs emanating from three hop varieties and sweet burn of 9.3% ABV. Cellaring the Flying Mouflan in a cool dark place at 50 degrees for a minimum of four months will mellow out the hops and wash away the heat.

“We classify this beer as pushing Nugget Nectar off the side of a cliff,” said John Trogner. “It is bold and intense–think hops dipped in candied sugar and rolled in dark chocolate nibs. Over time, the Flying Mouflan transforms into lush raisin and chocolate overtones as the hops subside and the rich barley flavors come out in the beer.”

Scratch #28 is now available in the Tasting Room in cases, six-packs and growlers. Here are the vital details:

O.G.: 15.3 Plato
ABV: 6.1%
IBU: 13 Malt: Rye, White Wheat, Munich, Vienna, Pils
Yeast: Andechs Klosterbrauerei Weizen
Hops: Northern Brewer, Perle, Hersbrucker, Crystal
Codename: Troggen Roggen

For Scratch #28, the Tröegs team decided to brew a beer to celebrate the early spring weather. The resulting brew is a take on the Roggenbier style—an uncommon German ale brewed with a portion of rye malt and a weizenbier yeast strain. Scratch #28 is loosely based on our own Dreamweaver Wheat beer recipe, but with several significant changes. First, rye malt makes up 25% of the malt bill, replacing a portion of white wheat. Malted rye gives the Troggen Roggen a spiciness, creamy mouth feel, and fantastic head retention properties. Second, lightly toasted Munich and Vienna malts contribute color and a pleasant breadiness. The Andechs Weizen yeast strain offers a clove and banana profile slightly different from our house weizen strain, and the addition of Hersbrucker and Crystal hops in the hopback give a spicy and lightly citrus end-note to the beer. As always, malted wheat gives the beer a tasty doughy flavor and thirst-quenching tartness. Unfiltered, the Troggen Roggen is a cloudy amber-orange brew meant to be drunk fresh, and in warm weather. Tröegs wheat beer fans, you're on notice!

Tröegs has a new variety case called Anthology which replaces our current Troegs Dozen variety case. There will be two versions of Anthology based on the time of the year.

Anthology Series No. 1 will feature Hopback Amber Ale, Tröegs Pale Ale, Dreamweaver Wheat and Sunshine Pils. Sunshine Pils will be part of the Anthology series from April until approximately September. Anthology Series No. 2 will feature Javahead Stout in place of Sunshine Pils and be available from September until March. Anthology starts shipping in mid-March.

Tröegs Brewery will be introducing a new year-round beer to our lineup. Javahead Stout started shipping in 12 ounce bottles on March 1, with draft and 22 ounce packages becoming available in late March/early April.

Javahead Stout is based on our original oatmeal stout which was retired several years ago. We have added a blend of coffee beans to this stout which are supplied by St. Thomas Roasters, a Harrisburg-based coffee company. “Javahead Stout was first released last year in 22 ounce bottles and we loved it,” explains Chris Trogner. “We never wanted to discontinue the Oatmeal Stout and it’s nice to have the opportunity to bring a stout into our year-round line-up.”

We had to get one early batch of Sunshine Pils out of the tanks for the 2010 World Beer Cup.

Starting today (2/25/10) some time after 1 p.m., we will have Sunshine Pils available at Troegs Brewery for pint, case, 6-pack and growler sales. There is a limited amount available.

Have no fear, lots more Sunshine Pils will be available starting mid-March. Have a Sunshine day!

Join us Thursday, February 11 at 2 p.m. for a firkin tapping of Scratch #27-2010 in the brewery tasting room. Scratch #27-2010 is a collaboration beer that Troegs developed with Scharffen Berger Chocolate company.

Cases and growlers of Scratch #27-2010 will go on sale at 12 noon on Thurday, February 11. We will be tapping firkins at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and the tasting room will be open until 6 p.m. We will also have soft pretzels available while the firkins are on tap.

Here’s a little background on the beer:

Scratch #27-2010 begins a new fold in the Scratch series. For the next several batches individual Troegs brewers will create recipes of their choice. First up, The Ticeman had a hankering for a sweet stout, so the Troegs brothers and all the brewers met with Scharffen Berger Chocolate Company engineers to eat ridiculous amounts of cocoa nibs and chocolates over a few pints of beer.

This collaboration resulted in the delivery of a special blend of cocoa nibs that were added during the boiling process. In addition to the nibs, lactose was added at the end of the boil to give a little sweetness in the body. The addition of Galena and Simcoe hops lends a subtle fruity balance. After primary fermentation, the beer was aged for three weeks on a blend of cocoa nibs and Ugandan vanilla beans.

Dubbed Cocaoabunga, this unfiltered beer has a pleasant cocoa aroma, a subtle sweetness in the mouthfeel, a full-bodied flavor, and hints of vanilla. Enjoy!

SOLD OUT

An Early Christmas Present: Splinter Series Release Date Announced

The first two offerings from the Splinter Series (Red and Gold) will go on sale on Wednesday, December 16, at 10 a.m. in the Troegs Tasting Room.

There is a two-bottle limit/per person for each style of beer, meaning that a single customer who wants to purchase the maximum number of bottles, can get 2 Splinter Red and 2 Splinter Gold. Bottles will be $22.95 each.

This special reserve beer lives and breathes. Captured before filtration, refermented in wood and aged in the bottle with living yeast, Splinter is an experimental series that pushes the brewing boundaries and transforms our beer in new directions.

Here are some details on each beer:

Before filtering the final batch of 2008 Mad Elf we racked some beer into bourbon barrels for six weeks of tender loving care. After bottling, we aged the beer for approximately eight months. This allows the tart cherries to push to the front. Subtle vanilla, bourbon, charred wood, coconut and toasted nut endnotes emanate from Splinter Red.

The transformation of Scratch #3-2007 to Splinter Gold has been a slow rest in oak wine barrels dosed with brettanomyces. During a two-year aging period the horsey flavors of the brett combined with the Westmalle yeast used during primary fermentation to create a complex blend of flavors. Bone-dry and 12% abv, Splinter Gold is highly carbonated.

Both these bottling runs are extremely limited (300 bottles only) and will only be available at the Troegs Brewery Giftshop/Tasting Room.

Scratch #25-2009: Magical Moustache Rye

O.G.: 16 Plato
A.B.V.: 6.5%
I.B.U.: 115
Malt: Pils, Munich, Crystal Adjuncts:
Rye (20% of grain bill)
Yeast: House Ale Yeast
Hops: Bravo, Cluster Dry Hopped: Cluster, Liberty

November is the month of the moustache (no lie). If you don’t believe us check out www.movember.org or take a look at all the scraggly caterpillars residing on the top lips of numerous Troegs employees. In honor of the completion of the Troegs Moustache-Growing Contest we give you Scratch #25-2009 – Magical Moustache Rye.

This mahogany ale packs a lingering, earthy hoppiness. The addition of more than 20% rye to the grain bill gives a creamy mouthfeel and hints of spice that compliment the bitterness of hops. Subtle fruitiness come through from the Bravo hops added during the boil, but the Cluster and Liberty varieties used in dry-hopping this beer are the true flavor drivers in this spicy ale. Dark in color and intense is flavor, Scratch 25-2009 finds true balance in a beer that could have easily gone way over the top. Enjoy.

The holidays are right around the corner and Mad Elf will start arriving at stores towards the end of October.  Below are list of dates that packages will start to be shipped throughout our territory:

• October 1st:  22 ounce bottles
• October 12th:  12 ounce bottles (6pks)
• November 1st:  Mad Elf Gift Pack (includes 1 22oz. bottle and chalice)
• November 10th:  101 ounce bottle
• December 1st:  Kegs

If you're trying to find Mad Elf, the best thing to do is call your local retailer and ask them if they currently have cases or if you can pre-order one.  If you're located in NY or MA, please check out www.greatbrewers.com and type in you zip code and it will list the retailers that have purchased Troegs within the past week.

HARRISBURG, PA — Tröegs Brewery took home three medals at 2009 Great American Beer Festival Competition (GABF), the largest national beer competition recognizing the most outstanding beers produced in the United States. The winners in the 78 beer-style categories were announced September 26 at the 28^th Annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.

Tröegs Brewery won a gold medal in the Bock category for Troegenator, a silver medal in the American-Style Stout category for Dead Reckoning, and a bronze medal in the German-Style Pilsner category for Sunshine Pils. The three medals represent the most medals won by a Pennsylvania brewery at this year’s competition.

“This is a proud moment for our company and our brewers,” said Chris Trogner. “Troegenator has won three of the last four years at the GABF and Dead Reckoning has won two years in a row. It’s difficult to win a single medal at this competition and to win multiple medals in a single category says a lot about the dedication of our staff to making these beers.”

More than 130 judges from ten countries selected the 2009 GABFl winners from 3,308 entries received from 495 breweries in the United States. Visit www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com for a complete list of winners.

Founded by brothers Chris and John Trogner in 1996, Tröegs Brewery is a small, family-owned specialty brewery. Located in Central Pennsylvania, Tröegs beers are distributed Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, New York, Ohio and Massachusetts. Tröegs Brewery, located in Harrisburg, PA is open for tours and tastings every Saturday at.

Tröegs year-round beers include: Tröegs Pale Ale, Hopback Amber Ale, Rugged Trail Ale, DreamWeaver Wheat and Troegenator Doublebock. Tröegs seasonal beers include: Nugget Nectar, Flying Mouflan, Sunshine Pils, JavaHead Stout, Dead Reckoning Porter and Mad Elf Holiday Ale.

Pour through www.troegs.com to see what else is brewing at Tröegs. 

In what now seems like an annual tradition, 6 new fermenatation tanks arrived at the brewery this summer and should be up and running the next week.

August 10, 2009 - Dead Reckoning is unfiltered and weighs in at 5.8% abv and 53 IBU’s. It features Pilsner, Caramel, Chocolate and Roasted malts along with Chinook and Vanguard hops. “The outstanding taste and flavor of Dead Reckoning originates in the chocolate and roasted malts,” says John Trogner. “There is a nice hoppiness in the front of the beer, but the rich, smooth mouth feel is what really stands out.”

Bottles and kegs of Dead Reckoning will start to popping up at retailers and restaurants throughout Tröegs geographic region.

Starting Gravity:  12.3 plato
ABV.: 5.5%
Malt:  Pilsner, Wheat (45%)
Hops:  Magnum, German Northern Brewer
IBU's:  10
JuJu:  Coriander and Orange Peel
Yeast:  Westmalle

Chris and John recently filmed a segment for Good Morning America NOW, airing on television and the internet. The segment focused on pairing beer with food, and the brothers were interviewed by GMA host Chris Cuomo.

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — Tröegs Brewing Company recently claimed two bronze medals in the Brewers Association (BA) World Beer Cup© 2008, a global beer competition that evaluates beers recognizes the most outstanding beers being produced in the world.

Gold, silver and bronze medals in the competition’s 91 beer-style categories were awarded April 19, 2008, during the World Beer Cup Gala Awards Ceremony and Dinner in San Diego, California.

Tröegs Brewery was awarded a bronze medal in the Traditional German-Style Bock category for Troegenator Doublebock, a smooth, mahogany-colored lager. Owners Chris and John Trogner first created Troegenator—inspired by German monastic brews—five years ago; it became a year-round beer in 2003, and is the brewery’s second best-selling beer.

Sunshine Pils was awarded a bronze medal in the German-Style Pilsener category. Sunshine Pils was introduced in 2001 as Troegs Summer Beer and became our Summer Seasonal the following year.

“It’s a privilege to win two medals, especially in categories that attract so many European breweries with generations of brewing tradition,” said John Trogner.

World Beer Cup 2008 winners were selected by an international panel of 129 beer judges from 22 countries. An impressive field of 2,930 entries from 646 breweries in 58 countries made up the competition. More than 3,800 breweries in 100 countries were invited to compete.

Founded by brothers Chris and John Trogner in 1996, Tröegs Brewery is a small, family-owned specialty brewery. Located in Central Pennsylvania, Tröegs beers are distributed throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia and New York. Tröegs Brewery is open for tours and tastings every Saturday at 2 p.m.

Tröegs year-round products include: Tröegs Pale Ale, Hopback Amber Ale, Rugged Trail Ale, DreamWeaver Wheat and Troegenator Doublebock. Tröegs seasonal products include: Nugget Nectar, Sunshine Pils, Dead Reckoning Porter and Mad Elf Holiday Ale. Tröegs also produces the Scratch Beer Series available on a Tröegs Brewery throughout the year.

 Visit www.beercup.org or www.troegs.com for information.