Scratch Beer 49 - 2011 (Fresh Hop Ale)
Tröegs Brewing Company

Scratch Beer 49 - 2011 (Fresh Hop Ale)Scratch Beer 49 - 2011 (Fresh Hop Ale)
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From:
Tröegs Brewing Company
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
7.2%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.65 | pDev: 17.26%
Reviews:
32
Ratings:
49
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 26, 2013
Added:
Oct 07, 2011
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  3
As the codename implies, the main flavor in Scratch #49 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 #49 yields an arresting blend of ripe peach aroma 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.

65 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by nhindian:
Photo of nhindian
Reviewed by nhindian from Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle poured into a Troegs Mad Elf tulip. Thanks to russwbeck for this!

A - Pours a light goldenrod color, very cloudy and with a finger of bubbly white head. The retention is pretty good and it leaves a thick, foamy cap behind. Big clumps of foam make up the lacing.

S - The aroma is full of pine and citrusy fruit notes, but it is also fairly soapy as well. There is a touch of biscuit malts, but for the most part is all sap and tropical fruit. There are faint notes of grass and lemon in the finish.

T - For the most part, the taste follows the nose but with a bigger focus on the fruitier side of the hops. There is a tasty peach flavor mixed with mango and pineapple that is very enjoyable. The soapiness is also present, but thankfully it's much more subdued than in the aroma. A little bit of malt presence here, but there is little backbone. There's a touch of alcohol heat in the finish as well.

M - Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with okay carbonation. Surprisingly this feels a little watery and thin at times which is unusual for a hop-bomb IPA like this. A lingering bitterness and stickiness lingers on the palate.

D/O - Drinkability is moderate. I am loving the freshness and juiciness of the hops in this, but the soap notes are a little bit of a distraction. I would've also loved to have this be a bit heavier and meatier, too, as I believe the current consistency doesn't allow the full potential of flavor to develop.
Dec 04, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by BillRoth from Maryland

Sep 26, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by prdstmnky from Vermont

Jun 28, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by t0rin0 from California

Mar 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Timoth from Pennsylvania

Jan 11, 2013
Photo of Fubar1453
Reviewed by Fubar1453 from Massachusetts

3.42/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A: A pale yellow, lemon color a thin layer of head lingers and leaves nice lacing.

S: Hops, lemons and some sour citrus.

T: It's refreshing, but the flavors are really jumbled. Leaves a strange aftertaste. There are hops and citrus in there, but I can't tell what they are.

M: Somewhat sticky, pretty high carbonation.

O: This beer has an identity crisis. There are lots of flavors mixed together that don't really identify themselves.
Feb 15, 2012
Photo of FeDUBBELFIST
Reviewed by FeDUBBELFIST from Pennsylvania

4.71/5  rDev +29%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
12oz bottle to tulip. Thanks to Sean from Tröegs for the hookup. Sampled just a day or two after the release. Reviewed on 10/10/11.

A: Pours with a 1 finger off-white colored head, creamy/foamy in texture with average retention. The body is a pale, light orange color, radiant, with very little opacity. Fair lacing.

S: Immediately on the nose - succulent hop character with honeydew and juicy cantaloupe at the peak of ripeness. Just a little further behind I get orange, hop vine, grass and celery. The hops are paramount and the malt character gets buried. Seriously, one of the freshest smelling beers that I've ever had.

T: Just off of the bottling line, each sip felt like I could literally taste the fibers from the hop vine. Bitterness is dialed back just a tad to allow the sweetness of the ripe fruit to shine. Perfectly balanced between sweetness upfront and a drying finish.

M: Medium-light body with a creamy texture to perfectly compliment the flavor profile. The level of carbonation is spot on, providing a fizzy prickle to the tongue as the beer glides across.

O: I'm puzzled by the reviews for this beer - but I understand that melon-fruit aromas and flavors aren't exactly typical for an IPA. Personally I loved it. So, for me it worked. And damn near perfectly I might add.
Feb 12, 2012
Photo of Rifugium
Reviewed by Rifugium from North Dakota

3.55/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
First had: bottle from ? (probably Pinocchio's beer garden)

Poured into a pint glass, golden-yellow with a slight haze, and a nice, small cap of white head; moderate carbonation. Aroma of grains, pale malts, citrusy hops, fresh fruit. Taste was light and clean, toasted grains, pale malts, generously hopped, citrusy, orange blossom, honeydew, a touch of pithiness and grass. Light mouthfeel, sweet and easily drinkable. Nothing special, but still quite nice.
Feb 04, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by psnydez86 from Pennsylvania

Jan 30, 2012
 
Rated: 2 by hoosierfan from Pennsylvania

Jan 24, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by zrab11 from Indiana

Jan 05, 2012
Photo of doughanson78
Reviewed by doughanson78 from Washington

3.58/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
12oz bottle poured into a pint glass courtesy of russwbeck.

A: Light hazy straw yellow. Half finger white head with decent retention and lacing.

S: Big pineapple and mango. One of the nicest tropical smelling beers I've smelled. Very light on caramel but no complaints here.

T: Some light sweet caramel upfront that lingers til the finish. Then citrus. But sour grapefruit steps in and makes the citrus kind of funky. The pineapple is still there but no mango. Finishes with a touch of caramel coming back in.

M: Light body. High carbonation. Crisp and dry. Slightly oily.

O: Kind of all over the place with this one. The grapefruit taste really let this one down. Drinkable but not recommended.
Dec 31, 2011
Photo of russwbeck
Reviewed by russwbeck from Virginia

3.18/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
A: Semi-hazy yellow pour with a nice white head. Lacing and retention are decent and a few bubbles are noted raising to the top of my Mad Elf tulip.

S: The aroma is all about the fruitiness of the hops, instead of the bitterness. Citrus, mango, and sadly some soap mix with slight pine to create an interesting smell I wasn't quite expecting.

T: Well I was hoping I was wrong when I smelled soap...but it comes out on the taste too. Tropical fruits, citrus, and lemon all seem to come together nicely, if only the soap was replaced with bitter hops.

MF: Light body, carbonated well, nice bitter finish.

O: Not that great, I had really high hopes for this one and it sort of let me down. Just a weird taste.
Dec 30, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Dec 28, 2011
Photo of younger35
Reviewed by younger35 from Minnesota

3.64/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Received this brew from BeerTruth not too long ago. I’ve had most of these Scratch brews but I’ve been very lax in my reviewing. Drank from my Surlyfest mug.

Appearance- Pours a very light yellow with almost zero head from a fairly aggressive pour. No cap or collar or any sort of lacing is left behind.
Smell- Fairly fruity smelling with a big grapefruit and orange peel nose. It’s slightly boozy smelling for ‘only’ being 7ish%. A few light candy tones mix in along with some cantaloupe. Nothing real spectacular here but decent nose.
Taste- Starts slightly bitter with a soft vegetable undertone. A touch of peach and pineapple mix with that almost brash bitterness but still can’t seem to totally kick the veggy taste. A super light bit of caramel hides in the finish but it’s subtle and fleeting. A touch of booze in the finish.
Mouthfeel- Medium body with a light tingly bite of carbonation. Oily and soft. Not bad.
Drinkability- Overall not too shabby but that bit of vegetable is hard to get past. It’s not the easiest drinking brew either. It’s very bitter and slightly boozy. Glad to have tried but not my favorite. Thanks Adam!
Dec 27, 2011
Photo of TMoney2591
Reviewed by TMoney2591 from Illinois

3.77/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served in a Walter Payton shaker pint glass.

Thanks to Hophead101 for this bottle!

Always down for a nice fresh hop. This one pours a hazy brass topped by a finger or so of lightly dirty white foam. The nose comprises light grapefruit peel, orange zest, buttery caramel, and a dash of lemon rind. The taste brings in more of the same, with the fruits' rinds really taking center stage. A hint of pine resin makes its way in as well, finishing the job of walling up the caramel, "Cask of Amontillado"-style. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a fairly silky feel. Overall, a nice fresh hop IPA. 'Nuff said, really...
Dec 12, 2011
 
Rated: 2.5 by ipa247 from California

Dec 05, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by FrankyLikesIt from New Jersey

Dec 04, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by mjtiernan from New York

Nov 23, 2011
Photo of thain709
Reviewed by thain709 from Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
A little late on this review...but I had this on release day.

A - Served with a cloudy, yellow body that had some orange highlights...the head was a thick one finger and receded to bubbles...nice lacing though

S - There is a huge peach aroma that I can't get enough of...other citrus aromas of mango and pineapple can be picked up too...there is a bitter backbone

T - All of that citrus carries over to the palate...the peach notes are huge, but the other citrus flavors (mango and pineapple) aren't overshadowed...a bitterness creeps in towards the end, but the addition of the honey helps to balance things out...I can't pick up the honey right off the bat, but I think it's playing off all the other sweet flavors going on

M - Medium bodied...chewy, peach juice, mild bitterness

O - This was a tasty fresh hop...I don't remember last years version, but the Citra hops in this one did the trick...I loved the peach flavors in the beer
Nov 19, 2011
Scratch Beer 49 - 2011 (Fresh Hop Ale) from Tröegs Brewing Company
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 49 ratings