Scratch Beer 116 - 2013 (Fresh Hop Ale)
Tröegs Brewing Company
- From:
- Tröegs Brewing Company
- Pennsylvania, United States
- Style:
- American IPA
- ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- 92
- Avg:
- 4.18 | pDev: 6.22%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 7
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Oct 24, 2014
- Added:
- Oct 05, 2013
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 2
SCORE
92
Outstanding
92
Outstanding
The crisp October air is thick with the aroma of fresh, green hops! This year, we brewed our annual Fresh Hop Ale with 400lbs. of freshly picked wet Chinook hops direct from the Yakima Valley in the Pacific Northwest. These über-fresh hops were harvested, packaged, and express delivered to our brewery all in the same day. To ensure the absolute freshest hop aroma and flavor, we brewed the beer within 24-hours of taking delivery of the hops. Dripping with the essence of oily hop goodness, Scratch #116 is all about those pungent, juicy little cones. The very first whiff releases potent olfactory hues of intense pine as well as subtle citrus and spices. You can’t get any fresher than this, folks. This is “vine to vessel” brewing at its finest!
61 IBU
61 IBU
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Reviewed by LambicPentameter from Nebraska
4.04/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.04/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Thanks to BA SammyJaxxx for sending this one my way. I love me some fresh hop ales, and I believe this will be the first "double" IPA that I've had of that variety. Reviewed from notes, as I actually drank this beer way back on November 16th, 2013. I had honestly forgotten that I took notes on this until I went in to clean up my phone and found them.
Enjoyed out of a 12 oz brown bottle, and I didn't see a bottling date, but on the Tröegs website, there is a handy-dandy list that tells me Scratch Beer 116 was released on October 4th, 2013, so I'm drinking it at just over a month old. Poured into the Speigelau IPA-specific glass.
Appearance - Pours a apricot-colored yellow-orange with a substantial bit of haze. In fact, due to the massive three-finger creamy head that billows up as I pour, I'm forced to empty the last bit of the bottle after the head has receded a bit, which makes for a pretty neat looking diffusion of sediment down through the body, like liquid smoke. The head begins to see some pocking as intermittent bubbles begin to grow and burst. Retention is quite good, and it leaves Lorraine swiss cheese sheets of lacing down the side of the glass which eventually fades to more mottled spots, reminiscent of a cheetah's coat.
Smell - Big presence of pine and evergreen, along with some more complimentary notes of tropical fruit, specifically mango and pineapple, and a little bit of lemon zest. The malt is pretty subdued, but it's noticeable, lending a bit of fresh sourdough characteristic to balance out the great herbal characteristics of the nose.
Taste - Again, the pine resin is front and center, now with a little earthy spice and bitterness. Other herbal notes seem to come through as well, with elements of basil and thyme to play with the more subtle elements of citrus zest and pineapple. Finish is slightly bitter and lingering on the tastebuds.
Mouthfeel - A bit creamy, and medium-bodied (but on the light side of medium). Carbonation is on the high side of moderate, pushing on heavy carbonation, but it is not overly prickly, instead producing a full, juicy feel.
Overall, a great fresh hop beer. Although admittedly, I have yet to have a fresh hop beer that I flat out *didn't* like, so there's that. At any rate, this is the most pine-forward fresh hop beer I've had, which I suppose comes from the Chinook hops. Beers like this one are really great for training one's palate to understand different hop varieties.
Feb 10, 2014Enjoyed out of a 12 oz brown bottle, and I didn't see a bottling date, but on the Tröegs website, there is a handy-dandy list that tells me Scratch Beer 116 was released on October 4th, 2013, so I'm drinking it at just over a month old. Poured into the Speigelau IPA-specific glass.
Appearance - Pours a apricot-colored yellow-orange with a substantial bit of haze. In fact, due to the massive three-finger creamy head that billows up as I pour, I'm forced to empty the last bit of the bottle after the head has receded a bit, which makes for a pretty neat looking diffusion of sediment down through the body, like liquid smoke. The head begins to see some pocking as intermittent bubbles begin to grow and burst. Retention is quite good, and it leaves Lorraine swiss cheese sheets of lacing down the side of the glass which eventually fades to more mottled spots, reminiscent of a cheetah's coat.
Smell - Big presence of pine and evergreen, along with some more complimentary notes of tropical fruit, specifically mango and pineapple, and a little bit of lemon zest. The malt is pretty subdued, but it's noticeable, lending a bit of fresh sourdough characteristic to balance out the great herbal characteristics of the nose.
Taste - Again, the pine resin is front and center, now with a little earthy spice and bitterness. Other herbal notes seem to come through as well, with elements of basil and thyme to play with the more subtle elements of citrus zest and pineapple. Finish is slightly bitter and lingering on the tastebuds.
Mouthfeel - A bit creamy, and medium-bodied (but on the light side of medium). Carbonation is on the high side of moderate, pushing on heavy carbonation, but it is not overly prickly, instead producing a full, juicy feel.
Overall, a great fresh hop beer. Although admittedly, I have yet to have a fresh hop beer that I flat out *didn't* like, so there's that. At any rate, this is the most pine-forward fresh hop beer I've had, which I suppose comes from the Chinook hops. Beers like this one are really great for training one's palate to understand different hop varieties.
Reviewed by mdfb79 from New York
4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From 11/12/13 notes. Had a 12 oz. glass of this on tap at Blind Tiger...know nothing about it other than it was listed as a "fresh hop IPA". Served in a tulip.
a - Pours a hazy golden orange color with one to two inches of fluffy off white head and moderate carbonation evident.
s - Smells of pine hops, citrus hops, grapefruit, lemon zest, honey, tropical fruits, bread and earthy malts. Huge pine nose to it and super dank; very fresh and hoppy. Love the nose.
t - Tastes of pine hops, citrus hops, lemon, grapefruit, earthy notes, and light floral hops. Again, pine hops dominate here. Very nice, though not quite as much going on as the nose had.
m - Medium body and low to moderate carbonation. No bitterness at all for a DIPA and pretty easy to drink. Very nice mouthfeel.
o - Overall a great DIPA from Troeg's; really digging the last few Scratch beers I've had from them. This one has a ton of dank pine hops and no bitterness, making it pretty drinkable. Great beer, would highly recommend it and would love to have it again.
Nov 13, 2013a - Pours a hazy golden orange color with one to two inches of fluffy off white head and moderate carbonation evident.
s - Smells of pine hops, citrus hops, grapefruit, lemon zest, honey, tropical fruits, bread and earthy malts. Huge pine nose to it and super dank; very fresh and hoppy. Love the nose.
t - Tastes of pine hops, citrus hops, lemon, grapefruit, earthy notes, and light floral hops. Again, pine hops dominate here. Very nice, though not quite as much going on as the nose had.
m - Medium body and low to moderate carbonation. No bitterness at all for a DIPA and pretty easy to drink. Very nice mouthfeel.
o - Overall a great DIPA from Troeg's; really digging the last few Scratch beers I've had from them. This one has a ton of dank pine hops and no bitterness, making it pretty drinkable. Great beer, would highly recommend it and would love to have it again.
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