Scratch Beer 202 - 2015 (Pale Lager)
Tröegs Brewing Company

 

This brew was served on tap at ButaPub in Rochester, New York. It arrived in generic snifters, showing a golden shale coloring, with a bit of a twinkle to it. Atop this was a half finger tall head of crystalline snow. This showed reasonable retention into thinly etched lines of lacing all around our glasses. No haze or sediment was noted, and carbonation appeared to be light. The aroma gave notes of salted caramel, pale and pilsner grainy wash, wet dog fur, Clorox bleach, topical nectary and somewhat piney hoppiness, graham crackers, plastic drinking straws, concord grape skins, orange, peel, candied almonds, mustache wax, roasted white corn, burnt macaroons, lemon juice, shaved ginger, frozen cornbread, and cloying agave nectar. Stepping through with the taste came a blend of soured lager yeastiness, lemon juice, lavender florals, citric and filthy nectary hops, crushed vitamin C tablets, grape soda mixed with sprite, highly bittering pilsner malts with a fat metallic backbone, fermented apricots, molded dandelion, sweaty wool, smoked leathers, and a faint gin booziness. With warmth, seaweed, dried pine cones, sweeter herbal hops, and stronger peppery booziness came through along the aftertaste. The body was medium, and the carbonation was medium but soft. Slurp, smack, cream, and froth were all thin, contributing little to the experience. The swirl and swallow produced a quick flash of a coating around the mouth before a tannic, crispy dryness set in throughout. The abv was appropriate, and drinkability remained intact.

Overall, this one was a bit confusing. We’d like to blame it on the establishment we sipped it at having not flushed their tap lines, or properly cleaned their glassware, but we’re not confident that that was the case here. The first offender was the aroma. Sure, there are hops, crisp pilsner maltiness, and a light phenolic twinge, but boxing all of that out are bizarre shots of sweaty wet dog, and a long neglected pool into which someone dumped gallons of chlorine for a quick fix to hide the underlying pathology. The taste was a bit more refined, but you still got some interesting aspects of cloying residual sugars and unattached fruity flavors that just didn’t blend. Nothing about this beer made perfect sense, and we’re still trying to figure out what exactly they were going for here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served on-tap in the tasting room. Pours crystal clear golden yellow with a half finger tall white head, quickly dissipating down to nothing at all, leaving no lace at all on th glass. I was definitely expecting a bit more carb at least where the looks are concerned.

Smells mainly of the spicy hops, lightly toasted pale malt and some mild sweetness. A touch of citric hops creep in as it warms but it is mainly crowded out by the other aromas. Taste is identical as the nose with the pale malt and sweetness up front followed closely the the spicy hop bitterness. Slick, spicy feel with backing bitterness throughout. More carb than the looks would lead you to believe.

Overall a decent enough IPL. It has some nice things going for it but it is a bit one dimensional. I could see myself drinking a few of these, enjoying it, and then getting bored and not returning to it. Worth a try tho.