Scratch Beer 6 - 2007 (Export Lager)
Tröegs Brewing Company

 

 

Thanks for sending this one, Mike.

A: The beer pours a cloudy golden yellow with a small white head.

S: Surprisingly decent nose. Sweet malts and pale breads dominate. There's a fair amount of citrus character and some light fruitiness to it as well.

T: Sort of watered down and bland. Bready malts with a hint of cardboard, very little bitterness or hop flavor. A little bit of citrus to it and some sweetness, maybe sugar?

M: Light in body with a medium carbonation.

O: Not sure what I could really expect from a 4 year old Dortmunder lager, but this was probably about it.

Poured a murky golden orange with pale yellow highlights that had a thin frothy head and left a little lacing sticking to the glass. Lots of caramel pop out on the aroma with big bready malts and faint citrus notes. The caramel flavors are also the star of the show on the palate with lots of bready malts, mild citrus, and grainy accents. The brew was medium in body with a fair amount of carbonation which had a sweet, bready, and malty finish. It drank good but was not my style at all. It probably was too old or something.

Massive Mega Scratch Beer Tasting @ the Meat Meet, 8.21.2010. Thanks Unclejedi!

Scores reflect how the beer is drinking NOW, and not when released.

Hmm, looks like a Dortmunder to me... medium gold, but very low head. No lace, no active carb. Smells of pale German malts and slightly grainy with a hint of Noble hop. Tastes sweet and pretty clean, but obviously past its prime and nothing really here to recommend it... all the interesting malt notes have fallen into the Abyss. Obviously 5% Dortmunder lagers shouldn't be drunk 3 years late. Mouthfeel is good, high carbonation, pretty easy, but sadly tastes a bit stale. More an educational experience than a good beer. Ain't getting any better, folks!

12oz bottle thanks to dashirey.

Pours slightly hazy golden with a one-finger white head and good lacing.

Sweet pale malt and sherry on the aroma.

Mmm I love aged helles lagers. I have a whole case in my cellar dedicated to aging helles lagers for 10+ years. Well, not really. Flavor is sweet pale malt, sherry, and green apple. This has actually aged fairly well.

Smooth on the palate with medium-light body.

Not bad! Leave it to Troegs to make a helles lager that actually ages well. Harrisburgers are awesome.

Thanks to HopDerek for this one. Wondering what two years does to a Dortmunder Lager - guess I'll find out. Served in a pilsener glass.

A - Two fingers of creamy, soapy, off-white foam that dissipates relatively quickly to a solid cap and leaves lots of spotty lacing. Slightly hazed golden straw color with lots of bubbles on the sides of the glass. Pretty solid looking, even after two years.

S - Pilsener malt, with a good amount of bread and caramel. Some nice lemon and orange zest character along with some light grassy and floral notes and a bit of honey. Should have probably had this one in the summer.

T - The taste is mostly pale, bready, malts, a bit of honey, with a touch of sour lemon citrus in the finish. The finish is a little grainy, but doesn't stick around too long. Pretty crisp and refreshing. Thankfully it doesn't have that twangy, metallic flavor that seems to show up in a lot of lagers.

M - Crisp, lively carbonation, yet soft, smooth, medium body. It suits the style, and has a light residual stickiness after a nice clean finish.

D - This has held up a little bit better than Scratch 1, the steam beer (I had both almost exactly two years after they were bottled). An eminently chuggable summer lager that has a little more depth and heft to it than its adjunct competitors. I suspect the noble hops were a little more lively when it was fresh too.

Another brew from an epic box of beer from mymrnngjckt... I won Kevin's "Guess My Favorite Rock Band" LIF.... This may be the oldest one out of the box... but .. upon pouring into my Delirium snifter.. it still looks pretty good... Huge thanks Kevin!!

1" rocky white head dies back fairly quick.. the brew is a perfectly clear lite honey gold....

Nose is a malty pils malt... no dms.. very clean...

Flavor is crisp and has a great balance between the hops and the malt... bready with a nice noble hop presence (still?)

Body is on track and is a tad bit higher than a German pils.. but and the carbonation is pretty spot-on.

I think this brew is still really tasty and doesn't taste stale at all.. there is a good brewery in Sun Valley (Trail Creek) that makes a great Dortmunder... this is certainly on par with their's... though.. it does seem a bit thick as I hit the bottom of the glass.

Thanks again Kevin.... Truly appreciated.. Pimpin' Idaho Round 2 is in the works.

A-Brilliant golden yellow with a medium bright head. Head reduces to a thin cap and leaves nice lacing.

S-Sweet biscuit with a touch of white grapes and a fresh zesty citrus character.

T-Sweet biscuit up front that is well balanced by zesty citrus notes and a touch of apple. Nice spicy zip of hops in the finish.

M-Medium-light body, crisp and yet very smooth. Nice lingering spiciness.

D-A superb crisp, easy to drink and vastly sessionable German lager. Not a style I often seek out but when you can pack this much flavour into a crisp brew such as this well...

I'm trying to finish up the last few bottles of each of the Scratch beers in my cellar. This one is certainly not one to hold onto any longer. Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into my nonic pint glass. Appears a hazy golden yellow color with around two fingers of fluffy, off white head. A nice looking pour. Smell is dominated by fresh bread and grain. The taste mimics the smell with lightly toasted grain and bread notes, maybe a touch of caramel malt and a light grassy hop presence. Medium in both body and carbonation. My glass was empty in no time. I think I've got one more of these down in the cellar, yay.

Number five on the night and my next to last scratch release I have left to try this day. I saved this one to start off after the kids went to sleep for a little bit of a change of pace. Served cold and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 12/21/2008.

The pour was decent with a rich looking hazy golden color coming forward right away. Nice head of white rises up from the bottom and comes to the top around an inch in height as it settles down into a thin crown with moderate side glass lacing. Very nice for the style.

The aroma was loaded with bread malts. Rich notes of grain, musky with some off fruit notes coming in the rough the back of it. Light flavor here, rich malts with a touch of a bready tone. Lots of grain here as well, really nicely done, though the style is not one of my favorites. Smooth, clean feel with a little bit of a lingering flavor on the tongue. Easy clean finish and this one was all but gone.

Overall not a bad rendering though as I said the style is less then my favorite, still though they did a damn fine job with it and I have to give them credit for that.

Pours a cloudy gold with a two-fingered white head. Very good retention and a ton of sticky lace is left behind.

Malty aroma of fresh bread with a light spicy hop bite.

Like the aroma, the flavor is malty with fresh baked bread, toasted grain, and a touch if fruitiness. Hops kick in with a touch of citrus and solid spice. Well balanced bready and hop flavors. Finishes crisp with lingering spice.

Medium bodied - smooth, a bit chewy, and hearty yet crisp. Refreshing and satisfying - I could drink this all day. This needs to be in Troegs regular rotation.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle to a pint glass the liquid is gold with good carbonation. The head is a nice fat thumb off white and leaves good lace.

The smell is fresh and bready.

The taste is really good like fresh backed bread. Really this is a nice styld of brew when it is nice and fresh. It seems the long srip across the pond does not do others as well as a short drive down from PA.

Mouthfeel is better them medium and the carbonation is very good.

The drinkability of this brew is about as good as the style will be, a very well done brew.

Prosit, und Zum Wohl, MK

Thanks goes out to Kegatron for this brew.

Pours a cloudy yellow color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy white head, which does leave some nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, with a nice little touch of hops, with some spicyness. The taste is malty, nice hop notes, spices. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a very nice brew.

Received this brew from BeerTruth in a recent box that included somewhere around 657 beers (give or take around 640). I drank the Tröegs Scratch 1-5 quite a while ago and I look forward to trying the rest. Drank from my Stone India Pale Ale tulip.

Appearance- Pours a light hayish yellow with flicks of orange and a huge two finger fluffy white head. Plenty of sticky lacing is left from the rim of the tulip to the bottom. A very generously sized cap is maintained the entire beer.
Smell- Very crisp and clean with an especially light lemony/grassy hop. Grainy and raw with plenty of light malty goodness. Nice subtle refreshing nose that is perfect for the 80 degree heat and humidity outside.
Taste- Oh snap! That is tasty! Doughy and lightly sweet with a buttery goodness that is O so nice. Lightly hopped there are tidbits of citrus that cut into the aforementioned sweet/buttery goodness just enough to add tinges of lemon and orange zest. A grainy sweetness lingers in the aftertaste begging me to take another sip.
Mouthfeel- Very full and viscous this is a big chewy feel for such a subtle, drinkable brew. Light carbonation that almost isn't noticeable under that bulky goodness.
Drinkability- If you had a sixer of this stuff I'm almost 100% sure you couldn't leave one in the fridge. This is just a wonderfully drinkable, wonderfully refreshing brew. Adam was telling me to drink it and now I know why. Good thing he sent me two!

number1bum got this Troegs brew for me, keep 'em comin' punk.

12 oz. bottle poured into a pilsner glass.

Pours an almost cloudy sunset hay with a big two finger white head that dies down to a thin layer of fluff. Lots of sticky goodness is left on the sides of the glass. Bubbles sprinting to the finishline (Kentucky Derby is tomorrow, why the hell not). Big bready malt dominates the nose with a bit of pepper and spice. Some grains and a faint citrus aroma as well. Very light and summer-y, I like where this is going. The taste is so true to the smell. Musty malt up front with a light lemongrass sweetness in the middle. Some earthy hops towards the end with a dry aftertaste. Light body, smooth, and refreshing in the mouth. Light and crisp carbonation, very enjoyable feel to this one. I could drink this and Hop Sun all summer and be a happy man. Troegs may want to think about making this a regular. GLBC Dortmunder Gold is petty solid, but I prefer Scratch 6. Thanks again Josh, get me more...now.

Acquired via trade from Slatetank, so a big Thank You goes out to him. Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of grain, light malts and some hops.

T: The taste starts out bready with hints of spice and fruit in the background. There's good hops bitterness that comes in next and provides a nice balance. The malt character is hearty but on the lighter side. The after-taste is bready and slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and very crisp, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean and dry.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not filling at all, mild kick, very good representation of style, it's a good beer to drink several of during an evening, however it wouldn't be my first choice even within the style.

Thanks again to Jason (ClockworkOrange) for hooking me up with another Scratch brew.

Pours a somewhat hazy golden color, lots of bubbles rising to the top and about a finger and a half of nearly white head. Head retention is quite good, with a full lace and quite a bit of stick.

Smell has some light sweetness, some lightly toasted malt, grassy and slightly spicy hops, and some lemon zest.

Taste is much the same, with a nice balance between toasted, grainy and mildly sweet malt and grassy, and citrusy/lemony hops. Toasted malt and some herbal hop bitterness are more apparent through the finish.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, crisp and appropriately carbonated and very easy drinking.

This is damn good, and I'm not even a huge lager fan. But here is a lager I would drink with regularity were it a regular offering.

Yellow gold body, good clarity with just a hint of chill haze. Several carbonation streams spiral up the glass. Topped by three fingers of rocky white micro bubbles. Delicate lacing.

Big aroma of grass/hay, with a bakery just beyond the meadow.

A soft gentle sweet malt beginning. Hoppy biterness gradually increases, balances, and conquers, without being overly acerbic. Refreshing nip at the swallow. Dry finish.

Mouthfeel is both bubbly and creamy. How exactly do they pull that off ?

Drinkabile ? Had three at dinner the other night, and had to pace myself with the last one, since I was sharing a sixer.

Greatly refreshing after a tough day of work or gardening (or in my case, both). Tasty as a single. Easily sessionable without being boring. Outstanding as a crossover. Another terrific example of Pennsylvannia as "Land of Lagers".

We need more of this one guys. Lots more. Year round, lets take on Yuengling more.

12 oz bottle

poured a hazy gold with a bright white head that laced nice and lasted a long, long time. very nice beer to look at.

Smell was odd with almost a musty grass/hay character to it. was not very strong or it would have been a complete turn off.

Taste was a grassy/lemony hop flavor backed by a very light malt profile. the sweetness that was there came mid palate with the hop profiles peaking at the very front and at the very end. it ended pretty dry.

it was pretty thin and watery feeling, and none of the flavors were bold. i think it needed a bit more malt to hold this one up.

It is easy to drink, but not one i would pick over so many others out there.