Scratch Beer 51 - 2011 (Fat Scratch Fever)
Tröegs Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: Orange-brown/dark straw color in glass. Nice head. Bartender that served it to us had an even better appearance. Very good looking.
Smell: Hoppy and good. Definitely strong hoppy aroma though. Fresh hops and a good preview of the bite to come.
Taste: Good IPA. Definitely got my attention with a nice strong hoppy bite.
Mouthfeel: A little rough but just how a strong IPA should be. Carbonation was just right.
Overall: Good beer. Kind of wish it was more than just a scratch beer. Also, kind of wish I lived closer to the brewery so that good-looking red head could serve me more delicious beer like this.

 

 

Troegs Scratch 51 : Fat Scratch Fever
Ontap @ Fatheads

Pours a clear deep straw gold with white head and plenty of lace down the glass. Aroma of dank, resinous hops, and mild floral and pine notes. In the taste, a huge wall of bitterness, citrus, pine, earth tone flavor probably attributed to the use of the Troegs HopBack where the brew is run through a tun of hops. There is a mildly fruity fatheads yeast strain contributing to a balancing sweetness. Overall, a very tasty and bitter IPA. Solid.

Served on tap into a tulip glass at Lizardville

A- Poured a clear orange color, lot of carbonation, and fluffy finger of head that left tons of chunky lace.

S- Big grapefruit, floral, fragrant aroma, and some pine

T- Grapefruit and floral/fragrant notes were present, very strong amount of bitterness to this beer that masked some of this flavor, the notes were all there but the bitterness overwhelmed some of the flavor.

M- Medium body, ultra dry

O- Great aroma on this beer, but the bitterness is what stands out on this beer. Head Hunter IPA is my favorite IPA so I had high expectations for this collaboration with Fat Heads, the bitterness takes over a little too much with this one. Not bad, glad I tried it.

A - Served with a clear, orange body with lots of carbonation bubbles...a huge, three finger, white head was present...it became rocky as it fell and never went away...chunky lacing

S - The nose was balanced in a sense...there were floral notes, a lot of grain, and some bitterness

T - There is an apparent bitterness that is present throughout the entire beer...the hops are leafy in flavor and present slight citrus and floral flavors as well...there is a big grain presence and it does a nice job balancing things out for a bit, but the hops do a nice job in coming back at the end

M - Light bodied...crisp, very clean, lingering bitterness

O - This was a very enjoyable IPA...I loved how crisp it was...I could have done without the graininess and would have liked more citrus flavors coming out...good luck Fat Heads!

 

 

 

Served in a tulip at the new Troegs brewery. 9.5 ABV on the board.

Pours a clear, filtered golden color with a white head; nice retention and lacing. Strong hop aroma, tropical and oily with very light malt presence. Flavor is fairly sweet, grassy and tropical fruits throughout, with a sweet biscuit malt body. Well carbonated, medium thick body with a slick oily texture. As this warms the alcohol presence becomes stronger and detracts from my enjoyment. Nice beer, though Headhunter is preferred.

I had this on tap at the Fat Heads brewpub in OH. The menu notes: "This is a collaborative brew between Fat Heads and Troegs, brewed at Troegs on the brewing system Fat Heads purchased for the new production brewery. An IPA similar to Head Hunter with a different hop profile, some changes in the grain bill and not as agressively dry hopped. A nose of citrus, pine, bready malt & pepper. Resiny hop flavor, orange rind, grapefruit, a nice malt backbone and a big dry finish".

The beer is clear and golden colored, with some wispy foam on top. Sweet and citrusy aroma, I think its a stretch to compare it too strongly to Head Hunter though (which is brutally astringent even on the nose). This is much more balanced, with emphasis on hops as is proper.

This goes down very easily, but doesn't have any compelling characteristics to stand out from the wide field of IPAs that are out there. I still much prefer Head Hunter.