Troegs Nugget Nectar

I love me some hoppy reds. I traded for this beer years ago and really liked it. It wasn’t as hoppy as I expected but still really enjoyable. Since I can’t get NN i’ll Just have to drink some blazing world for my fix.

 

Ok, so I’ve had at least 3 glasses from my keg. Drinking one right now after getting home from the Eagles game.

Anyway, I’ve been drinking this beer for years and years. Before Troegs moved to Hershey, NN was orgasmic. After the move, it fell off. Yeah maybe my taste buds changed, maybe it was still as good as it’s always been.......maybe. Maybe I’m crazy, maybe I don’t taste that chalkiness and maybe that fresh squeezed juicy fruit is still there. Maybe I’m really crazy.

This just in. I’m not crazy. This years NN confirms all I’ve been tasting. Yes, this years NN is that good. No, not good, it’s great. It’s the NN of years ago that I’ve been dreaming about since it went away for a few years, it’s the NN we all know and love. Its the NN that people raved about on this site. It’s the NN that has brought my faith back to Troegs. Yes people, this beer is that good this year. Drink up, it’s once again orgasmic.

 

Always down for some Nuggy Nuggy!!!

 

Keith, it is all about the specific batch.

I bought a 6-pack of bottles that has a best by date of 4/25/18. This batch if off: there is little in the way of hop flavor/aroma in these beers.

It appears that you lucked out with your keg. I did not luck out with my 6-pack.

Non-cheers to the batch to batch variation of Nugget Nectar.

@TongoRad

 

Alright. Besides Natty Ice, what actually fits your budget? I have seen multiple posts where you have said something just doesn't fit your budget or how you try to spend $1/beer.

 

Lol......I thought that too when I read that post.....that might be a tad expensive given I spent $10 on a six of Hazy Little Thing Yesterday but I could easily spend $13.50 for a six of Nugget....I'm as middle class as anyone....

 

Ah, damn, not again (or maybe, I should write "WTF - Still?" )

 

I drink

Hamms
Victory
Yards
Ballast point
Neshaminy creek
Otter creek
High life
Long trail
Oskar Blues

Many other great beers that most here would call pedestrian and walk right by.

I only buy the beer that is in sale and walk by what is not on sale. Most cases are $22.99-28.99, Hamms and high life bring these all to $1 or less per beer. I purchased Alesmith IPA and pale ale this summer for $28 a case and it was awesome. I would not drop the $50 it normally is. BP has been around $28 a case, core non sculpin.

When you start spending "only" $13-15 a six pack or four pack it starts to equal $50-100 cases of beer. Been there done that for too many years. I am just as happy with my $26 case of Yards than I am with something more expensive. I drink 2 beers a day average, only had 2 beers total since 28 December. By staying in my $1 a beer I save a bunch of money I can spend on bills I have to pay

Enjoy

 

Yeah, I am with you here. Why Troegs has such variability with Nugget Nectar year after year after... is troubling to me.

Cheers!

 

Hops change year to year, flavors and aroma are subject to it. Recipe may be identical, end result is not. It's normal for it to change year to year, like every other hop forward beer out there. When will people just accept it? Embrace the variance year to year.

 

So riddle me this:

Why does a Troegs Nugget Nectar that was brewed in late December 2017 taste different from a batch that was brewed in early January 2018? These batch to batch variations occur every year (seasonal release).

Cheers!

 

Brewers should then adjust recipes to try to match the taste both they and the consumer expects from a particular beer.

Although, year-to-year variation in hops does not explain batch variations during the same season of brewing.

 

I've had NN for the past few years now, and last year was the first I've had it where Ive actually got it. I'll always buy a six or two, but I'm leery of canning dates. Being in NC it's been an issue, I definately do not like this beer with much age of it. I have to say Celebration hit me that way this year, the first 12 pack was tremendous, the next one a few weeks later was a mess. I don't believe age to be the issue as they were only a few weeks apart between purchases. But there's no way I'd buy any Celebration right now, that's a fall buy not a winter buy.

 

Dale, have you noticed batch to batch variation with Celebration Ale in prior years (e.g., 2016?)?

I have noticed that Celebration Ale changes from year to year but I personally have not noticed batch to batch variation with Celebration. This past season (2017) I made three different purchases of Celebration (two 6-packs and one 12-pack) and all three of those purchases/batches tasted very similar to me.

Cheers!

 

I can't say that's it's been an issue in the past. But up to that point in time it was fairly warm too, so storage issues and light might have played a part, but that's just idle speculation. But those 12 packs were light years a part for whatever reason. The second one prevented me from trying a third, it wasn't drain pour, just a bit malt forward for what it was suppose to be. Unfortunately I'd say I'm super sensitive to malty IPAs and the like.

 

This is not just a Troeg's thing. Hop JuJu does the exact same thing at Fat Head's... Different bottling runs last year tasted quite a bit different. Why? Who knows. With FH, they tend to brew a "pilot" batch before the main production run, which is actually now on tap. The bottling/production run follows (in Feb) after they make adjustments based on the hops and such from the pilot batch. Last year, talking with them at FH, adjusted dry hop quantities to get it where they wanted.

Secondly, unless the storage conditions were identical between those two batches you had, you can't compare. Retailer 1 may have stored the beer cold since they received it, giving the beer a much better chance of being as intended by the brewery. Retailer 2 may have stored it warm, on the floor, even if for a few days or 2-3 weeks before you bought it. Those beers will taste different at the end of the day. Guess which will taste better?

Did you have the two batches at different bars? Bottle vs. can? Eat something different that day? It all changes what you will think of any beer. The human palate is a crazy thing...

Bottles are much more prone to oxidation (O2 does permeate bottle caps into the beer and eventually get to work on all those hop aroma's and begin oxidation of the beer itself). Get the cans for best storage.

Ideally, breweries should be 3-4x brewing to fill fermenters, then blending various fermentors into bright tanks for packaging to get as homogeneous as possible. However, not always possible when they have to brew other core beers as well inbetween. I just can't tell you why, but there are so many ways variance can occur. It's not as easy as blaming Troeg's (or whatever brewery) on why batch 1 was different from batch 2. Don't even get me started on the endless "last year's was better" comments, considering how drastically beers flavor change day-to-day to a person.

Having access to my four beers on tap all the time, a beer one day can taste good while the next day tastes extraordinary. It opened my eyes to trying beers two or three times before I pass judgement if I don't particularly care for it, as flavors/aroma's significantly change day to day on any beer (from IPA's to Pilsner, Kolsch, Stouts, etc...). And these are samples taken from the same batch, fermented the same, stored the same and coming through the same tap line and faucet into my glass. It's crazy how much they can change from one day, to another.

 

And that is a problem. Commercial breweries should not be producing product that tastes a quite bit different. If they are incapable of producing similar product from run to run they should either eliminate that product from their brand line or simply just get out of the brewing business.

Cheers!

 

I always look forward to NN each year and now that I live in Florida I have to rely on friends and family to hook me up.
I never was a Hopslam guy, was impressed at first, then disappointed the following 2 years.

 

Have bought 3 six packs so far. What’s not to like ?

 

Wow total buzzkill Jack. Sorry about your batch. All I can say is my batch is nothing short of awesomeness.