@JackHorzempa I let the Nugget Nectar warm and gave it some deliberate swirling time. At first, my nose wasn’t picking up much, but after a few passes the aromatics started to open. Nothing explosive, but steady — resin, light citrus peel, and that familiar evergreen edge. I’m finding the flavor more expressive than the initial aroma right now. The bitterness is clearly there, the malt backbone is supporting it, and as the beer warms the hop character becomes more distinguishable sip by sip. I’ve got a few ounces left that I’m letting continue to rise in temperature — curious to see how far it opens. If science requires a second can later, I’m prepared. Cheers
That is consistent with the last Nugget Nectar I had about 5 years ago. Which is inconsistent with what Troegs 'advertises' on their website: "Excessively dry-hopped, Nugget Nectar is an explosion of pine, grapefruit and mango." https://troegs.com/beer/nugget-nectar/ I appreciate your input here. I really, really miss the Nugget Nectar beers I drank a decade+ ago. Those beers were indeed "explosive". Cheers!
You’re most welcome, Jack — always appreciate the discussion and perspective. For what it’s worth, the most explosively aromatic beer I’ve personally encountered was SingleCut “Don’t Tell Shaky and Boxcar Joe” DDH IIPA. I only had it once (regretfully didn’t grab more at the time), but the aroma was on another level — easily the most intense hop expression I’ve ever smelled. That experience definitely reset my internal scale for what “explosive” can mean aromatically, which probably frames how I’m approaching Nugget Nectar today. Cheers!
I bought a 12 pack the other day. Difficult to say if I enjoyed as much as earlier years, but it's still pretty darn tasty. Looking forweard to Double NN being released!
Between the single I bought and the two six packs of Headwaters Pale Ale my fridge is confused and thinks its living 10-15 years ago
Our local ski resort in NEPA had a Nugget Nectar event today and I snagged a Double NN draft. Delicious!
Nice! I haven't skied there in years, but I was there for the Preston and Steve cardboard classic last year, which was a blast.
Got some Nectar from Wegmans East Ave. I've been drinking it for years now. At first taste is seemed just...less that I remembered. But my fridge is ice cold and after letting it warm for 15 minutes, the beer and my palate have opened up...more like I remember...yummy. Perhaps my taste has been a bit dulled by so much Double Nectar over the past few years.
Finally picked up a 4 pack of pint cans. The reworked label is closed to the original graphics that's on the tin tacker I have hanging in my basement.
Picked up a six-pack in bottles. Best by 5/5/26. I seek some out every year, even though I think it isn't what it once was. It's still a very enjoyable, well-made beer. As for the recurring question of "has Nugget Nectar changed, or have I?", I did a little experiment and had my girlfriend—who enjoys IPAs—give it a try. Her notes were: “Not much of a nose. Balanced, very drinkable; nice malt notes; not all that hoppy.” Honestly, that lines up pretty closely with how I feel about it these days. Her comment about the nose stood out, as that’s the part I think has shifted the most. As others here have reminisced, this beer used to have a wonderful, unmistakable hop aroma.
Yeah, I don't think it's just your imagination or palate shift. In fact, I was living in Baltimore when Nugget Nectar first came out. I'd moved to Charm City in 2001 from Sacramento, and was not at all happy with the beer scene in Baltimore. It wasn't deplorable... but at the time Brewer's Art, Clipper City and the Wharf Rat (Oxford Brewing?) were the stalwarts. Popular East Coast IPA's back then were Hop Devil, 60 minutes, 90 minutes and the like. Decent beers, but nothing like the West Coast IPA's I was accustomed to. Then one day in 2003 I walked into my local (Sean Bolan's pub on Light Street, where the Brewer's Cask is now located), and the bartender/owner suggested I try this new IPA. I was completely blown away. It had this gorgeous, hop perfume nose, and it wasn't overly malty on the palate. It was fantastic. Up until then, the only dedicated taphandle at Sean Bolan's was Guinness. However, this new IPA was so popular (yes, it was Nugget Nectar), the owner approached Troegs about carrying it on a full-time basis. Unfortunately, it turned out NN was a seasonal, and Troegs had no plans to offer it season round. I was devastated. Long story short, over the years I've easily consumed an ocean of NN, often driving up to the Harrisburg area for special release events every year. In its heyday (other than the first year they moved to Hershey), it was a local icon. When I first moved to Oregon in 2013, I would still trade for it, but it became increasingly clear that it was simply not the beer it once was. I think I've had it twice in the past 10 years and I would agree with you and your wife's assessment. It's still a pleasant beer I think, but the only reason I would order it now is for old time's sake. Hence this post. It's difficult not to wax nostalgic during this time of year. I still remember the year Troegs made a special batch in August so they could send some to the GABF (and so various accounts in town got pins of it), and the year Max's in Fells Point bought all the kegs coming into Maryland so they could offer it year-round (their last keg kicked shortly before Thanksgiving). Great memories...
A decade+ ago that was me too! As you likely recall, by law (the law then) the Retail Beer Distributors had to sell beer by the case. I remember one year when Nugget Nectar arrived at my local Beer Distributor I even left work a bit early so that I could buy a case of Nugget Nectar fresh. Back in the day Nugget Nectar was a glorious beer with an absolutely wonderful and vibrant hop aroma. I really miss those beers. It has been a number of years (5?) since I have purchased Nugget Nectar. It is an OK beer nowadays and as detailed by @BikeChef above: “Not much of a nose. Balanced, very drinkable; nice malt notes; not all that hoppy.” I don't know why Troegs can't produce Nugget Nectar like they did back in the day but contemporary Nugget Nectar is not a worthwhile purchase for me. Cheers! P.S. There is a HUGE stack of Nugget Nectar on the floor at my local Wegmans supermarket. If this year is like last year there will be many of those cases still there in May. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Which at one point would have been unimaginable. I remember scouring smaller liquor stores in the Owings Mills and Ellicot City area towards the end of the season, hoping to find a few last bombers and/or six packs. That was probably in 2010 or 2011. Lot of water passing under the bridge since those days. Oh well...
I would be curious to hear Troeg's take on Nugget Nectar, as to whether the recipe has been tweaked at all over the years, and I'm sure they won't admit to lesser quality control. My guess is that it is US, and not the beer that has changed. Some of the comments above have come from BAs that have been here longer than me. And that's a while. So be honest, when is the last time you have been truly blown away by a new beer, like you were back in 2010 (or so) when you first tasted Nugget Nectar? When is the last time you bought a ticket for a glass of Pliny The Younger, or drove an hour and a half to buy a case of Bells Hop Slam, or called your local store to hold a bottle of CBS for you? It's probably been a while. Don't get me wrong, I've had lots of great beers over the past couple years, but I usually just say "that's pretty good" and not "WOW, that is amazing." I think my point is that we (or at least I) have tried so many great beers, of such a wide variety of flavors, that I am rarely blown away by one at this point. 15 years ago (and thousands of beers ago) I was much more easily impressed by something new with bold flavors. Now, bold flavors might be more the norm, thus my memory of Nugget Nectar is probably better than the actual taste.
After their handling of the NN quality issue when they first started brewing in Hershy, I wouldn't believe anything Troegs told me. Transparency is clearly not their strong suit.
