Nugget Nectar

gotcha, we have the 1/22/13 bottling here in Nj being released this week, was hoping some 1/30 was floating around too : /

 

Just chiming in that the 1/30 batch in Rochester right now is delicious. Looking forward to picking up a case ASAP.

 

I thought that was a weird comment as well. If there's one thing we all agreed upon (well, all of us except for the above poster) it's that Nugget Nectar was off last year. Not sure if this was acknowledged by Troeg's, but pretty much everyone I know and most of the comments on here about it were along the lines of it being it was subpar last year.

I, too, am anxiously awaiting the draft.

 

It just hasn't tasted the same since 2010s batch. That one was memorable. If anyone has trouble finding any, I'm happy to trade.

 

My buddy in Rochester has commented on how good that batch up there tastes... 1/24 batch is at WF Chelsea in NYC

 

Anyone know if NN hit Maryland yet? The initial announcement said next week but I thought I read on here that it may hit shelves this week.

 

damn you people and your batch of freshy fresh while we get the old stuff in NJ! shakes fists and hunterdon/troegs for taking so long to get beer to market and for batch issues... if they exist which it seems does from varied reports all over the interwebz/untapp'd

 

Had my first 3 NN's of the season last night in NJ (canal's lawrenceville) and thought it tasted heavenly. Better than I recall. Don't know what the bottle date was and don't rightly care.

 

IIRC, there was one bad batch of Nugget Nectar in 2012 and I believe that Keith bought that bad batch. I bought two cases last year (batches 2/13/12 and 3/11/12) and both of those batches were very good in my opinion.

So, far there have been a number of folks complaining about the 1/8/13 batch and one person complaining about the 1/17/13 batch. There were also side-by-side taste tests conducted:

“Two BAs did ‘side-by side’ tasting of two different batches of 2013 Nugget Nectar. Twinsdaddy did a ‘side-by-side’ of 1/4 and 1/8 batches. JMSRN did a ‘side-by-side’ tasting of the 1/17 batch and another batch made this year. Both individuals noticed a difference in the two beers and reported similar observations: The 1/8 and 1/17 batches were out of balance being more malty than hoppy.”

It seems that Keith has a somewhat differing opinion on the 1/8/13 batch from Twinsdaddy (and others)?

Cheers!

 

The draft I had at two different places tasted nothing like the NN I know and love. My bottles were not as enjoyable as earlier years of NN - I don't pretend to really remember too specific of things about beers I had so long ago, but felt it wasn't the same.

 

Keith,

“If anything, it was crisp, clean, hoppy, bitter and lacking some malt backbone for depth.”

Yeah, the above description is at odds with what others have previously posted about the 1/8/13 batch:

· Slentz: “The bottles I have from 1/8/13 are not very good at all. Tastes like it is 6+ months old.”
· Steeeve: “I just picked up a sixer from 1/8 and I think it sucks. It tastes like a year old ipa. It's not at all bitter and really lacks hop flavor.”
· Boblinnemane: “My case is 1/8/13. Good but not great, malty with a dry bitterness. Missing the juicy goodness I fell in love with years ago.”
· Twinsdaddy: “I definitely taste a difference. The 1/4 bottles have the hoppy, juicy, resinous Nugget flavor we all love. The 1/8 bottles still resemble Nugget Nectar but the hoppy and oily flavor you expect in Nugget Nectar is not there. The difference in flavor is most noticeable in the finish.”
· BelgianBeerMan7: “My first six pack was from the 1/8/13 batch and while it was good, as others have mentioned I noticed that it was off a bit. Earlier today I picked up a sixer from 1/11/13 and it's definitely better, particularly in the finish.
I just did a side by side tasting to compare. The 1/8/13 has the fresh hoppiness right in the initial taste but finishes maltier than the 1/11/13 batch. If I didn't know any better, I'd guess that the 1/8/13 batch was a good 2-3 months old.”

The ‘trend’ that I read in all of the above bullet quotes is that the 1/8/13 batch has an off balance to it as compared to other Nugget Nectar batches. For me, a ‘classic’ Nugget Nectar is a beer that is very much hop forward but it has a nice, noticeable malt backbone which plays ‘second fiddle’. This ‘classic’ balance seems to be out of whack with the 1/8/13 batch (and reportedly the 1/17/13 batch as well).

“I wonder if some are confusing malty with not hoppy enough.” Well, that is part of the problem, isn’t it? If the Nugget Nectar beer doesn’t have the ‘classic’ balance (similar to what I detailed above) then the drinker is going to think they have an off batch, don’t you think?

I also posted in a previous post: “It is obvious to me that there are batch to batch inconsistencies with Nugget Nectar for 2012 and 2013.”

Cheers!

Jack

 

Stay tuned for more episodes of
CSI: Nugget Nectar Unit
after a word from our sponsors!

 

“CSI: Nugget Nectar Unit”

I fully recognize that you find this amusing. However, it would indeed be useful if there was indeed a CSI squad for commercial brewing who could go to the Troegs Brewery and ‘fix’ whatever the issues are with their inability to brew Nugget Nectar consistently.

I am fairly confident that if you bought a case (or sixtel) of Nugget Nectar that was out of balance this topic would not be quite as amusing to you. Just ask Keith (Kadonny) about his sixtel of Nugget Nectar that he bought last year.

Cheers!

 

There's always going to be some variance between batches when you're talking about craft beer. You're not drinking Budweiser, and everyone's palate is different too. I know this is BA but it feels like we're overthinking it. I'm confident in the ability of Troegs to have their own product dialed in correctly.

 

“I'm confident in the ability of Troegs to have their own product dialed in correctly.”

Not me.

Cheers!

 

Ya know, in some ways, craft beer drinkers can be bigger snobs than winos. Each vintage of a particular wine is celebrated; some are celebrated as being better than the rest. With beer, if we don't remember each year tasting the same as last year's we blast the brewery and insult their quality control. The brewer and winemaker deal with similar problems with harvests, yeasts, etc. but one is lauded, the other, denigrated. I think this demonstrates the influence that budweiser and other adjunct brewers have over beer culture. We demand the same consistency as a brewery who produces 1/10000th the beer that bud produces and that's really unfair. With that said, the 1/30 batch is outstanding. Cheers Troegs!

 

I hear Maryland will see beer this week. Can't wait to grab some!

 

I disagree. I don't expect it to taste exactly the same as any other batch. I just expect it to taste good. The NN i had that was bottled 1/8 was not good. I muscled through the first 5 but the final bottle I completely drain poured. Never thought I would do that, but I did. I normally buy 2-3 cases and a sixtel of NN each year. This year I limited my purchase to the single six pack. Hoping another batch comes around and changes my mind.