Troegs - Nimble Giant

I've recently had both SOHTC and NG, I thought both were super malty. And I agree with @YamBag and what he said above, NG should be a winter beer with the heavy malt presence, not a summer beer. Honestly I'd rather have the NG in the fall/winter than the summer. I won't be picking any more up this summer.

FWIW, my super hoppy summer drinking beer has been the FW Luponic Distortion series. Nice and hoppy with a nice subtle malt balance (and lower abv than NG) that leaves is super drinkable and super delicious. I've had the 4, 5 & 6 and all were great, the 6 is out now and is a great beach beer that is always in my fridge.

 

What do you mean by "super malty"? Just the fact that they have any discernible kilned malt flavor at all?

I've had Shape of Hops several times and thought it was right on the edge of having just enough malt flavor to balance it out. It's final gravity is 1.010, SRM is 6.4, IBU 98 - it's not sweet. I haven't had Nimble Giant yet, but based on Troegs website they don't use any Crystal/Caramel malts. Only Pilsner and Vienna, which is pretty mild.

I don't get these hyperbolic statements common on Beer Advocate when people disparagingly call IPAs "malt bombs", etc. when they are clearly dominated by hop flavor and/or bitterness/dryness. Doppelbocks, Scotch Ales, Dubbels, English Browns - those are malty. These beers are not. //end rant

 

I think it can be relative within the style though. Sure, even the maltiest IPA won't be as malty as most or all of the beers in the styles you mention, but within the IPA style I consider stuff like 90 Minute or Hopslam malt bombs. I don't consider Shape of Hops To Come a malt bomb, but with this latest batch I had I definitely pick up more of a malt backbone than I did in the past. I also think with this trend toward lower IBU "juciy" NE style IPAs, people's palates are changing dramatically and even a hint of malt makes them think it's a malt bomb.

 

Super malty to me is the malt base is very, very forward. It's hard to explain, but the malt is more of the older style classic "east coast" malt in that the malt is very deep and previlent as opposed to say the new NE IPAs where the malt is way more subdued. I'm not a brewing guy so the technical stuff I don't know about. What I know about is what I taste. A SOHTC or NG is a far different beer than say a TH DIPA with the malt.

My palate does not necessarity equate malt with sweet, but more so with the deep "malt" flavor. Make any sense? I had a NG too next to a Alien Church last weekend. World of difference. Now I know there is an abv difference there, but still. I'll reference Surly Furious too, malty IPA to me as opposed to say a Union Jack. It's been years since I had a Furious, but I remember a a really deep malt flavor.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I think recently I've been tainted by the NE IPA craze which lends to more fruity bright hops and malt as opposed to the deep dank hops and deep caramel malt. Just me.

 

Well kilned malts will give you "toasted" flavors of biscuit, cracker, bread. Crystal malts will give you the mild to rich caramel flavors, all the way to raisin and plum with the real dark stuff like C 120.

But to me with IPAs, these flavors are still minor and just complementing to the hop flavors or bitterness. They are not dominate like they would be in a low hopped Dunkel Lager or Amber Ale.

Final Gravity is the amount of residual sugar left in the beer when it's done fermenting, perceived as either sweetness or body in the beer. It can range from 1.000 for a super dry, thin, Saison, up to around 1.030 for a thick, sweet Imperial Stout or Barleywine. 1.010 is on the low end for a Double IPA. This chart would give you an idea based on beer styles:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/2017/...-gravity-and-final-gravity-chart-2017-update/

The SRM is the color chart - the darker, generally the more kilned, caramel, and roasted malts are in the beer (unless coloring is used). The scale goes up to 40 for a black beer, so 6 is low on the scale.

Those NE style beers are likely using only base malts - just adding oats or wheat not for flavor but just to provide protein. I'd say they are at the one extreme end, with an IPA with a bunch of caramel malt like HopDevil at the other. I'd say SOHTC is closer to the former than the latter.

 

One in my 4 pack had a ton of white floaters in it. Never seen something like that from Troegs before. Disappointing.

I would say there is very little malt flavor but perhaps some may perceive the alcohol sweetness as malt. There is a little white bread crust in the finish but all very faint and appropriate.

 

That is how I would describe Nimble Giant.

 

Yes, very bitter towards a pithy bitter. Nothing like 90 minute IPA which is pretty much a barleywine level of sticky sweetness.

 

Both Shape of Hops and Nimble Giant are excellent beers IMO. I was lucky enough to try Shape of Hops this weekend at the shore and was able to get several 4 packs of Nimble Giant in Baltimore. My problem is the "game" that Troegs is playing with the distribution of Nimble Giant. Last year it was relatively easy to find. This year, all 3 stores in my area were distributed 1 or 2 cases. The 4 stores at the Jersey store near me got the same. But this week more magically arrived, though only one or two cases. Troegs, just distribute the beer at once. Stop trying to create demand, the beer is vry good, but not worth chasing around town for.

 

^i think they expanded their distribution this year vs last

probably produced about the same amount, so just less available everywhere

my buddy orders for a wholesale distributor in PA and they were shorted 70 cases on their order...their largest account got a whopping 4 cases

 

This year's Nimble Giant is really damn good. I was very impressed. Even better than last year's, imo. I find it comparable to something like Sucks or Enjoy By. I actually think I prefer it over Enjoy By. It's a got a massive depth of citrusy, dank, and resinous hop flavors. Delicious stuff.