Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale
By
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
As far as passions go, drinking and discovering new beer sure beats the heck out of stamp collecting. I mean, I’m sure I could get excited about a good stamp if I really, really needed to mail a letter — but that letter would probably contain an order for beer.
Getting excited about a beer comes easily, especially when you’ve just discovered a beer like the Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale. I’ve never had a beer from Tröegs before — but if they’re all like the HopBack Amber, I may have just discovered one of my favorite breweries.
Beyond the color — a rich amber — the pour didn’t seem very special. It looked flat in my tulip glass, with only a handful of errant bubbles (despite the bubble-inducing etch at the bottom of the glass) and an aroma I could only smell by putting my whole face in the glass. My bottle was almost exactly 1 month old — bottled Jan 22nd of this year — so perhaps its youth is why I didn’t get much head or aroma.
The nose of the beer, even if weak, was quite inviting. And with my face practically buried in the beer, inviting is a good thing. The aroma is floral and spicy, with a hint of sweetness.
The name is explained on the Tröegs website:
Tröegs Brewery’s Flagship beer, HopBack Amber Ale, derives its name from a vessel in the brewhouse called a hopback. As the ‘wort’ is being transferred from the brewhouse to fermentation it passes through the hopback vessel. Packed full of fresh whole flower hops, the wort slowly circulates through this vessel extracting the essence of the aromatic hops. This vessel adds more time and more hop character that creates a fresh, spicy taste and rich caramel note that defines this signature ale.
The taste is excellent — complex and delicious. Spicy hops and a touch of citrus hit your tongue in a wave. Moments later everything mellows — the malt comes through and pushes away the bitterness, leaving some honeyed caramel flavors and finishing with a warm, nutty calmness.
I can’t say enough about the flavor. This is very drinkable — both for flavor and for alcohol content (6% ABV). The hops are a dominant element, but not so present as to overpower the flavor or the drinker. Everything shares the stage; there are no divas in this beer show. And I should mention — even though the beer displayed very few bubbles, it felt nicely carbonated on my tongue.
Tröegs definitely gets my stamp of approval. Now, as for stamp collecting . . . maybe if they could just create a beer-flavored stamp . . .
No related posts.
2 Comments
March 1st, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I stumbled across a 12 pack mix-n-match of Troeg’s the other day, and I have to say, the HopBack is quite good, but don’t miss out on the Pale Ale, either. Spicy, sweet, somewhat citrus-y, it is tasty! The Wheat was, for me, quite forgettable, and the Porter is pretty good.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:13 am
Adam, I’m glad you recommended the Pale Ale. I might have skipped that one without the good word from you. Will definitely keep my eyes open for it. Have you tried the Nugget Nectar? I’ve heard good things about that one, too.