Nugget Nectar
Tröegs Brewing Company

12 oz. bottle poured into an Alchemist pint glass. Thanks to greg4579 and Kirchhoff for independently surprising me with bottles of this. My wife and I are most pleased.

Appearance - Reddish dark amber body with a small khaki head. Nice sticky lacing inside the glass and a little bit of the head lingers past the first few moments.

Smell - Pine hops all over the place. Grapefruit and some peach in there too. The hop profile of an IPA with a nice dose of caramel malt. Not sweet smelling, but definitely malty.

Taste - Following the smell, but the malt is more pronounced than in the aroma. Hops right up front, but they blend nicely with the malt. The finish isn't terribly bitter, but it's enough to offset the maltiness.

Mouthfeel - I keep telling myself it's not an IPA. It seems like a heavy IPA, but the flavor is just distinctly amber enough to keep me interested. Decent carb and maybe a bit heavy.

Overall - It's tough to review this as an amber ale. It's really really good as an amber. As an IPA, it's good, but not great. I don't know how that sits with me. I need to be a mood for the malt backbone to enjoy this thoroughly.

 

Crystalline deep amber, good head retention and lace. Sweet malt and hops aroma. Citrus rind and caramel malt palate, with emphatic stab of pine and resin at the finish. Back when drinkers expected malt and hop to balance each other out, few beers did it as well as this one.

On tap at Hey Babe in Pittsburgh. Wow, first time!

Poured from 16oz can into my BeerAdvocate teku. Freshest by 4/28/26.

Appearance: deep, rich orange hue with a clear body and a finger of light tan foam with a bit of orange cast atop. Love that rich orange-itude.

Smell: rich, sweet, caramelly malt with a good dose of almost-dank citrus peel aroma. The overall effect is quite earthy; I dig it.

Taste: there’s more dimension to the citrus peel here compared to the aroma; I get orange and grapefruit notes coming through separately, and the bitterness really complements the earthy notes. There’s sweetness here, but it works to balance the bitterness. Great!

Mouthfeel: medium-rich body with a good level of carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: a really solid beer indeed; it’s a classic for a reason. I’m glad I finally had an opportunity to try it!

 

 

Appearance: Super clear gold, big head, beautiful!

Smell: Starts with grapefruit, then moves to pine.

Taste: Mild sweetness, then nicely bitter grapefruit and pine notes, balanced with a malt base. Medium bodied. Finishes with lingering citrus bitterness.

Overall: Another long-time want obtained through online ordering. Beautiful looking beer and very nice old-school DIPA flavor. Should have gotten more than 1 can!

 

 

 

Nice Amber color. Nice malt character at the beginning then the hops blast through. Excellent beer to bring you out of the winter doldrums!

awesome beer. My go-to when the winter release occurs.

 

Pours a clear amber-almost copper color with a moderate foamy head. Very nice balance of bread and hops aroma. A slightly sweet caramel flavor upfront followed by a piney-citrus bitterness. Nice malt backbone. Light to medium mouthfeel with lively carbonation. Overall, excellent!

Pours a gorgeous amber with plenty of white head. Aromas of peach and pine mixed with toffee. Taste follows with a decent bitter finish. Medium body and a smooth feel. Outstanding offering I look forward to every year

My favorite beer. Love when the winter is ending so I can enjoy this each year. Love traveling to the brewery to have it fresh as well.

 

Attractive amber color and nice foam. Something oddly appealing about the taste that grew on me over time. At least fresh in tap there is a good balance of citrus and bitterness to the hops.

Man, I dunno. Gorgeous beer, a lot of hype, but then I took a sip and was waiting for malt character that never turned up. Wanted it to be hoppier than it was. I dunno.