Scratch Beer 10 - 2008 - Tröegs Brewing Company

Crosling

Colorado

3.4/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Light golden color with a small collar of white foam. Bottle conditioned. Sweet and heavily spiced, with notes of caramel, orange, peach, tangerine, herbs. Heavy spice and herb aroma. No apparent flaws, perhaps by being too sweet and overly spiced. Better than expected.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2009 05:38:56 | More by Crosling

t0rin0

California

4.25/5  rDev +12.4%

03-04-2013 01:57:28 | More by t0rin0

orangesol

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

First and foremost, this rating is based on how this one is drinking right now, not in the past.

Yet again, big thanks to Deuane for giving me one of these to try.

A - Pours amber red with a small film of white head, dissipating down to nothing at all, leaving little to no lace down the glass.

S - Smells of banana, green apples, pears, bubble gum, anise and honey sweetness. The nose on this one is surprisingly pleasant.

T - Flavors are nearly identical to the nose with some caramel and toffee sweetness thrown in for good measure. There is some light oxidation at the end of each sip but it isn't as much as I was expecting. Finish is fruity with some lingering sweetness, clinging to the palate long after the finish.

M - Medium body with very little carbonation. Slick, sticky feel with a good amount of booze still hanging around the edges.

O - While this one is definitely past its prime it still has quite a few interesting flavors to keep me interested. I thought this one would be a total mess but I am actually surprised how well it has held up.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 00:57:14 | More by orangesol

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%

04-02-2012 00:10:07 | More by TMoney2591

brewcrew76

Wisconsin

3.83/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

thanks to phnphilly for this one.

A - Muddy orange with a thin head that dissipates immediately.

S - Smells like spiced banana Laffy Taffy. Honey, anise, apple, pear and overripe fruit.

T - Sweet, white grape, anise, honey, overripe fruit, apple and pear with some Belgian yeast character and lingering sweetness.

M - Medium to full body, slightly boozy with little carbonation making it a bit syrupy.

D - The flavors I got in this beer would make me think it was a total mess but I actually enjoyed it.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2011 23:58:48 | More by brewcrew76

Gonzoillini

Illinois

4/5  rDev +5.8%

12-15-2011 02:44:11 | More by Gonzoillini

Khazadum

Illinois

5/5  rDev +32.3%

12-15-2011 02:43:39 | More by Khazadum

Urbancaver

Ohio

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear yellowish orange... No real head. Smells lightly hoppy and boozy. Sweet, strong, boozy. Very yeasty on the nose and tongue. The booziness overpowers. Thick nice mouthfeel but a bit sharp. Overall low carbonation but nice and enjoyable for sure

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2011 22:36:56 | More by Urbancaver

womencantsail

California

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Greg for sending this one my way!

A: The beer pours a slightly hazed orange color with a thin and short lived white head, though there are plenty of carbonation bubbles on the glass.

S: Smells like pure candy. Intensely sugary with lots and lots of banana notes. A bit of a floral honey note and some other sweet/overripe fruits, perhaps some pears. Strong herbal aroma, especially anise and perhaps sage.

T: Lots of sweet sugar, caramel, and brown sugar flavor. A bit of a white grape flavor and some other intensely sweet fruit flavors. The anise character is a bit more subdued, but it comes through more and more as the beer warms up.

M: Medium in body with a somewhat low carbonation.

O: I wasn't a huge fan of the anise flavor in this beer. It seems to just take over. Luckily there wasn't any booze presence, which is surprising for an 11% beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2011 06:40:41 | More by womencantsail

nickd717

California

3.58/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Troy G. for the tick.

Cloudy orangish-amber color with a small fading off-white head and lots of floaties in the beer.

Nice aroma, evident of a big beer. Honey and white wine, citrus peel, anise, sugar, and Belgian yeast.

The flavor is rather spicy with a sweet malt base, honey and sugar, caramel, orange, spices, and molasses.

Medium-full bodied with some booziness remaining after three years of age. Some alcohol warming.

I expect this beer is probably a little better now than it was young. It's not a standout, but it's enjoyable and definitely does the trick as far as getting some good ol' CH3CH2OH into your system.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2011 06:10:37 | More by nickd717

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Acquired from mikereaser courtesy of the Local Goods BIF, so a big "Thank You" goes out to him. Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep golden brown color, with a very thin off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a very thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains caramelized malts, apples, alcohol, some Belgian yeast and a faint touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out with candy sweet flavors of caramel and brown sugar. Then a strong alcohol sting follows quickly along with some spice and tart flavors of apples and other fruit. There's a hearty malt character and a faint hops presence. There's a lot of complexity with the flavors but not much balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Flavorful, goes down ok, not too filling, very strong kick, decent representation of style, this is one of those beers where there's too much going on for its own good thus detracting from its overall quality.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2010 03:24:55 | More by TheManiacalOne

kkipple

South Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Massive Mega Scratch Beer Tasting @ the Meat Meet, 8.21.2010. Thanks Unclejedi!

Scores reflect how the beer is drinking NOW, and not when released.

Deep almost red-gold, Dwarven. No head. No lace. No bubbles. Smells of sweet toffee and white pepper, with anise and... mint? Weird! Good! Flavor is highly unusual and characterful, with everything aforementioned dancing on your tongue. Maybe some black tea, too. What yeast is this...? Surely memorable, age apparently hasn't hurt it much. A little warming, but this is odd and very tasteful. I can dig it... would very much like to see the recipe!

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2010 23:29:08 | More by kkipple

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle obtained via GATM from mday. Thanks for the opportunity.

Poured into an Otter Creek Imp Series tulip, formed a 1/2" beige head above the slightly cloudy honey amber brew. Head holds on well, with thick coating lace. Aroma is sweet and spicy, with a moderately alcoholic undercurrent. Taste is sweet to start, a bit of fruity tartness in the middle, and closes with some tannins and an almost harsh alcohol flavor. Mouthfeel and drinkability are both pretty good, limited somewhat by the strong flavors at the swallow.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2010 21:22:53 | More by ppoitras

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

1.85/5  rDev -51.1%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

I got this brew from mday for winning SNF Squares - Week 13, Thanks Mike!

12oz bottle served in a snifter.

Murky rust color without much of a head?
Smell is somewhat metalic and lighty fruity.
Taste is also a bit metalic, with some fruity flavor, pears & white grapes.
Medium bodied but it's hard getting past the metalic smell/taste.
This beer may have been long past it's prime as it became a drain pour for me.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2009 23:19:44 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

brentk56

North Carolina

2.08/5  rDev -45%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Appearance: Pours a cloudy amber color without any head to speak of; just a few bubbles around the edge

Smell: Rum-soaked stewed fruit and fusel alcohol

Taste: Very sweet and fruity, almost quad-like, up front, with a developing fusel alcohol flavor that tastes just a bit too much like paint thinner as it lingers in the aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low to moderate carbonation and considerable burn as it goes down the gullet

Drinkability: Having sampled three of the Belgian scratch series in a row this evening (14, 21 and 10) and tossed each one of them, I think the Tröegs (whose other beers I have truly enjoyed) might want to focus on their strengths - Belgians are clearly not one of them

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2009 01:17:10 | More by brentk56

ckeegan04

Texas

3.73/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Golden orange with very little head. A thin white ring settle around the beer and almost no lace is left behind. Lots of floaties.

S - Strong Belgian yeast aroma with lots of bubble gum and a hint of spice. Fruity notes comes through as the beer warms.

T - Very wit like in the taste with alot of bubblegum and banana. The yeast is certainly the dominant flavor here. I would guess a little candi sugar was used as well because there is a strong underlying sweetness.

M/D - Medium bodied with a slick feel. A little on the sweet side but still fairly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2009 20:01:39 | More by ckeegan04

Deuane

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Review from my backlog of notes...trying to clean up the old Scratch beers that I have failed to input my data.

A-Brilliant hazy dark gold color with visible "floaties" with a thin white head that left spotty lace.

S-Very strong aromatics with notes of corriander, banana, bubblegum. and other generic "spicy" notes.

T-Like a spiced fruit salad with honey drizzled on top. Apple, banana and melon with spicy notes on top. All of this is swirled in a honey sweetness. Very nice.

M-Medium body very smooth and viscous. Flavours linger long.

D-While I found this one very pleasant, wonderful aroma and good initial taste, it started to wear on me. I enjoyed my pint but I was glad when it was done. I think a 12 oz bottle of this at a time is plenty.

Serving type: on-tap

07-16-2009 10:46:43 | More by Deuane

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.2/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Murky apricot with all sorts of dark floaters, some of which sink to the bottom of the glass. No worries, the mouthfeel is silky smooth. The cap is yellowish gold in color and is anything but Belgianesque in terms of size and texture. A single swath of BB-shot lace is the extent of the glass coverage.

Troegs calls this big brute a tripel (and a grand cru), to which they've added all sorts of interesting stuff: orange peel, star anise and molasses. The first two are appreciated, although I could never have identified them if blinded. Trappist yeast adds a phenolic spiciness that is typical of the style.

Scratch 10 isn't the best of this series, but it's pretty damn good. Even though I believe that beer of this style doesn't need to be dressed up, the ingredients that TBC chose to use work well. It helps if you like black licorice because the star anise comes through loud and clear. There's also more sweetness than is typical, probably due to both demerara sugar and molasses.

The flavor profile consists of pears in heavy syrup, licorice/anise, molasses, sugar-crusted citrus peel and a mini-blast of ground clove. I hate to simply repeat the ingredients list, but that's really what the beer tastes like. More than one year of age might have something to do with the beautifully buried alcohol.

All that added sugar makes the mouthfeel full and moderately sticky. It's American Big Beer lush and plush, even if it isn't as lightly creamy and expansive as the best Belgian ales.

For my money, the Scratch Series from Troegs is the best such series in the world of craft beer. I've now had 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12. Only 12 (an IPA) wasn't outstanding. I hope these guys are smart enough to brew some of these beauties again. On a regular basis would be great.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2009 14:35:43 | More by BuckeyeNation

Gyle41386

South Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a tulip. Thanks, mikereaser!

Pours a hazy orange color with a thin bubbly head. Head quickly drops to a fine ring of bubbles. Any lacing quickly drops back down and disappears.

Aroma is very sweet. Loads of tropical fruit smells. Slight touch of alcohol. There's some spice in it, possibly clove. It's also got that sweet Belgian yeast scent. Very interesting.

Taste pretty much follows the aroma. The tropical fruit seems dominant, and it tastes like there's some caramel in there. Some nice spice in the finish. The only thing I don't like about the flavor is a brief, but harsh, alcoholic taste. There's no burn or anything like that, but it does interrupt the other flavors for a very short moment.

Medium body...probably a little less carbonation than appropriate, but I think the age might have something to do with that. Really enjoyable beer, outside of the alcohol. Can't imagine what it must have tasted like fresh.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2009 02:55:25 | More by Gyle41386

grub

Ontario (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

got this one in a recent trade with Slatetank. thanks matt!

12oz bottle. sampled may 3/09.

pours deep copper orange with just a touch of haze. the small dense head disappeared quickly and left only a few spots of lace.

aroma is great. alcohol. tropical fruit - mango, pear, pineapple, melon. gingerbread. clove and belgian yeasty spice. cracker and white bread. the aromatics on this one are great. i just keep going back for another smell.

taste is good. butterscotch and toffee. lots of tropical fruit again - pineapple, pear, and mango. alcohol. a neat mix of spice - clove, ginger, and belgian yeasty spice. white bread and cracker.

mouthfeel is good. medium-low carbonation level. medium body.

drinkability is nice. there's no missing the alcohol in this one. the big fruity sweet base tries its best to balance it, but for the most part loses the battle. still, it's got enough going on to hold my interest and sip on it for a while...

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2009 00:42:22 | More by grub

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle, big thanks to grub for sharing.

Pours a hazy dark amber/light orange, thin white head forms, some proteins and chunks floating around, quickly settles down to a thin ring around the glass, few lace spots, looks alright. Smell is intense, tons of caramel and very boozy, some bubblegum, floral, fruit, candi sugar, apricots, maybe a touch of licorice, very interesting. Taste is really nice, caramel and candi sugar, anise, alcohol, apricots and raisin, some light bubblegum, some light floral and fruitiness, more anise in the finish, lightly spicy going down. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low to medium carbonation. Maybe a touch high on the body and low on the carbonation for a BSPA, and I didn't like this at first, but it turned out to be pretty neat. I like the anise dimension to it, well done. Thanks Russ!

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2009 00:25:13 | More by Viggo

whoneeds8

Texas

4.03/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I've been sitting on this bottle for a couple months. Poured into chimay glass orange with little to no head, lots of seadement. Smells very strong, good spice notes and plenty of roasted malt scents as well. First taste and the spices come out great, with the same roasted malts flavor that I could smell. The flavors don't stay on the palate as long as I'd like. The mouthfeel is strong with an alcohol presence. Overall, this is a very drinkable beer except you can't have more than one because of thie ABV.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2009 01:22:45 | More by whoneeds8

ClockworkOrange

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It's been a few months since I last had one of these. I'm looking forward to my re-visit. Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into my snifter glass. After swirling up the yummies from the bottom of the bottle, appears a cloudy golden orange color reminiscent of unfiltered apricot nectar. The bone colored head stands around two fingers thick. Smells sweet and spicy. The nose is very similar to that of a hefe, with banana, spicy yeast, maybe some pear, and definitely some anise. Taste is spicy, peppery, and sweet with notes of licorice, candied apples, black pepper on the tongue, and candi sugar. Finish is sweet at first and then fades into a pleasant bitterness. Alcohol burn is there, but it is really muted compared to when this beer was fresh. Medium in carbonation, and the body is syrup-like. Coming along nicely, I'll open another bottle in about a year to check it's progress.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2009 02:53:14 | More by ClockworkOrange

eyncognito

Wisconsin

3.9/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into standard pint glass, bottle courtesy of akorsak-thanks Adam.

Wonderful coloring for a strong pale-orange and gold with an amberish tint. This is one sexy beer. A vigorous pour produced a 1 finger off white head which disappeared rapidly. Kinda fizzy with only little traces of lacing. Smells sweet-hints of banana, strong yeast with anise, slight alcohol tickle on the nose. Pretty nice, but perhaps a touch too sweet.

Taste delivers and then some. More banana, big malt sweetness, but with more spices-dominated by anise, but traces of coriander and white pepper. Some herbal/piney hops on the finish, but the anise spice and sweetness linger big time. Good, slightly odd at times, but certainly improved as the beer warmed.

Mouthfeel started off slightly fizzy, but mellowed in time which greatly improved this beer. Medium-bodied with a big yeast presence and a pleasant warming from the alcohol. Drinkable and recommended. Troegs does some fine work.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2009 02:49:38 | More by eyncognito

damienblack

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

thanks to akorsak for this 12oz bottle!

Pours a dark golden brown the color of leaves in fall, or apple cider. Variously sized chunks of sediment dominate the bottom of the glass like a miniature asteroid field. Some carbonation present, enough to form a thin head that quickly dissipates to a small ring around the glass. Smells faintly like dried fruit and sweet candied sugar.

First impression: a crisp tartness that makes it taste like a hard cider. Sweet and sour apple. Little to no hop bitterness present. Also has kind of a butterscotch presence going on. Little bit of kick near the end almost like licorice, maybe something spicy, but not really, a lot less than in some other BSPAs. Crisp and slick, not dry or peppery at all. Mouthfeel nice and chewy, has a honey-like thickness to it, but at the same time, there's the nagging feeling that it is missing something, something filling it out more. Also has enough of a boozy presence to deduct from the drinkability, although the slight warming isn't a completely malign sensation, its presence in the initial drink detracts from the overall.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2009 03:44:24 | More by damienblack