Ticeman taps his first firkin
February 25, 2010
February 17, 2010
snow day!
With Two feet of snow on the ground and highways closed, only two things came to mind: do I have enough beer? and What can I eat?! So off to the fridge I ran, plenty of Nugget Nectar and Short Ribs….two of my favorites. A few days before we had sat down with Scharffen Berger to discuss how to brew a stout with their nibs so I had some leftover chocolate I wanted to use. Short Ribs braised in mole sauce seemed fitting. I really enjoyed how it turned out and with a slow cooker, it couldn’t be easier.
February 11, 2010
Snow Survival
What do you do when the skies deliver a mountain of snow on your doorstep? Well, according to sales rep Nick Johnson, you build a cave, stock it with Tröegs beer, and invite some friends over, what else?
February 4, 2010
Cacaoabunga!
A cool recent development around the brewery is that John (the guy with his name on the bottle) has offered to allow us hop monkeys (aka the Troegs brewing team) the chance to create upcoming beers in our Scratch Beer line. For brewers, this is the fun part. The only catch is that John reserved final veto power over any recipe, which is good and bad. Because of that, the world will never see my Imperial Rauch Pumpkin Bock, alas… But we will otherwise be unleashing our creative talents on an unsuspecting public, or at least everyone who finds their way into the tasting room.
February 1, 2010
why we did it..
I’ve been getting so many direct tweets and emails, not to mention hecklers in the streets, I thought I would let everyone know why we did it. When I say “it” I mean the unthinkable Dump of Scratch 26. It all starts with an empty tank. Nothing bugs me more than an empty tank. So even before the Scratch tank opens up we start dreaming up what should go into it. (read more…)
January 25, 2010
Taking A Dump
So the point of our Scratch Beer series is to experiment with new styles, techniques, and ingredients, throw some stuff against the wall and see what sticks. Sometimes the beers turn out just like we hoped, like Scratch #4, which became Flying Mouflan (don’t worry, it will be seen again, sometime after we brew a whole lot more Nugget Nectar this year…). And sometimes, as in the case of Scratch #26, it doesn’t quite come out the way we wanted. (read more…)
January 21, 2010
Keeping It Real
It’s that time of year where day-long firkin and cask filling marathons are the norm. A firkin is a serving vessel filled by hand directly from the fermenter, usually served on the bar top through a gravity-pour tap which is hammered in through a wooden plug. Casks are filled the same way, but resemble kegs and are served through a beer engine. We’re talking old-school here. For those in the know, it’s Real Ale… an opportunity to experience your favorite beer as the living thing it is prior to filtering out the yeast, and some would say a bit of the flavor/aroma, before bottling. In this case it’s Nugget Nectar, and lots of it. Today and tomorrow it’s firkins, and Monday it’s casks. Keep an eye on the events calendar for your chance to get Real!
January 12, 2010
From the Wood
I pulled a sample from one of the barrels today and I really like the way it’s coming along: sour, great brett. aroma, cherries. Stay tuned. 
December 24, 2009
Scratch 26 Update
We’ve racked a portion of the fermented beer in to some new toasted oak barrels, where we’ll allow it to mature and extract some great flavor from the barrels. I’m hoping for vanilla, coconut, and other oak flavors. In a few weeks, we’ll blend the two portions back together and ready it for packaging. Tentatively we have a mid-January release date in mind for the Wee Heavy, and given that the winter has been pretty chilly so far, it should be the perfect thing to keep you warm. Hope you stop by the brewery to try this one while it’s still here!
December 20, 2009
New Barrels
Hopefully some of you were able to get your hands on the latest Splinter Series releases: Red and Gold. If not, don’t worry, the Series will continue to develop. We currently have at least 8 wine and 2 bourbon barrels filled with potential goodness. Recently John and Andrew visited Allegro Vineyards in Brogue, PA and came home with 15 freshly emptied wine barrels. There’s no plans for them as of yet, but it’s cool to have them ready to go as we discuss (read more…)
