     Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber - 2010 (Tröegs Brewing Company)
A nice fresh bottle of Nugget Nectar. This was bottled on January 22, 2010. That wasn't all that long ago so I am in for a treat. Hoppy goodness come my way... From the BeerNews.org site: "Squeeze those hops for all they’re worth and prepare to pucker up: Nugget Nectar Ale, will take hopheads to nirvana with a heady collection of Nugget, Warrior and Tomahawk hops. Starting with the same base ingredients of our flagship HopBack Amber Ale, Nugget Nectar intensifies the malt and hop flavors to create an explosive hop experience." Here we go... Pour - golden, orangish-red in color with great clarity and about a inch of foam on top. Nice clean and clear pour. Very enticing.
Aroma - sweet pineapple juice, burnt sugar, caramel, malt, orange juice and hints of lemon and pine. Quite a "nose" on this beer that is for sure.
Taste - citrus, cotton candy, candied orange peel, caramel, bitter lemon, pine and seltzer. This is quite balanced and laden with hop goodness however it is not the over the top hop bomb you may be expecting by the name. NN is a more subdued heavily hopped amber ale that packs a punch of bitterness but has a nice malty balance to it as well.
Overall - still a great beer after a number of years of growing popularity. Has it changed? I can't really tell. My palate has probably changed more than this beer has. I've pummeled my tongue with so much lupulin that its hard to be amazed by much when it comes to hop forward beers. Nonetheless, this is a good one if you can get your hands on it.
Would I buy more of it? - I always seem to end up with some every time they release it so yeah, probably. Its a solid beer and I look forward to it.
Availability - February
Note - Despite a lot of hype, Nugget Nectar is not truly an IPA and thus really isn't a direct comparison to beers such as HopSlam and Pliny the Elder. However, beer is subjective so compare away!
Posted by Russ Labels: American Amber/Red Ales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
