Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale

Brewed by Tröegs Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania USA

Draft from Pacific Standard in Brooklyn. Dark amber pour with small creamy head. Hops, caramel, toffee, and some fruitiness on the nose and palate. Nice malt presence. This is very much a tasty amber ale with plenty of hops to keep it interesting. Would love to have a sixer of this one to take home.

Having been impressed by other Troegs offerings, I find myself confused with this one. Prickly with a spicy, bitter bite are the nice aspects. But overall this has an overpowering maltiness that is too heavy and sweet, while having a unpleasant vegetable aftertaste. Unbalanced and not refreshing and won’t lend itself to pair well with most foods.

12 oz bottle, Queens. Very impressed by this one- exceeded all expectations. Appearance is a dark almost cola-like color with very little foam. Hoppy aroma is noticeable along with hints of coffee and caramel and malt. Taste is also very hoppy and is sweet with just a hint of bitterness. Smooth palate despite the hop character and fills the mouth with flavor. Kind of stumbled upon this one- very drinkable and i will get it again.

Bottle. Faint malt aroma. Brown color with thick head, and lots of lacing and sheeting in the glass. The taste is a great combination of sweet and roasted malt, with some caramel and citrus, and an orange peel bitterness at the end. Great stuff.

12 oz bottle...slightly cloudy medium brown with a beige head....citrus and malts in a lovely sweet balance for the nasal passages...floral hops smell delicious...refreshing body with a delicate bulk of substance...the same nice blend of malt and hop in the mouth...throughout this entire beer the fresh hops are present, I dig it...malty finish with some light toffee

12oz bottle. Bottled 8/12/08. The color of this beer is amber. Brilliantly clear with a big soapy white head with plentiful lace. Aroma is biscuity, hoppy, slightly burnt toast though not unpleasant, turkey. Smells like Avery IPA or a less intense DFH 90. Taste is smooth, light, with low bitterness. A bit watery though not unpleasant really. A slight hint of caramel comes through in the taste but the sweetness in general is kept in check. Could be a good session beer. Ambers are kind of boring to me and this one didn’t really change my mind though I wouldn’t mind drinking a large amount of these. I much prefer the Nugget Nectar but this isn’t bad.

Pours a ruby brown in color that is translucent. About quarter inch of head/froth forms on the pour. Smell is a nice balance. First all malt, then deeper some hops appear. There’s also some sort of spice notes as well. Taste is very resinous. Not overly bitter, but hop flavor. Don’t know how to exactly describe it. Plenty of a malt backbone to support it. This is different than anything I’ve had of the style. Decent mouthfeel, but a tad cloying. Glad to see Troegs in Ohio.

Interesting, poured a dark copper color with a thick of white head that had nice lacing. Aroma was a mix of pine notes and some caramel notes. Flavor seemed to have a big hop bite initially and rich cloying sweetness in the finish. A rich palate. A good beer that at times seemed to be overdone. Hops seemed to mask flavors rather than complement.