Troegs Perpetual Imperial Pale Ale

I stopped in to the Troegs tasting room to pick up a case of the brand new Perpetual Imperial IPA (Imperial Pale Ale) in 22-ounce bombers. The beer pours a pale golden color with a frothy white head, helping it live up to the Imperial Pale Ale name and not the India Pale Ale name. The aroma consists of bitter grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, pine, pepper, spruce, and a bit of passion fruit. The taste is smooth and rounded on the tongue but nice and bitter with plenty of hops to tantalize the tongue. The hops bring out red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, pineapple, and passion fruit. Some caramel peeks through as the backbone of the beer before pepper, pine, and spruce come out in the finish, drying out the tongue. The after taste is warming with a bit of alcohol on the back of the throat. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. I think Troegs hit the nail on the head with this Imperial Pale Ale. It has a very bitter and west coast feel to it with the slightest of caramel backbones that does not get in the way of the hop focus.

Troegs Scratch 45- India Pale Ale (6 of 4)

I picked up a case of Troegs Scrach 45 (number 6 in a series of 4 in advance of the Perpetual IPA). The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that laces to the glass and plenty of rising bubbles. The aroma consists of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, pine, orange, and pepper. The taste is lightly bitter on the front end with a bit of grapefruit and lemon, all accented with pepper. The flavor then sweetens with tangerine and orange flavors and a dry pine finish. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This beer provides a wonderful amount of sweet citrus flavors mixing with bitter citrus and spicy pine and pepper. Troegs is on the right path to making an excellent IPA.

Troegs Scratch 43- India Pale Ale (5 of 4)

I stopped in to Troegs to pick up a case of Troegs Scratch 43- India Pale Ale (Number 5?! in a series of 4) in advance of the Perpetual IPA. The beer pours a straw yellow color, which was very surprising, with a frothy white head that laces to the glass. The aroma consists of grapefruit, tangerine, faint caramel, and pine. The taste is dry and bitter with lots of grapefruit, tangerine, orange peel, caramel, and pine on the tongue. The finish is very bready and and biscuity, with bitter pine and a hint of butterscotch. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. When I poured this beer, I was less than impressed when compared to the other four beers in the series, but after trying it, I really enjoyed the flavor and bitterness of the IPA.I wouldn’t say it was the best of the IPA series (here’s looking at you, Scratch 39), but it was still very enjoyable.

Troegs Scratch 40- India Pale Ale (4 of 4)

I picked up a case of Troegs Scratch 40- India Pale Ale from the Brewery, the fourth in a four part series leading up to the Perpetual IPA release. The beer pours a golden color which is lighter than previous beers with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lots of fresh grapefruit with sugar, tangerine, and grass. The taste is big on fresh and slightly sour grapefruit with a nice does of sugar, tangerine, lemon, and orange. The after taste lingers with dry grapefruit and a little pine hidden underneath. The alcohol content is 8.1% ABV. If this is the final recipe for the Perpetual IPA, I will be the first in line to purchase the beer when it is released. The citrus content and delicate hop balance makes for a wonderful brew.

Troegs Scratch 39- India Pale Ale (3 of 4)

I picked up a case of Troegs Scratch 39- India Pale Ale, the third IPA in a series of four being used as testing for the Perpetual IPA release from Troegs. The beer pours a a copper color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of fresh grapefruit with tangerine and a light pine accent. The taste is smooth at first with some grapefruit flavor before the beer dries out the mouth and pine hop kick in and attack the tongue. The after taste leaves some tangerine and lemon lingering in the mouth. The alcohol content is 7.7% ABV. As 38 was greater than 37, this scratch has improved on the previous beers and it rather enjoyable. The citrus flavors in the beer are well balanced with the pine and bitter hops.

Troegs Scratch 38- India Pale Ale (2 of 4)

I felt lucky that TJ's, for their 7th Anniversary Party, was able to acquire some Troegs Scratch 38- India Pale Ale, the second in a series of four IPAs testing for the new Perpetual IPA release. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and foamy white head. The aroma is grassy with plenty of fresh grapefruit hops. The taste is smooth and creamy with a light caramel flavor. There is a good lemon and pine accent on the finish, providing a wonderful balance to the caramel that doesn't bite the tongue too hard. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I feel like with this second IPA, Troegs is inching closer to a wonderful IPA release. I think by the fourth, they will have provided one of the premier IPAs available, but that is a very bold statement.

Troegs Scratch 37- India Pale Ale (1 of 4)

I stopped in to the Troegs tasting room to pick up a case of Scratch 37- India Pale Ale. This beer is the first of four India Pale Ales that Troegs will be testing to perfect the recipe for the Perpetual IPA. The Perpetual IPA is to be released approximately 14 months from now, one of the first beers from the new Hershey plant. In fact, the label was leaked from the TTB and no one on the brewery knew about the beer's development until the Troegner brothers were forced to reveal the details due to the amount of questions received about the beer.

Scratch #37 features Warrior and Cluster hops with a touch of Columbus hops as well. The beer pours a golden yellow color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of several citrus fruits including grapefruit, tangerine, orange, and lemon. The taste is smooth and sweet with tangerine and grapefruit coming to the forefront before a bittering pine and spruce hop accent. The alcohol content is 7.7% ABV. I really enjoyed how smooth drinking Scratch 37 was while still providing a nice hop accent. This beer does not bitter or dry on the finish, but has a nice little bite.