Is Troegs Finally Answering My Prayers?

Troegs brewery exclusive "Scratch Series" of one-off beers has become an instant hit among beer drinkers. Different from a lot of other brewery exclusive lines, Troegs actually bottles these brews and has them available for purchase in their general store. Every so often one makes its way into normal rotation, ie Flying Mouflan and Perpetual IPA. Recently the brewer put it to its fans to choose the next Scratch Series beer to become a regular and so far it's sounding like good news for me. From their Facebook page:

 Voting for the “Scratch Redux” contest is now officially closed. While the clear winner of the Facebook poll was Scratch #58 – Triple Mango IPA, we also had a few ballot boxes set up throughout the brewery, so those votes will be tallied over the next few days. We will announce the winner in the near future. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for no hanging chads or General Store re-counts! Thanks to everyone who participated in our inaugural Scratch Beer election. Which beer will emerge as the winner?

Scratch #58, or Triple Mango IPA, absolutely blew my mind. This beer was absolutely incredible and I knew it could very quickly and easily become one of my favorites. Unfortunately for me, this was one Scratch Series beer that was not bottled. The recipe was the result of a homebrew contest in which the brewers picked their favorite to make as the newest Scratch Series beer. Unbeknownst to them, the incredible amount of hops and mango the recipe called for would create a tremendous amount of sludge therefore reducing the end volume of beer. Less beer = not bottling, not growler fills, only available on tap at the brewery.

I have been thinking of this beer ever since and even planning to homebrew a batch myself just to get another taste. Hopefully at some point in the next few months I'll be buying this one by the caseload. When an official announcement is made, I will definitely post an update.

Drink On,

Dan