Each February east coast craft beer enthusiasts eagerly await Troegs Brewing Company’s hop lover’s delight also known as Nugget Nectar, an imperial amber ale. After moving from Harrisburg to Hershey, Pennsylvania and building a new state of the art brewery the Troegs brothers were able to increase production of this anticipated seasonal beer. While it was released a couple of weeks late, the delay was well worth it. Upon pouring Nugget Nectar’s golden amber color was met by an off-white two finger head. Aromas of resinous hops, red grapefruit, and orange were backed up by floral hints, caramel, and bready malt. At “93ish” IBUs I was expecting my palate to be met by significant bitterness, however while some hop resins were apparent in the aftertaste the flavors were quite balanced. Flavors were reminiscent of the aroma and definitely could be called hop “nectar”. Juicy grapefruit, orange, and peach notes were rounded by light caramel and sweet bready malt. Instead of being perceived as two separate entities the hops and malts blended together seamlessly. Due to the smoothness of the mouthfeel this beer was quite sessionable, even at 7.5% ABV. Overall, Nugget Nectar 2012 was a success in my book and I’m looking forward to enjoying more Troegs brews in the future, and closely following what they come up with next now that they’ve moved into a larger, more efficient brewery.