Tröegs The Mad Elf Holiday Ale 2014

Brewed By: Tröegs Brewing Company in Hershey, Pennsylvania  

Purchased: Single 12oz bottle bought at And Beer in Athens, Ohio; 2014 

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale/Christmas/Winter Spiced Beer, .%

Reported IBUs: ?

Blarrgghhhh. Christmas is way over but I need to review this beer. This was an impulse buy when I was in Ohio and to be honest, I have no idea what to except. And then there is Tröegs, which is just a pain with that freaking o. Anyway, about Tröegs:

Tröegs Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Hershey, Pennsylvania. The brewery was founded by John and Chris Trogner in 1996. The brewery/company was established in 1997, and is known for its use of English brewing techniques fused with American styles of beer. For more info, check out the brewery's Facebook page or their website.

Tröegs The Mad Elf Holiday Ale 2014

The Mad Elf is a seasonal beer released between October and December. It is an American Strong Ale brewed with cherries, honey, and chocolate malts. The beer pours into a red body, kicking up a centimeter of amber-tinged head. It's a hazy beer, but it also has been sitting in my fridge on its side for a few months. There is good head retention, and glossy alcohol legs to boot. 

The aroma on this is Belgian inspired, and reminds me of a hearty Belgian Dubbel or even a spicier, yeast-forward Dark Strong. I'm getting a lot of candi sugar, cherries, cherry cola, Quad-like sweetness, Quad-like cherries, sweet white sugar, lightly caramelized sugars, and tons of yeast esters. Again, the yeast esters smack of Belgian beer, with lots of clove and banana. It smells really inviting, and if you like Belgian beer you will have high hopes that it tastes as good as it smells. 

This is a blissful package of Belgian-inspired strong beer. It's in the same realm as cherry-infused Quads and strong Dubbels, and would be right at home next to a lineup of strong Belgian Ales. You get tons of cherries, along with bold yeast esters that range from perfumes to clove to cherries to overripe fruits. The fruits include bananas, overripe stone fruits, and some shades of darker fruits like plums. There's a lot of spice in this beer, with cloves and sugary spices that you would find in a holiday cake, and I'm getting a lot of sugar in the mix. There's candi sugar, caramelized sugars, and big confectioner sweetness.

I'm basically calling this a Belgian Ale...it's good. At 11%, this is both boozy and seductive, but the high carbonation and intense sweetness helps cancel out the alcohol. The palate depth is good, and the beer is complex. It's medium to full-bodied with lots of cherries, bananas, and yeast esters up front; that rolls into big spice, clove, dark fruits, and pastry notes in the mids; the back end trails with lingering spice, some hops, complex malts, and lots of candi sugar sweetness. It's a big warming beer, and certainly lives up to its name and intention.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd) 

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. I would not only recommend this beer, but I would seek it out if it was distributed in the Chicagoland area. I guess I can make my peace since you can find similarly flavored beers in my distribution area, but having said that, I do think this is a fantastic beer. I don't know if I would pair it with any foods in particular...but I'd love to sip on this on a cold Winter night. Tonight happens to be a cold Winter night, but those are fleeting. 

Random Thought: I am glad that I am cracking this beer now. I would guess this ages well.