Nugget Nectar is back, and for the first time in more than five years, the sought-after once-a-year Imperial Amber is available in 16-oz. cans. Each year as the new hop harvest arrives at Tröegs, they blend super-fresh Nugget, Warrior and Simcoe hops into Nugget Nectar.
“Nugget is the main reason we started going out to Yakima, WA, for hop selection,” explains Tröegs co-founder and brewmaster John Trogner. “We’re after Simcoe ripe with mango notes and Nugget hops full of grapefruit rind and pine. We balance that with enough kilned malt to give it structure. This beer is what it is because of careful attention to hop selection each year,” Trogner added.
To celebrate the 2020 release, the brewery worked with one of their favorite artists, Travis Pietsch. Travis blended his love for skateboard deck design, vintage prints and woodcuts to illustrate a retro-botanical poster of Nugget featuring each major hop and its flavor components, as well as the backbone of grain and the tasting notes.
“I’ve always been inspired by skateboard deck design,” says Travis. “The bold use of color creates shading, depth, and texture with a limited palette. That was the starting point for the Nugget poster.”
To coincide with its release, Tröegs is hosting dozens of First Squeeze events, giving fans the opportunity to drink Nugget Nectar and pick up a free print of Travis’ art. Some events will feature gravity-fed firkins and Nitro Nugget (a version of Nugget Nectar dispensed via nitrogen).
“Carbonating with nitrogen makes Nugget incredibly smooth and creamy,” says John Trogner. “We drop Warrior from the dry-hop bill and replace it with Nugget and Simcoe to amplify the pine and mango notes – making it a creamsicle dream.”
Nugget Nectar will be available on draft and in 6-packs of 12-ounce cans, 4-packs of 16-oz. cans, and 12-oz. bottles everywhere Tröegs beer is sold. The release schedule (subject to change) for Nugget Nectar is as follows:
• January 6th – PA, OH, NY
• January 13th – NJ, MD, DE, MA, CT
• January 20th – VA, NC
Click here for a complete listing of First Squeeze events.
