HERSHEY, Pa. — Tröegs Independent Brewing announced Monday that is iconic brew, Troegenator, has gotten a makeover.
In addition to a new label design created by illustrator Joshua Noom in collaboration with the Tröegs team, the Hershey-based brewery said its award-winning doublebock is now being brewed with a portion of local grain.
Tröegs said it will use 50,000 pounds of Pennsylvania-grown and malted two-row barley annually as part of Troegenator's massive grain load.
"When people think of local ingredients, they often think of hops," said John Trogner, Tröegs co-founding brother and brewmaster, in a press release. "But the quality and quantity of the grain in Pennsylvania lends itself to brewing. On top of that, we're reinvesting in our community. Sending a local grower a check feels good."
Layered with notes of caramel, stone fruit and fresh toasted grains, this malty, crisp and deliciously dark doublebock "is a beer for people who love beer," according to Tröegs.
The seed for Troegenator was planted on a two-week camping trip that Chris Trogner and a friend took to Germany in the late 1990s, the brewery said in a blog post about the beer. The goal of the trip was to do a loop around the country, hitting small breweries and bars in each region known for a distinct beer style.
“It rained the whole two weeks,” said Chris Trogner. “But the experience itself was pretty amazing. Camping in a foreign country where we didn’t really speak the language, carrying everything on our backs. If we found a brewery, we’d go. Otherwise, we’d end up at a bar and talk to people. They were all super-curious about who we were and what we were doing. They’d tell us which other bars to go to in town and which beers to try.”
Trogner and his friend drank altbiers in Dusseldorf, kolsch in Cologne, weissbier in Bavaria, dunkels in Munich.
And at a mountaintop monastery in Bavaria, they were captivated by a doppelbock.
“For a beer that strong, it was very soft,” said Trogner. “The head was super light and fluffy. It was a complex and delicate beer for its strength.”
When John Trogner traveled to Germany a few months later to inspect a new brewhouse, he too visited the Bavarian monks and tried their doppelbock.
Soon after, Troegenator started taking shape.
Troegenator is available year-round on draft and in 12-oz. bottles and cans everywhere Tröegs is sold.
