Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat Beer - A Microbrew Review

Spring's here!! Even though it hasn't felt like Spring the last couple of weeks, it's May 17th and summer's just around the corner...I hope! Now's a good time to start sampling and selecting some favorite summertime style microbrews and craft beers to enjoy during the upcoming sweltering hot months. My wife was kind enough to bring home a local Pennsylvania microbrew from our friends at Troegs Independent Craft Brewery out of Harrisburg, PA. This microbrew is none other than Troeg's Dreamweaver Wheat Beer (one I've somehow never tried before).

Anyway, I wasted no time in cracking open the 12 ounce chilled bottle and poured Dreamweaver Wheat agressively into my 14 ounce pilsner glass which just happened to be the only clean beer sampling vessel in the cupboard at the time.

Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat Beer revealed itself as a musty straw colored liquid with much carbonation bearing a one finger marshmallowy head at the surface which remained for all but only a short minute or two. Very cloudy, chilled haze was the predominant visual from this unfiltered wheat craft beer.

The aroma was strongly reminiscent of bananas and clove, very sweet with just a mild hint of allspice in the far background. This was a very nice scent for this microbrew and not unexpected being a wheat beer by nature.

Troeg's Dreamweaver Wheat Beer tastes great in a nutshell. The beer is zingy on the tongue and vibrantly bright. Bananas do overwhelm the flavor in my opinion, but in a sweet and sensual way for this style of beer. It's smooth and velvety with its natural oily sensation slickening and coating the back of the mouth before swirling down into the gullet. This microbrew does have a little bit of weight to it for a summertime beer but I like it. There's not a lot of hops to be noted but that's also to be expected and the lack thereof didn't disappoint in any way or distract from the beer.

In all honesty, from my past experiences, wheat ales have never been my absolute favorite style of microbrew. But Troeg's Dreamweaver Wheat Beer is one of those beers that just might change my mind in the long run. I could definitely sit out back on the porch after a hot July afternoon of mowing the grass and easily see myself putting back two or three of these well crafted Pennsylvania microbrews one after the other. And with the convenient 4.8% alcohol by volume rating, this is a craft beer that won't get you in too much trouble too quickly. That's a real change of pace from some of my other favorite beers that are heavy on the ABV.

Troeg's Dreamweaver Wheat Beer is a champ in my book when it comes to wheat beers specifically and summertime style beers in general. I'll definitely be keeping an eye open for another couple of these brews to grace the beer fridge for the warm months ahead. I'm going to give Dreamweaver Unfiltered Wheat Beer a 7.0 on the microbrew Richter scale and throw more kudos to the fine beer brewing brothers at the Troeg's Independent Craft Brewery in Harrisburg, PA. Those guys know what they're doing when it comes to brewing no matter the style or season. Pick up some Dreamweaver Wheat now while you can before it's gone like leaves on the trees in the fall.


If you actually experienced any level of enjoyment in reading this microbrew beer review and if you love craft beers in particular, you'll find more craft beer reviews of both new and old microbrews and also fun microbrew and craft beer-related info at Microbrew Review or Microbrew and Craft Beer Reviews. Click through on the links above and please let me know what you liked or didn't like and let me know any beers that you might like to see me review next time. Cheers!

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Microbrew Review of Troegs Sunshine Pils

Not being a huge fan of Pils style microbrews, I was a little hesitant in snagging a twelve ounce bottle of my own in-state Pennsylvania Troegs microbrewery's Sunshine Pils. The fact that Pils brews is not my personal preference was the first hurdle. Second was the visual image of the label (a somewhat grimacing Mr. Sun on the bottle) which wasn't doing a whole lot for me either. It was bright yellow, airy looking and a little bit too corny looking to lure me into curiosity based on packaging looks alone. But knowing this Troegs brewery's tracking record and their quality beers, I thought I'd give it a shot.

Pouring the brew into an unchilled mug, this little guy is clear, very very clear. It's almost too light, bright and clear to look anything like beer. I think it's lighter in color than Coors Light if that tells you anything. Very thin looking in appearance. Already, I was starting to get a little bit worried. How thin can this beer be I was thinking.

Well, I was wrong. It's not the prettiest beer to look at in a clear glass mug that's for sure. But the flavor folks, that's where it's at. This brew has flavor, and plenty of it. Nice level of bitterness cascaded over my tongue and it actually gave me a "full bodied" impression. This microbrew was crisp, refreshing and hoppy just as the label described this Pilsner to be.

Nothing was missing overall. Very flavorful, very satisfying, just enough hoppiness for me personally and yet, Troegs Sunshine Pils was very light (but again, not light in a bad sense). I could probably drink this one all day long on a hot summer's afternoon. Maybe I'm going to have to re-think my overall opinions of the pilsner microbrew style.

I'd have to be honest in saying that my predisposition to this microbrew (based on my lack of taste for pilsner beers and also due to the somewhat unappealing labelling on the bottle)probably led to me judging this beer a little higher than the, more experienced and grizzled pils beer veteran. I guess it just really surprised me more than anything. Someone who's sampled hundreds of the world's greatest pilsners may not have the same kind words to share for a microbrew review on Troegs Sunshine Pilsner, but I have to give this one a thumbs up.

Next time you're going to be spending a hot summer's afternoon mowing the lawn, pick up a few bottles of Troegs Sunshine Pils for your own six pack cooler and do your own Troegs beer review. This is just one in many fine microbrew offerings from one of Pennsylvania's excellent microbreweries. I'll get into more of those other Troegs brews later on. Until then, try Troegs Sunshine Pils and please review!

You can check out more reviews of new microbrews and fun microbrew and craft beer related info at Microbrew Review or My Squidoo Lens. Check out Summer Microbrew too!

Troegs Nugget Nectar: Nugget Nectar is Nectar of the Gods

What better place is there to stop by on a 70 degree Tuesday, March evening than at the local microbrew bottleshop? In the mood to pick up something good for embibing while watching the hockey game tonight, I picked up a few known good picks and then, out of the corner of my eye, spied a new addition in the cooler selection roster. Could it be?

Yes, it was, one of the microbrews I've been wanting to try but haven't had the $40.00 to cough up for a whole 24 bottle case (crazy Pennsylvania liquor laws). Troegs Nugget Nectar has been high on my wish list lately, and luckily my local bottle shop just got a supply in and decided to stock it in the general assembly section of the cooler row.

Troegs is an independent microbrewery located in Harrisburg, PA and has long been known, especially amongst us Pennsylvanians, to put out some very high quality and tasty microbrews over the years (one of my seasonal favorites being the Christmastime issued Mad Elf, but more on that one later).

Anyway, I picked up two 12 ounce bottles and, needless to say, by the second bottle I just had to post a few notes on this very impressive Imperial IPA offering (to be accurate, the label touts this as an Imperial Amber). Pouring my slightly chilled bottle into a standard 10 ounce beer mug I am greeting with pungent hop aromas wafting up, out and all around the mug, sink basin and nearly the entire kitchen area in which it was poured. This one really eminates an evident "have you been drinking?" clue even if you've only just poured one into a glass to sit and admire the sight of it.

The sight of it however is not its strongest pint...I mean point (Freudian slip there, sorry). It did boast a fairly respectable head of about two fingers that stuck around for maybe three or four minutes. But the thing that really struck me was the absolute clarity of this brew. A lighter amber color in my mug, it was essentially a crystal clear presentation, carbonated bubbles streaming everywhere. It reminded me much more of maybe a Yuengling lager than a finely produced craft beer.

When it came to actually finally tasting it, after all of the previously written thoughts swirling through my mind, it was heaven on earth. This is truly nectar of the gods. As I've sample many stronger IPA's in my time, and given the aroma, I was expecting a more standard run of the mill grapefruity type IPA. This one gave off the grapefruit flavors but not in a most astringent manner. There was a malty, almost creamy backbone there that very classily offset some of the commonality of the boasted high level IBU's (93ish IBU's as per the bottle label for those keeping track).

Lacing on my mug was highly prevalent and it transferred well to a somewhat slick feel on the palate but not in an annoyingly obtrusive way. A pleasant aftertaste of sip #1 quickly led to #2 and so on.

On the quick, I would say I could picture myself downing a six pack of these on a hot summers day while doing yard work. But upon closer inspection of the bottle, the 7.5% ABV rating would make me seriously consider otherwise. This one is extremely drinkable, almost to a sessionable point but it's due to it's incredible balance of all factors involved.

Despite my initial predispositions, and Nugget Nectar's predominant assault on the ol' olfactory, Troeg's Nugget Nectar doesn't evolve to obscene extremes in any one particular area except for it's highly overall enjoyable drinkability. My impression is one of a high expectation, leading to complete validation with some meandering surprises along the way, a microbrew with an amiable character and one that I will remember and look for in the months and years to come. I can honestly say that I will be seeking out an entire case (yes at the $40.00 price tag) on my next visit to one of my local area distributors and I will highly recommend that you do too if given the chance.

Troegs Nugget Nectar checks in as a 8.25 rated microbrew in my opinion. Go out and try it today!

You can check out more reviews of new microbrews and fun microbrew and craft beer related info at Microbrew Review or My Squidoo Lens. Check out Summer Microbrew too!