Under 6% Tasting

This tasting came about because I really started to get into Session IPAs and it was right before the start of summer which is the best time for Session-like beers. They were starting to pop up all over and I figured hey lets do a night where we try them all. Well after purchasing all the sessions I could get my hands on, I realized there wouldn't be enough beer for the tasting crowd.  Therefore I made a decision..hey lets throw in a bunch of other low percent beers and I made 6% the cut off point. We ended up with 48 beers ranging from Session IPAs, to Wheats, to Pale Ales, to Pilsners and a couple single randoms like an Amber, Pale Lager and Wit. All of them are pictured below:

I would like to discuss each category as I review the results.  To begin, the Session IPAs. There were some great ones here. Fat Heads Sunshine Daydream, Pizza Port S.I.P.A., Firestone Easy Jack, Stone Go To, Carton Brewing Boat Session were the top 5 for Sessions in no particular order. The other 7, Drakes Alpha, Southern Tier Farmers Tan, Troegs Scratch #143, Great Divide Lasso, Flying Dog Easy IPA, Founders All Day, and Goose Island Endless IPA were all very drinkable but we agreed just didn't match up when it came to hoppiness and full body flavor you want from a Session IPA.
As for the Pale Ales only a few here stood out.  Local growler of Community Beerworks The Frank was real nice, Maine Mo was great, Half Acre Daisy Cutter and Southern Tier Live were the best of the crop.  The others were ranging from pretty good to just not very good at all.
The Wheats had a hands down winner and that was Three Floyds Gumballhead. Half Acre Akari Shogun and Bells Oberon were a close second.  The rest were all just typical wheats that didn't blow anyone away.
The Pilsners were a small crop and sadly none stood out to us but I would say the best out of the small crop was Firestone Pivo Pils.
As for the complete other random ones, Otter Creek Citra Mantra which is consider a Pale Lager was real good. The rest didn't impress me at all.
It was hard doing this tasting after the extremely successful IPA tasting, but it was still a blast with lots of good people and a lot of people left seeking out more of the Session-like beers to drink during the summer.

Troegs Brewery - Hershey, PA

On our way home from Asheville we decided to spend a night in Hershey, PA since it is a long drive back to Buffalo.  Nugget Nectar was a staple in our family so why not go to the source? The GPS was not our friend, but after calling the brewery we realized we were just a minute away, it was right next to the outlets.  Tons of parking, this place is massive as you can see below. Check them out! https://www.troegs.com/

Walking in the gift shop is bigger than most breweries all together and it's on our right, straight ahead is the tasting room which is more like a restaurant. Lots of tables and bar space. We chatted with the bartender, very nice woman...she directed us to the food counter so we could order some grub.  Minutes later it was ready.

 As for the beer, I won't really review them since they are sold all over, but the Perpetual IPA tasted better than I've ever had. Unfortunately Nugget Nectar wasn't as good as we were used to but still good.  All of their other beers in the sampler were good though.

Food was all tasty, nothing was jaw dropping but for dinner it was a good amount of food and the prices were nice.

 I really liked that you can do your own self guided tour of the brewery. Of course the tour pops you out at the gift shop.

As for the gift shop, they offer more gifts than any place I've ever seen. You name they logo'd it. I do have one major complaint however. I went there with buying a Nugget Nectar tin sign in mind since I didn't want to pay shipping since I knew we would be going there.  Well the cashier said they're sold out. However there were two on the wall.  She stated the next order was coming in the next day. I asked if I could have one off the wall, she said they don't do that..okay I can understand its screwed into the wall and can be a pain. However, I would of hoped they would let me buy it that day and maybe give me free shipping? But no. So I tried ordering it online days later, willing to pay shipping and it wouldn't process my order. I get an email to call the brewery to complete the order.  I call the brewery an hour after they open, I'm told the manager is on lunch.  I leave my name and number..never got a call back. I refuse to BEG to give them my money, so I gave up.  

 With the exception of the poor management of the gift shop, I was there for the beer and wasn't disappointed, highly recommended to check out if you are ever in the Hershey area! The outlets, theme park and much more are all within a mile.

***Update (5/30/14): I visited Troegs again on our to AND from Philly since it was just THAT good. They had 4 Scratch beers on tap, 2 were Session IPAs and 2 were IPAs and they were all good with one of the IPAs being outstanding! Bought a bunch of growlers, and everyone in my group all kept saying how nice Troegs Brewery was.  It was packed both times we stopped, but it is a juggernaut and knows how to quickly serve it's customers! I would rank this easily in my top 10 breweries and it reassured me how great this place really is.