Back before the big and beautiful beer boom, before every town worth its salt had a craft brewery, two brothers from central PA started up Tröegs. Nearly 25 years later, the independent brewery is stronger than ever and, among other traditions, carrying on the yearly release of Mad Elf Ale. First brewed up in the early aughts, it’s a delicious ale for winter that goes heavy on the cherries.
And when we say “heavy on the cherries” we’re talking about bing, lambert, van, and royal ann cherries, plus some montmorency for tartness. And then there’s the honey. A few tons of local PA honey go into the vats every year, along with dark malts and a spicy belgian yeast. The result is chocolatey, spicy, rich, with, yes, notes of cherries. It goes out first to the loyal Tröegs fan base in Hershey, then slowly makes its way to the rest of their distribution area, which currently includes states in the northeast region of our fair country.
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