Tröegs Brewing Company

Chris and John Trogner have been working hard to get Central Pennsylvania on the brewing map. Since 1997, these Mechanicsburg natives have been handcrafting world-class beers that combine traditional English brewing techniques with the eclecticism of new American brewing. But how they reached this point is as compelling as where they are headed.

Chris and John, 18 months apart in age, were simultaneously intrigued by the art of handcrafting beer while living some 1,750 miles apart—Chris in Boulder, Colorado and John in Philadelphia. John, the older brother, often found relief from his not-so-satisfying work in the Philadelphia real estate market at the nearby Dock Street Brewpub. At the same time, Philadelphia was proving to be a booming beer city with dozens of neighborhood bars that cared as much about beer as they did about food.

Chris was drawn to Colorado for the skiing opportunities, as well as educational ones. In between the two, he found himself in the midst of craft-brewing nirvana, as more than 100 breweries appeared throughout the state. As Chris and John would talk, a flicker of an idea gradually turned into a full-blown business plan. The brothers had always dreamed about starting a business together, and now they had brewed the perfect idea.

John moved to Boulder, and within days secured a job cleaning tanks at the Oasis Brewpub. Over the next three years he would learn the brewing business from the inside out. Along the way, he took brewing classes at the University of California at Davis and Chicago’s Siebel Institute of Technology.

With John knee-deep in yeast, hops and barley, Chris focused on marketing, sales and management classes. He also managed a restaurant to determine whether a brewpub or a brewery would be a better business model. The brothers decided to leave the food to someone else and focus on beer. After graduating, Chris went to England to take an intensive brewing class at the University of Sunderland.

The brothers needed to decide where to build the brewery; and while Colorado offered the right audience, it also meant a lot of competition. After a lot of thought, Chris and John decided to return to their roots and use their brewing skills in the Mid-Atlantic States.

Tröegs Brewing Company was established in 1997. Today, the brewery produces ten different beers including Hopback Amber Ale, Troegenator Doublebock, Java Head Stout, Tröegs Pale Ale, Nugget Nectar (seasonal) Dead Reckoning Porter (seasonal), Sunshine Pils (seasonal), The Mad Elf (seasonal), DreamWeaver Wheat and Perpetual IPA.  It distributes its product in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Massachusetts and Virginia.

Tröegs Beers – YEAR-ROUND BREWS

Tröegs HopBack Amber – lends its unique name and taste from the HopBack Vessel in our brewhouse. Packed full of whole flavor hops, each batch circulates through the vessel, creating a fresh hoppy aroma, spicy taste and rich caramel note that defines this signature amber ale.

Troegenator® Double Bock – For periods of fasting without solid foods, Monastic brewers relied on the double bock: a stronger, richer beer to fulfill their basic nutritional needs. Known to them as “liquid bread,” a double bock has a strong malt aroma and chewy rich body. In the spirited tradition of naming a double bock in the suffix “ator,” we give you Troegenator to provide warmth and richness through the early spring months.

Tröegs DreamWeaver® Wheat – Long toasty days, cool breezy nights and a splash of magic provide the inspiration for the Trogner brothers’ dreamiest wheat beer. Combining four wheat types with Munich and Pils malts, noble Saaz hops, and a yeast strain that imparts a spicy, peppery, clove taste with a slight hint of bananas, Dreamweaver Wheat is an unfiltered blast of spicy, mouthwatering joy.

Perpetual IPA – In our constant evolution as a brewery, we’ve developed an undying drive to meld the organic and the mechanical. Perpetual IPA utilizes our hopback and dry-hopping to engineer a bold Imperial Pale Ale. Perpetual IPA is 7.5% ABV and 85 IBUs. It features Bravo, Chinook and Mt. Hood hops in the boil, Mt. Hood and Nugget hops in the hopback and Citra, Cascade and Nugget hops in dry-hopping.

Tröegs Pale Ale – is an American-style Pale Ale that is aggressively hopped with Northwest Cascades and balanced with crystal malts to create a hoppy, copper-colored crisp ale. An excellent example of a classic, American Pale Ale.

Tröegs JavaHead Stout – is now a Year-Round Brew! JavaHead is based off of our original 2005 oatmeal stout. After the boil, the hot wort passes through our hopback vessel packed full of whole leaf hops and a bed of coffee beans – akin to a French press – intensifying the coffee nose and releasing hints of coffee flavor. The result is a lush oatmeal mouth-feel balanced with cocoa, roast and subtle coffee flavors.

“We aren’t concerned with making beer to a particular style, as much as we want to create a quality beer that we like to drink—that’s what is really important.”

Stop by your local bar or restaurant and order yourself a Tröegs!!  You’ll be so glad you did!