50 States of Beers, #7: Pennsylvania

I’m jealous of Pennsylvania. I really am. It’s a state that has a lot of heft to it. A surplus of culture, if you will. There are a lot of things going on there.

It’s a state bookended by two legitimately great American cities in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, with amazing sporting legacies and ballparks, signature dishes and great restaurants, local characters, and pop-culture movie and TV clout (Rocky and It’s Always Sunny for Philly and … erm … well, Flashdance and The Deer Hunter for Pittsburgh).

In the middle of all that? Gettysburg — a chill-inducing site that remains my favorite all-time historical travel destination (honestly, if you ever get the chance, you MUST go). Allentown, the subject of a Billy Joel song. Scranton, the site of The Office. Penn State in College Station. The Little League World Series town of Williamsport. Amish Country, the setting for the greatest Harrison Ford performance, and the resulting parodies that are just as good. Hell, it’s even the state that tipped the presidency to Biden. That’s a great thing. Go, Pennsylvania, go.

So, we’re here to talk about beer, of course, and Pennsylvania has a thriving craft beer scene. The state doesn’t boast a Treehouse /Equilibrium / Alchemist / Russian River top-of-the-top, elite, premier-level brewery — but, then again, few states do. Rather, from Crime + Punishment in Philadelphia (one of the coolest breweries I’ve been to in terms of ambiance) to Dancing Gnome in Pittsburgh (same), Pennsylvania just boasts a wide variety of standout, superb breweries.

For today’s selection, we’re going to a place I intentionally did not mention in my little intro there — although it’s probably one of the more famous spots in Pennsylvania. Troegs is right in the heart of Hershey, Pennsylvania, the town whose street lamps are Hershey Kisses. Seriously, when I went there as a 9-year-old, I thought that was the coolest goddamn thing.

I wasn’t drinking beer back then, of course — and I wouldn’t have seen the brewery anyways. Troegs started in the capital city of Harrisburg (earning its name after the “Trogner” brothers that started it and the Dutch word for “pub”) and didn’t move to that sweet, sweet town of Hershey until 2011.

Troegs has developed a well-earned reputation as one of the best breweries in Pennsylvania, built upon their in-demand seasonal releases with distribution across 10 East Coast states. If you’re on this side of the country, you’ve probably seen their “Blizzard of Hops” or “Mad Elf Ale” in the fall and winter, for example.

However, today, we’re cracking their most famous seasonal release: the fabled “Nugget Nectar,” released every January. Like the Hop Slam from Bell’s, this is something that beer nerds rush out to get when distributed; it’s a gorgeous-looking Imperial Amber Ale, “excessively dry hopped” and featuring an “explosion of pine, resin and mango” built from the “newest humulus lupulus harvest” of hops. They can sure sell it on their website.

Here’s the great news: the beer’s everything it’s cracked up to be. Man, it’s excellent. Crisp, refreshing, delicious; a great break from my usual diet of IPAs and lagers. A little malty, a little hoppy, excellent all the way around. This is the ideal amber ale — perfectly balanced between those two competing worlds. Thanos would love it.

See, there you go, Troegs. I just compared you to a finger-snapping Marvel villain that once killed half of all life in the universe. Aren’t you happy????

RATING: 93/100.

OTHER RANDOM PENNSYLVANIA CATEGORIES

Why is the state flag that way?

If there was ever a state flag that could also double as a brewery logo, I think it’d be Pennsylvania’s.

Lot going on here. The horses are … well, they’re horses. They do horse things. “Virtue, Liberty, and Independence” is the state motto. All good things. The ship is for all of the international tradings, the plough is for the state’s natural resources, and the wheat represents the state’s farmlands. The eagle is for the allegiance to the Union. I dunno. Strikes me as a middle-of-the-road state flag. A little too busy. Keep the horses, get rid of all that shit in the middle, maybe? Come on, Pennsylvania. Shape up.

Tell me about a political scandal or event from Pennsylvania.

ABSCAM is still the gold-medal winner among political scandals in the Keystone State. If you’ve never read about this (or seen American Hustle), read up on it; it’s a rather batshit story. Basically, the FBI used a con man to sting a series of American politicians, promising money from a fictitious Arabian country (that’s where the AbScam name comes in) in return for immigration rights and the ability to invest in Atlantic City casinos.

The Pennsylvania connection? Well, the AbScam took down two U.S. representatives (Raymond Lederer and Michael Meyers) from PA, along with the city council president of Philadelphia and two other city councilmen; John Murtha, another Pennsylvania rep, escaped prosecution (and went on to serve in Congress for a long time).

One note — this could easily count for New Jersey’s political corruption entry (it got a senator), but I have a much more entertaining one for the Garden State.

How about a famous sports star from Pennsylvania?

Holy shit, where to start? Kobe. Richard Hamilton. Wilt Chamberlain. Rasheed Wallace. Marvin Harrison. Mike Mussina. Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Curtis Martin, Ty Law, Darelle Revis, Johnny Unitas, Aaron Donald, and Dan Marino, all from the greater Pittsburgh area. Ken Griffey, Junior. Stan Musial. Mike Piazza. Wow.

Yet … let’s go with someone outside the four major sports. A man who not only set the standard in athletics but in refreshments, too.

That’s right: the pride of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Arnold Palmer.

Four Masters. One US Open win. Two Open wins. SI Sportsman of the Year in 1961. 95 professional wins. Next to Jack and Tiger, the face of American golf.

However, that all pales to his creation of the delicious lemonade/iced tea collaboration that bears his name. So, cheers to you, Mr. Palmer, not only for your incredible athletic talent but your thirst-saking creativity off the course. Our hats are off to you.

NEXT WEEK: Indiana!