Mad Elf - Tröegs Brewing Company, Harrisburg

The more I drink Troegs beer the more I enjoy it. I've still only had an admittedly small number of their beers, but what I have had has been great. When I talk to others about Troegs there's one beer that keeps getting mentioned as their best and it's called Mad Elf. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a bottle of Mad Elf during the Christmas season, so it took a little hunting to find a bottle. This is a beer that's released in November, so it's been sitting around for about 7 or 8 months. It's a big 11% Strong Ale though, so I'm willing to bet it's held up just fine.

Troegs Mad Elf pours a rich red color and settles into a translucent copper body topped with a very temporary off-white head. Those bubbles fizzle out quickly but a modest ring of suds hangs around until you're halfway through the glass. The lack of a head here means all of the honey and cherry sweetness Troegs put into this beer is very obvious when you get your nose any closer than a full arm's length from the glass.

This beer smells like a Christmas cherry pie. It's vaguely spicy, blatantly cherry and playfully Belgian. There's a very Quad-like yeast profile to this beer. It's fruity and complex with a touch of funk for good measure.

The flavor of this beer is exactly what I expected after taking in the aroma. It's sweet with cherries at first, then a bit more complex when it hits the middle of your palette before finishing with a warm booziness. It's a shame this beer isn't available throughout the whole year for a couple of reasons. This beer tastes great. Sure, it's 11% and not something you'll drink at the ballpark, but it's a great sipper when you're looking for a beer to kickback and enjoy. I'd love to try a fresh glass of this beer because I found the texture to be disappointingly lacking. This beer feels a bit thin at times, not what I was expecting from a big 11% Strong Ale. I don't think it's the lack of carbonation that's entirely to blame, it just seems like something else has left this beer in the past 7 months.