We’re as excited as kids in a candy store!
Why?
Not only is LolliHop back, it’s also just become our first-ever year-round Double IPA.
Exclusively in new 12-oz. cans and draft, the soft, citrusy and silky smooth beer starts with the right ingredients.
When we embark on our annual pilgrimage to Yakima Valley for hop selection, our brewers walk through countless rows of fresh hops, eyeball the cones, and crush them in their hands until their oils fill the air.
“All of the hops are great,” says Brewmaster John Trogner. “But it’s about finding the right hops for Tröegs.”
Like so many of our beers, LolliHop grew up in our small-batch Scratch Series, where we search for the right ingredients and the best ways to use them. Scratch #327 was the genesis. That’s when the combined aroma of Citra and Mosaic grabbed our attention. “There’s only a handful of beers that have an ‘a-aha’ origin,” says John. “And LolliHop is one of them.”
Through trial and error, we made subtle tweaks to the mineral composition of our water, mash temperatures, and hop addition timing and temperatures. We knew we were on the right track!
After four Scratch batches, we landed on a final recipe featuring three of our favorite hops – Mosaic, Citra and Azacca. Dry-hopping with Citra and Mosaic layers in notes of melon, grapefruit and orange, while Azacca in the kettle bolsters the citrusy notes.
LolliHop is built on a backbone of wheat, oats and Pennsylvania-grown rustic pale malt to lend a fluffy, almost pillowy mouthfeel smoothed by a proportionally dry finish.
“Rustic pale is a 2-row barley kilned slightly higher than normal pales for more flavor and body,” says Scott Broussard, maltster at Philadelphia’s Double Eagle. “The slightly nutty cereal flavors are complex and aromatic.”
With the change in can size, we wanted to refresh the packaging for LolliHop. Original logo illustrator Devin Watson, an Art of Tröegs alum, returned to the Wonka-esque world he first created.
“My original design was centered around this magical forest where hops were as big as redwoods,” revealed Watson. “This time around, I played with the color palette and decided to add some soft yellow as a cue to the pear, melon and citrus fruit flavors of the beer. I also thickened up the branches in the foreground to make the ‘IPA’ letters more pronounced.” Now, the design is more colorful than ever!
Starting Monday, March 13, look for LolliHop Double IPA on draft and in 6-packs of 12-oz. cans everywhere our beer is sold. Be sure to ask for it at your favorite bar, restaurant, or bottleshop. You can also seek out LolliHop through our Brew Finder.