Tröegs Brewing has a new beer out, Little ‘Nator. Photo courtesy Troegs Brewing

Tröegs Brewing’s Troegenator has long been a favorite of many craft beer fans.

I’m guessing this means a lot of folks will be excited to hear that Tröegs has just released a “rascally cousin” of the beer, named Little ‘Nator. The beer will join the brewery’s spring seasonal lineup. I thought I’d go to the source and talk about the new brew with John Trogner, Tröegs brewmaster and co-founder along with his brother Chris.

Q. First, what inspired you to make this beer?

A. Little ‘Nator was modeled as a lighter take on our Troegenator Double Bock. Troegenator really is the beer that built Tröegs, and it’s also my desert island beer. But we wanted to try and break it down and see if we could come up with a smaller version that still retained those big flavors and complexities of Troegenator. It’s one of our most popular beers and has been around for more than 20 years, so our fans know it well. We wanted Little ‘Nator to be in that same family, so we like to think of it as the rascally cousin of Troegenator.

Q. For people who like Troegenator, what is the main difference in the flavor profile from your perspective? In what ways is it similar?

A. There are prominent stone fruit notes in both beers, especially figs and dates, but Little ‘Nator is more delicate and obviously not as intimidating as Troegenator. Little ‘Nator has subtle hints of floral hops and more notes of crusty, fresh-baked bread rather than caramel, so it comes across as a little less sweet on the palate.

Q. It would seem that the hop profile is pretty different. What made you decide to go in the direction you did as far as the hops?

A. We swapped out the German Northern Brewer hops in Troegenator in favor of Tradition because we wanted those grassy and floral aromas of classic noble hops. And the mellow spiciness of Hersbrucker plays nicely with Tradition. Adding some El Dorado punches up the fruity notes in the flavor.

Q. How close is the grain bill to Troegenator? I assume there is no chocolate malt in the new beer.

A. Little ‘Nator’s grain bill includes just pilsner and caramel malts. We stripped away the chocolate and Munich because we wanted a lighter color and body. Troegenator is such a huge, malty beer, so we wanted to see if we could get close to the flavor profile while dialing back the ABV to the 5.5% range. It’s those subtle tweaks that really shine through on lagers more than anything else. We need to be at the top of our game to get those nuanced, complex flavors. It doesn’t just happen on its own.

Q. Why did you decide to replace the Horizon IPA after just a year in the spring lineup?

A. When we rolled out our seasonal lineup in 2014, we planned to phase in new beers every couple of years to keep things fresh. Recently, we felt we were relying a little too heavily on IPAs. Since Nugget Nectar – one of our popular hoppy beers – is out around the same time, we hit upon the idea of introducing a lighter take of Troegenator. Bock beers are generally associated with spring, so the timing lined up perfectly. We enjoy experimenting with new flavors and ingredients and pushing ourselves to try new things. We don’t like resting on our laurels. I always like to think we’re in a constant state of perpetual motion.

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