Day 24: Tröegs Independent Brewing Mad Elf Ale

Why We Picked It: When we think of Christmas and beer, we often think of Mad Elf. Once more limited and unavailable in six packs, we were excited to find this on the shelf and know its a strong finish to the beer advent. It does change  bit year to year, so there is always some variation is flavor. Warning: It packs a punch! So if you are forced to hold your tongue while having conversations with disagreeable relatives, it may losen tongues quickly.

What Tröegs  Says About It:  The holidays at Tröegs start with our inner Mad Elf momentarily taking over the brew deck. So blame “him” for this cheerful ruby red creation reminiscent of ripened cherries, raw honey and cocoa with notes of cinnamon, clove and allspice.


ABV: 11% 
IBU: 18
Hops: Hallertau, Saaz

Fun Facts: The story of Med Elf, per  Billy Penn: "The story begins in Harrisburg, where John and Chris Trogner were presiding over Troegs, then a small brewery that had been open for just six years. They were putting together variety packs for Christmas, not exactly a fun process. It involved them placing different beers into six packs, one-by-one, and the tedium boiled over into what John Trogner describes as “delirium.”

At some point, a delivery truck came with some extra wine barrels. In their delirious state, making a holiday beer and putting it into a wine barrel sounded like a good idea. They discussed cherries and honey for flavor and because it was the holidays the brothers figured “it sure would be nice to have 11 percent beer to go along with friends and family." 

The original recipe for Mad Elf was born. After speaking with a couple of local breweries who expressed interest, the Trogners decided to make a batch of 20 to 30 kegs. But they’d never made a beer as strong as Mad Elf. Their closest was the Troegenator, at 8 percent. They combined cherries, malt and yeast the best way they knew how and let it sit.  

Three days or so later, they were giving a tour of the brewery when John Trogner recalls the intense aroma of honey and cherries. The Troegs brewery did not normally smell of honey and cherries. So they went to check: Turned out the yeast had foamed about three times more than an average beer, and their concoction exploded through the top of the fermenter tank.  

“It was all over the ground,” Trogner says. “A sea of froth, like 20 feet. It frothed out so much.”

They lost about half the batch. The other half didn’t explode onto a floor, but it went nearly as quickly at local bars. Mad Elf was an immediate success. The name came from Trogner’s brother-in-law during a drunken brainstorming session, and a local Harrisburg artist sketched the image of the elf."