Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - The Beer Thrillers

Beer Review: Baron V Witbier (Troegs Independent Brewing)

B. Kline — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 01:12:52 +0000

Beer Review: Baron V Witbier (Troegs Independent Brewing)

Visit Hershey and Harrisburg’s “Brew Barons” app has just hit five years old. I remember helping initially kicking it off with Jason Meckes back in 2020… before COVID and everything went straight to crap. Early 2020 was looking super awesome for the blog. We just did a big story on Rubber Soul Brewing Company opening in Hummelstown, followed by our brewery tour of Mellow Mink, and we were going to get press credentials and things through Visit Hershey and Harrisburg, and help with the Brew Barons app and beer trail… then… well, we all know how 2020 went.

But, here’s to five years of the app, and here’s to an amazing beer at Troegs Brewery! (Cheers!)

Baron V Witbier by Troegs Independent Brewing

It appears the majority of this article was deleted, not quite sure why, or how, or when, but I am recreating what I am able to as much as I can from the memory and the scraps that WordPress has left me. So here goes. (Grrrr….. honestly, this stuff annoys me to no end. When I know I have 90% of an article written, and for some reason only 5% of it remains and not due to my own reasons but due to WordPress and the HTML coding and / or the back-end stuff like data storage and things….. okay…. okay…. rant over.)

Beer Review: Baron V Witbier (Troegs Independent Brewing) Originally drafted July 11, 2025

Visit Hershey and Harrisburg’s “Brew Barons” app has just hit five years old. I remember helping kick it off with Jason Meckes back in 2020… before COVID and everything went straight to crap. Early 2020 was looking super awesome for the blog. We just did a big story on Rubber Soul Brewing Company opening in Hummelstown, followed by our brewery tour of Mellow Mink, and we were going to get press credentials and things through Visit Hershey and Harrisburg, and help with the Brew Barons app and beer trail… then… well, we all know how 2020 went.

But here’s to five years of the app, and here’s to an amazing beer at Troegs Brewery! (Cheers!)

I picked up a pour of Baron V Witbier on a recent trip out to the Hershey taproom, and it felt like the perfect beer to toast the occasion. Troegs has always had a soft spot for Belgian-inspired styles in their Scratch Series, and this one leans hard into classic witbier territory while still feeling like a Troegs beer.

Appearance Hazy pale straw-gold with a soft, fluffy white head that hangs around just long enough to leave a nice lace. Classic unfiltered wit look—cloudy in the best way.

Aroma Right away you get that bright citrus lift—lemon peel and orange zest—followed by a gentle spice note from the coriander. There’s a soft floral/yeasty character underneath that reminds you this is fermented with something special (Troegs has used La Chouffe yeast on these before, and it shows). Clean, inviting, and not overly sweet.

Taste Light and refreshing on the first sip. The wheat and oat backbone keeps things soft and slightly creamy without getting heavy. Citrus comes through clean—more lemon rind and orange peel than juice—balanced by a dry, peppery spice that lingers just a bit on the finish. There’s a subtle tart edge that keeps it from feeling one-note. No big alcohol warmth (it’s sitting right around that classic 5% ABV range), just easy-drinking brightness.

Mouthfeel & Finish Medium-light body with a soft, almost silky texture from the oats. Carbonation is lively but not aggressive. Finishes dry and clean with a little spicy snap that makes you want another sip immediately. Perfect patio or post-brewery-tour beer.

Overall Baron V is exactly what a good witbier should be: refreshing, balanced, and quietly complex without trying too hard. It doesn’t reinvent the style, but it executes it with the kind of polish Troegs is known for. If you’re working your way through the Brew Barons trail (or just need something crisp after a hot Hershey summer day), this is an easy recommend.

Five years of the Brew Barons app, countless great local beers, and still more to explore. Raise a glass of this one—here’s to the next five.

Cheers,

-B. Kline

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Beer Review: The Pandalorian (Tattered Flag)

BKline — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 14:36:43 +0000

Its another Friday, and we all know what that means – another episode of The Mandalorian. So of course, I waited til today to drop this review. As soon as I heard them announce this, I had to grab a four pack of this.

First, Tattered Flag is one of my favorite local breweries, and secondly, its a Mandalorian themed beer, and thirdly…. Pandas. Seriously, what could go wrong here?

Absolutely. Nothing.

The Pandalorian by Tattered Flag

So, since I am still doing some ‘at home’ quarantining after my trip out to Indianapolis from work, yesterday I did a bit of day drinking and had to make sure this was one of the several wonderful beers I had, and as you can see, I made sure to use my new glass I got from the Vonnegut Museum and Library.

On The Beer Thrillers we have done several Mandalorian and Star Wars themed beers before, so it should be obvious to any reader of ours that I am a huge Star Wars fan. You can see our Mandalorian themed beer reviews here:

And our Star Wars themed beers here:

Space Balls themed beer:

Beer Review: Moon of Vega (Equilibrium Brewery)

If you use our search function on our blog and type in STAR WARS, these are some of the various articles where I mention Star Wars in them: STAR WARS on THE BEER THRILLERS.

Rotunda Brewing Company in Annville (and their brewpub in Hershey) are re-releasing their Chewbacca beer this weekend, a black IPA which I have had before. I am going to be getting a can and doing a review for that as well. (Can never have enough Star Wars themed beers to review on here, believe me. So if you know of any, or have any and would like to see me review it, contact us through the CONTACT US page.)

As you can see, like I said above, I am also using my brand new Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library glass. It has such a great quote of Vonnegut which he also used in Slaughter-House Five:

“I have this disease late at night sometimes, involving alcohol and the telephone.”

Story had it, he would drink and call people, just to basically yell something poignant and quick to them over the phone, and then slam the phone down. Not to strangers or random numbers, but to his friends and colleagues. I can certainly relate to some late night drunk texts (I think a lot of people can actually). So I see where he is coming at with this.

Alright, now that we’ve established the background for the beer and for the glass, let’s actually review this beer shall we.

The Pandalorian by Tattered Flag

Beer: The Pandalorian
Brewery: Tattered Flag
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double New England
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Hazy Imperial IPA made from a blend of base malts, generous wheat addition, oats, and flaked maze bring forth a sweet backbone complimented by Sabro in the kettle and a massive Sabro Cryo dry hop. Expect sweet coconut ? up front followed by citrus lime and a sweet creamy finish.

As you can see above, this is hazy, but on the lighter, softer orange – yellow – golden scale. Not the deep heavy dank, but a lighter, softer looking hazy New England style IPA / DIPA. Justin, the head brewer for Tattered Flag does a lot of New England style IPAs (and a lot of sours) and does them all very well, making them different from each other too, which is sometimes hard to do with the style. You have some that look bright orange to golden with a very dank and heavy haze, and then you have some that are lighter softer yellow to golden like this, with some haze. There is some orange here, but I would say its mostly yellow and golden. There is a thin head to it, and great carbonation, and left nice lacing on the glass.

Aroma is a blend of hop, mainly a blend of coconut, tangerine, the fruity and citrus hop aromas. Sabro is a pretty strong hop and gives this a very strong hop presence and nose. On the nose you get coconut, tangerine, hint of cedar and mint, with some cream, some lime.

This is a very smooth and drinkable DIPA. At 7.5% its in a middle ground of ABV for IPAs and DIPAs. In comparison, Troegs Brewing’s Perpetual IPA (their flagship West Coast IPA) is a 7.5% (and right there is where the comparison between the two of these stop). 7-8% is a good middle ground area for IPAs and DIPA’s I feel. Its enough to get you to notice the ABV, but not enough to make it boozy, to heavy, or to get you too drunk. A nice general buzz is all that is needed and required. This looks and tastes similar to New England IPAs, but its not a generic New England IPA / DIPA. The Sabro hops gives it a very different taste than most New England IPAs, as Sabro isn’t really a much used hop, especially in the Cryo style. This gives The Pandalorian an interesting start with a different finish to it. It has a coconut, tangerine, citrus, taste at the beginning, but it ends on more of a zest lime, cream flavor. Overall its a silky smooth drink that is very easy to drink. There is a bit of an ending bite as you get to the bottom of the glass, but that is typical for most IPAs especially as you get closer to the finishing last sips. Despite the Sabro hops and the nose, there isn’t much of a cedar or mint flavoring that I was able to pick up on, but I did get tangerine, coconut, lime, and cream. My one friend suggested grapefruit, but I wasn’t able to pick up any grapefruit, and thats also not typically a characteristic of Sabro hops either. I very much enjoyed the smoothness of this, and the flavor profile, the aroma was on point, and the ABV was nice for a good buzz, a four pack is nice for sharing with buddies while streaming (which me and my friend did during the Konami games live stream we did on Knights of Nostalgia). This adds to the growing list of good and great New England IPAs that Tattered Flag has put out over the recent year. Definitely make sure to check this out, either for namesake or for the beer itself. Not sure how much longer the four packs will last at the brewery, so if you want the great can art be sure to pop in soon, they also have it on draft which will probably last a bit longer. This is a good smooth, tasty New England DIPA that will certainly not disappoint.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.84 (as of 11.20.20)

You can check out more beer reviews I’ve done from Tattered Flag below:

Also, Tattered Flag now does statewide shipping through their SUPPLY DROP. Make sure to take advantage of that if you live anywhere in Pennsylvania and are unable to make it to their brewery.

On Black Friday they are doing a big bottle release at their upcoming Lancaster Barrel House location. More details can be found on their Facebook page – Tattered Flag @ Facebook and Tattered Flag Barrel House @ Facebook. I will be doing an article covering that shortly as well.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I got the pint glass from the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. You can visit them and donate as well as order online, and if you are a big fan of Kurt Vonnegut, I highly recommend it.

You can read about my trip (in recap form) to Indianapolis and back through the following:

The Trip to Indianapolis:

My time in Indianapolis is covered specifically in the Day Four recap.

The books behind the beer in today’s blog post are: “Happy Birthday Wanda June” by Kurt Vonnegut, “Armageddon in Retrospect” by Kurt Vonnegut, and “Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron” by Alexander Freed.

Also, be sure to check out some of our other beer reviews in recent history:

Star Wars themed articles:

You can check out the tabs at the top of each page to visit our BEER REVIEWS, BEER EDUCATION, TRAVELOGUES, etc. Be sure to check out all the latest beer reviews, as we’re pumping a lot out in recent time.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Thanks for reading everyone, please stay safe out there, I know cases are on the rise and spiking, so make sure to wash your hands, stay distant, enjoy your craft beer, and wear a mask. Cheers and May the Force Be With You!

-B. Kline

The Trip to Indy – Day Four Recap: Landfall is Made (Kurt Vonnegut Museum, TwoDEEP Brewing, Sun King Brewery, Bluebeard, Chilly Water Brewing, Ellison City Brewing)

BKline — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 04:20:00 +0000

Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

I woke up early outside of Dayton Ohio, and get my shower for the day at my La Quinta Hotel…. to find my room’s hot water isn’t working. (The check out lady gave me a run around saying I should have turned the knob a bit to the left, then back to the right to bypass something…. yea, ok lady.) So that was my wake-up for the day. Then it was on the road for what Google Maps had listed as a 1 Hour 18 Minute Drive….. which turned into a 2 Hour and 34 Minute Drive….. because Google Maps didn’t reload until I was on the road that I-70 was having massive road work done for a giant long stretch.

Whatever.

I made it to Indianapolis and to the Vonnegut Museum at 12-noon, just in time for everything to start. In my full detailed travelogue I’ll discuss it, but the reason for the trip was to get here on Wednesday (today) – November 11th, – Armistice Day – Veteran’s Day – Kurt Vonnegut’s birthday. He would have turned 98 years old today.

Like I said, I’ll go into much more detail about the museum and library, but suffice it to say it was fantastic, and any fan of Vonnegut owes it to themselves to come out and check out the museum and library at least once in their lives. I’m looking to come back in two years for his 100th Birthday.

TwoDEEP Brewing

After the Museum, my first Indianapolis brewery was TwoDEEP Brewing. Fun little brewery, beautiful inside. I had a roasted amber ale and a pilsner. (No flights, just drafts.) Both were fantastic.

The Vonnegut Mural

I of course had to drive and stop (illegally parked – at a meter – might I add) and get out and grab a picture of this. I also later in my day stopped by his childhood home and then the cemetery where he was buried. (I was unable to find his grave, but I did find President Benjamin Harrison’s gravesite.)

Sun King Brewery

An absolute must stop for everyone in Indianapolis. This is THEE brewery in the city, and it shows. They’ve won a ton of awards in the past, and several more this year at the 2020 GABF. Amazing beers, not a single bad one. Even my least favorite from them was nearly a four cap beer. The nacho and taco place inside was also really great. Be sure to visit Sun King if you are ever even remotely in the area.

Bluebeard

So after driving out to his childhood home and grabbing a picture, and going up to the cemetery and driving around looking for ‘him’, I had to stop at BLUEBEARD for dinner. Why? Well, the tavern is named after his novel ‘Bluebeard’ and even has a picture of him with a replica of a typewriter he used. This is a very hoighty-toighty place, (baby octopus was 28$) and very heavy sea-food (which when you are deathly allergic, is a slight scare). But I had a fantastic beer from a local brewery in can and great pasta.

Chilly Water Brewing

About three businesses down from Bluebeard was a brewery (just happened on it by walking to / from my parked car). So I ducked in for a pint, and picked up a four pack to go.

Ellison City Brewing

I ended my night (as far as breweries go) at Ellison City Brewing. Looked like an old apartment building reimagined, not quite sure though in the dark. When I entered they had two food trucks or two kind of party trucks or something outside, and a lot of younger (20s) dancing and carrying on by them. After I had my pint and read, which I nursed a bit, and came out, the revelers and trucks were gone. Shrug.

Then it was off to another hotel for the night, where I wanted to finish A Man With No Country by Vonnegut, but sadly, I stayed on the phone with a co-worker til about 12:30AM and then soon passed out watching Chappelle Show on Netflix.

Tomorrow’s itinerary is Cincinnati, with a dip into Kentucky. Then moving on towards Hocking Hills, Athens, and Ohiopyl and back home to Central Pennsylvania. Nearing the home stretch of the trip and tour. We’ve gone, now we’re coming back.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

The Trip to Indianapolis:

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - The Beer Thrillers

Beer Review: Baron V Witbier (Troegs Independent Brewing)

Beer Review: Baron V Witbier (Troegs Independent Brewing)

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Beer Review: The Pandalorian (Tattered Flag)

The Trip to Indy – Day Four Recap: Landfall is Made (Kurt Vonnegut Museum, TwoDEEP Brewing, Sun King Brewery, Bluebeard, Chilly Water Brewing, Ellison City Brewing)