Scratch 561 Weizenbock - The Beer Thrillers https://thebeerthrillers.com Central PA beer enthusiasts and beer bloggers. Homebrewers, brewery workers, and all around beer lovers. Mon, 02 Nov 2026 19:32:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://i0.wp.com/thebeerthrillers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cropped-The-Beer-Thrillers-December-2022-Logo.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Scratch 561 Weizenbock - The Beer Thrillers https://thebeerthrillers.com 32 32 187558884 Beer Review: Scratch #561 Weizenbock (Tröegs Brewing Company) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2026/11/02/beer-review-scratch-561-weizenbock-troegs-brewing-company/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beer-review-scratch-561-weizenbock-troegs-brewing-company Mon, 02 Nov 2026 19:34:02 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=17057 Beer Review: Scratch #561 Weizenbock (Tröegs Brewing Company)

Some brewery releases announce themselves with a bigger hop bill or another round of fruit additions. Others take a quieter route: an interesting style, a familiar brewing tradition, and a flavor description that makes you stop scrolling.

Tröegs’ Scratch #561 Weizenbock belongs in that second category. A recent addition to the Hershey brewery’s experimental series, it checks in at 6.8% ABV with brewery-described notes of banana bread, candied clove, and subtle black pepper. That sounds like a pretty convincing invitation to explore something beyond the usual fall beer rotation.

The Beer at a Glance

Scratch 561 – Weizenbock by Troegs Brewing Company

  • Brewery: Tröegs Independent Brewing

  • Location: Hershey, Pennsylvania

  • Series: Scratch

  • Release number: 561

  • Style: Weizenbock

  • ABV: 6.8%

  • Brewery tasting notes: Banana bread, candied clove, subtle black pepper.

A Scratch Release Worth Slowing Down For

The appeal of the Scratch Series is right there in its purpose. Tröegs describes its small-batch Scratch beers and three-barrel Scratch Lab as places to explore the relationship between ingredients, technique, and flavor. These releases give drinkers a look at a side of the brewery that extends beyond the familiar year-round lineup.

Scratch #561 arrived among a recent group of releases that also included Scratch #559 Blueberry Gose and Scratch #560 Roggenbier. That lineup offers three different reasons to pay attention, rather than three variations on the same idea. For this review, the Weizenbock’s combination of bread-like fruit character and spice makes it the most intriguing starting point.

Aroma and Flavor: More Bakery Than Candy Shop

“Banana bread” is the description doing the heavy lifting here. It suggests a different direction from a straightforward banana note: something rounded and bread-like, with fruit folded into the overall impression rather than standing apart from it.

That is an interpretation of the brewery’s wording, not a claim about a glass in front of us. Still, it provides a useful starting point for understanding what Tröegs wants drinkers to notice. Banana bread is the first descriptor on the brewery’s menu, followed by candied clove and subtle black pepper.

The distinction between those two spice notes is especially interesting. “Candied clove” evokes a sweeter aromatic impression, while “subtle black pepper” points toward a restrained counterpoint. Neither description establishes that actual candy or pepper went into the beer; they are tasting notes, not an ingredient list.

Taken together, the published profile suggests a beer built around complementary flavors rather than one dominant attraction. The question for a firsthand tasting would be how those elements interact: whether the banana-bread character leads throughout, how prominently the clove presents itself, and whether the pepper emerges most clearly toward the finish.

A Different Kind of Fall Beer Story

What makes Scratch #561 an appealing subject isn’t simply that its tasting notes sound seasonally appropriate. It’s that the beer offers a different story to tell.

There is room in the fall rotation for a release whose calling card is banana bread and spice rather than a familiar seasonal label. At 6.8% ABV, this Weizenbock also has a clearly stated identity without needing an enormous alcohol number to attract attention. Its interest lies in that specific combination of style and brewery-described flavor.

For a Central Pennsylvania beer audience, that makes it a worthwhile example of what the Scratch program contributes: another reason to look beyond the beers you already recognize and see what the brewery is working on next. Exploration is the program’s stated purpose, and a Weizenbock gives that mission a different expression from another hop-forward release.

Final Thoughts

Scratch #561 Weizenbock has an enticing premise: banana-bread character, candied-clove aromatics, a touch of black pepper, and a 6.8% ABV framework. Those details make it a compelling recent Scratch release to feature, particularly for readers interested in the malt-and-spice side of Tröegs’ experimentation.

 

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