The Tröegs brothers get right to the point when discussing the Art of Tröegs. They “like people who make things.” It couldn’t be simpler. A genuine appreciation for the process of making something. 

The Art of Tröegs event and the perpetual and yearly evolving gallery in which it takes place is a testament to that simple premise. It is Tröegs opening their most intimate space, the Splinter Cellar, to those that “make things” to show off their work by drawing inspiration from the Hershey brewery.

During a podcast interview, I asked John Trogner how he balanced the right and left brain sides of brewing. Hearing him describe brewing as both a technical/engineering problem to be solved and in artistic terms as the birth of specific flavors that are expressive in his mind. John did not accept the premise, that is was two halves. It was all part of the same process.

When I was discussing with Kayla Bryer how her embroidered banner of Freaky Peach came to be she described both the inspiration and the technical process. The work it took for taking the drawing from her iPad to printing on linen to its embroidery and final touches that bring it all together. It’s not left brain and right brain… Here again, it is the process of thinking out how to make something. Both halves of the brain working hand-in-hand.

Kayla’s work like the others at the intimate second-floor gallery, invite you to get close. To walk right up to a piece after looking at it from a few feet away. Drawing you in to get right on top of it and see either how a brush was stroked or how two corners come together. You are drawn into the details; to see how it is made.

The gallery is a quiet corner in what is frequently a bustling brewery. It is an opportunity to sip your beer and be reflective. You can take a few moments and contemplate what an artist was thinking or how they expressed their idea of “The Troegenator” and then wonder “How as that made?”

But in a new way, the gallery now goes outside of the Tröegs Splinter Cellar. Tröegs has partnered with Caputo Brothers Creamery and Giant-Martin’s Food Stores to develop a gouda-style cheese that is handcrafted with Troegenator Beer.

The mild semi-hard cheese has a slight fruity tang with a nice nuttiness and a sweet finish. Troegenator Beer Cheese is both expressive of the double bock with which it was made and also developed independent deep flavors of its own from the cultures and milk. The cheese paired perfectly with my can of Troegenator by itself. The cheese is complex and brings out new flavors from its mother beer. I plan to buy another wedge of this beer and I think it will pair beautifully with some crisp apple slices. It is stunningly good.

Troegenator Beer Cheese is available at all Giant brand stores on August 5, 2019. Act quickly because unlike other pieces of art which can be found within the Tröegs gallery… this one is available for only a limited time.

Postscript: 

Making things with your hands; a tangible expression of an idea that can be shared. It’s very humanistic.

Chuck Noll once said, “The thrill isn’t in the winning, it’s in the doing.” I think that applies to a lot of life but certainly in the case of the artists I met/heard at the gallery event. They loved describing the process.

We as a society would be well served by making more things with our hands.

Living in Lancaster County I live near many dairy farmers. It is a tough business. Milk prices are low, the economics are not all working out. Caputo Brothers pay a premium for the milk they use to make this local cheese with local milk to be sold in stores close to both. Buying this cheese and pairing it with a Troegenator supports local farmers and local businesses. It is beer and cheese for good.

Disclosure:

I attended the Art of Tröegs event by invitation. There I was plied me with a couple of beers and some nice hors d’ oeuvres. It was a beautiful event that I was privileged and thankful to attend.

I received a sample of Troegenator Beer Cheese and a can of Troegenator in the mail ahead of its release. Thank you to Tröegs, Caputo Brothers, and Giant Food Stores for sharing.