Troegs beer: Many misses, few hits

John and I before we were interrupted by a robbery and a shrieking woman.

Earlier this week I met John Trogner. John and his brother, Chris, founded the Troegs brew company in 1996 in central Pennsylvania, making them the longest continuously operating business left in central Pennsylvania.
(Full disclosure: I can't figure out the umlaut but there is one over the "O" in Troegs.)
He was in town for Boston's Craft Brew Week, which culminates in a craft beer festival this weekend that I unfortunately will miss due to a previous engagement (which is now a full-blown wedding). John and I got to talking briefly about the history of his beer, and the offerings on tap at The Kinsale that evening. I was gingerly sampling a Troegenator, the brewery's double bock.

Looks better than it tastes.

As double bocks go, I was disappointed by the lack of body to this beer. It should have bigger balls than this limp offering. I found these reviews to be a little over the top, though the only possible explanation I have is that I had it from a fresh keg and it hadn't aged properly. That, or the Kinsale never cleans its tap lines.
I have had another negative experience with a Troegs brew: Mad Elf Ale, which unfortunately lived up to its name: Mad Elf. As in, directly after my second swig of this liquid cinnamon bomb a small bearded man ran up to me and punched me square in the ornaments. So maybe I can't blame the Trogner brothers for that particular experience.
On my second sampling of Mad Elf, however, I learned that I really don't like these overly spiced "holiday" offerings from Sam Adams, Harpoon, Lakefront, Troegs ... and though I love everything from Dogfish Head you can throw Sahtea in the mix as well. I'm not overly sensitive to spice - just ask my coworkers who challenged me to down an espresso cup full of hot sauce. I just think craft brewers are going a little nuts with it, and Mad Elf falls sadly into this trap.
There is one Troegs brew I've found to have an even body, crisp taste and multiple layers of fruit, hops, and honey though with a slight bitterness at the end:

Troegs' saving grace

Of the five Troegs beers I've tried (DreamWeaver and Nugget Nectar are the others not mentioned here - you'll see why in a second) this is the only one I found to be not watered down. And I'm sorry, every reviewer on the Web who tastes a Troegs, but watery is not synonymous with drinkable. Only the Hop Back has made me want to come back to Troegs, and it's what led me to sitting outside the Kinsale this week drinking yet another Troegs.
I wish John and I weren't so rudely interrupted by the woman sitting next to me who suddenly screamed "STOP THAT MAN!!!!!!" while her husband took off down the street chasing the guy who stole his wallet, because I wanted to give John my honest take on his beer. I don't hate it, so please don't take this as an overwhelmingly negative deconstruction of the only business keeping central Pennsylvania alive. Indeed, the many drinkers cited above are proof positive they're doing something right.
I should be blown away by a beer with a name as massively awesome as TROEGENATOR. I'm just not. But like its namesake famously said, "I'll be bock."