Josephs Brau Oktoberfest - Trader Joe's Brewing Company

wedge

North Carolina

3.53/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bright copper with a large, thick head of foam on top. Sweet, toasty honey and caramel malt aroma. More of the same in the flavor, but with the addition of a noble hop touch. Toasted malty sweetness and a moderate bitterness. Slightly noticeable lager character. Medium-thin body. I assume this is very fresh at this point in the year and it certainly tastes like it. Not bad at all to go along with watching some Sunday football. Drink it fresh...

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2011 18:56:44 | More by wedge

shick1

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +14.4%

03-11-2013 16:28:15 | More by shick1

hollywood_15063

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -10.1%

02-01-2013 06:57:32 | More by hollywood_15063

cliff1066

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev +6.2%

12-13-2012 03:35:19 | More by cliff1066

jpro

South Carolina

2.45/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Single 12oz longneck from TJ's. Poured into a standard shaker pint...

A: Best by 2-18-13 printed on the label... Brassy gold; two-finger, cream head; nice layer of retention sticks around, leaving some specks of lace.

S: Bready malts; rich caramel malt / light toffee / butteriness; no noticeable hop character.

T: Light caramel malt; a touch of white bread; virtually no hop flavor, although there is some dryness on the end (barely).

M: Medium body; lower carbonation; thin, though; lacks character.

O: Looks good, but things went downhill from there; maybe a good option for an Oktoberfest party... Drinkable, but boring / lacking.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2012 02:17:39 | More by jpro

Tnkemist

Tennessee

3.75/5  rDev +22.5%

11-17-2012 23:48:02 | More by Tnkemist

RBorsato

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +22.5%

11-13-2012 20:35:52 | More by RBorsato

augustgarage

California

2.78/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz bottle into my Harriet pils glass. Best before February 2nd, 2013.

Brilliantly clear Princeton orange liquid with a lasting thin white cap. Pasty lacing and good retention.

Sweet dusty malt aroma without the character or toastiness of the best examples of the style. Not-unappetizing, but bland.

Slightly toasty and sweet lager with low vegetal (grassy) elements and a subtle metallic/adjunct element as well. Some decent malt notes and a low bitterness are present, but neither can hide the imperfections. Finishes dry but with a lingering cheap-breakfast-cereal element in the aftertaste.

Medium-light bodied, well carbonated, and just a touch slick.

One of the more disappointing offerings from this Trader Joe's contract brewer; I suppose this was meant to be imbibed in such quantities that its deficiencies would go unnoticed, but I can't say I'd reccommend it.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2012 23:59:41 | More by augustgarage

mseidens

Texas

3.25/5  rDev +6.2%

10-31-2012 16:05:44 | More by mseidens

chinchill

South Carolina

3.25/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle, BB dated Feb. 2013, of Josephs Brau Oktoberfest from TJs served in a Sam Adams lager glass.

Pours clear, golden-amber in color, and with an impressive, authentic looking off-white head. The head evens leaves substantial sticky lacing on the glass, however, it has limited retention. Very fine-grained visible carbonation.

The mild scent [2.75] is rather unremarkable and not enticing. The flavor is certainly better, with a decent malt base and good sweet/bitter balance. Better, stronger and more lasting aftertaste than expected.

M: medium-light body; medium+ carbonation; semi-dry finish.

O: A respectable American Märzen that is true to style and low cost.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2012 00:22:29 | More by chinchill

UCLABrewN84

California

2.78/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Best before 2/20/13.

Pours a clear dark orange with a foamy orange-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy swaths of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, and some slight caramel aromas. Taste is much the same with an assertive and medicinal hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty poor beer that has an unbalanced bitterness that isn't very pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 23:17:16 | More by UCLABrewN84

Falcone

North Carolina

2.75/5  rDev -10.1%

10-10-2012 23:57:49 | More by Falcone

NeverSettle

Texas

3/5  rDev -2%

10-05-2012 18:51:14 | More by NeverSettle

zbooks

Texas

3/5  rDev -2%

10-05-2012 18:46:37 | More by zbooks

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.03/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle courtesy of fthomasl pours a clear gold color more in line with the newer festbiers as opposed to traditional marzens. Fluffy white head does not last too long, but does leave nice lace.

Nose is grainy, fresh, slightly sweet caramel popcorn...a little buttery even. Probably dome diacetyl issues but that is not always a bad thing.

It definitely has diacetyl issues, but I don’t mind it much in a beer like this. The butterscotch flavors behave well with the light, grainy malts. Not much of a hop presence, even considering the style. I don’t think the beer is all that great, but I won’t have a problem finishing the bottle and actually am enjoying the butterscotch flavors.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2012 03:13:49 | More by twiggamortis420

JohnBender

Texas

3/5  rDev -2%

09-29-2012 18:25:47 | More by JohnBender

kojevergas

California

2.98/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a Uinta brewing pilsner glass in me gaff in Los Feliz, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are average. Acquired as part of the 12 bottle variety pack for $9.99. Best before 02/02/13 14:30.

Served straight from the refrigerator. Not paired with food.

A: Pours a one finger head of soft rolling slight cream, nice thickness, and average retention. Colour is a clear pale copper. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Generally appealing.

Sm: Oats, clean full-bodied expressive malts, cream, and some barley. Some vague stale hops. A slight rauchbier-esque smokey note - that's unexpected. An average strength aroma.

T: Some nice rolling cream. Clean bright malts. Vague stale misplaced hops. Clean barley. A bit toasty. Simple and restrained, but enjoyable.

Mf: Smooth, clean, and wet. Thickness is decent. It supports the flavours in a general sense.

Dr: Drinkable and enjoyable, but far from great. I might get it again. It's a good value beer at 83 cents per bottle. Good fare for what it is. That said, it won't blow your socks off.

C

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2012 06:35:11 | More by kojevergas

Eriktheipaman

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +14.4%

09-10-2012 00:39:20 | More by Eriktheipaman

Cavanaghty

Maine

3.08/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass.

Appaearance: Copper color and clear with an off white head that last a few minutes and left medium lacing on the glass.

Smell: Light hoppy smell with roasted malts.

Mouthfeel/Taste: Smooth medium to light bodied. Taste of roasted malts and pine. Bittersweet at the end.

Overall: Not horrible, I hosnestly did not expect more from it anyway. Neat that Trader Joe's has their own brewery.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 19:12:10 | More by Cavanaghty

bluebrew17

2.23/5  rDev -27.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Picked up a six pack of this beer at Trader Joes... Pour was nice, decent white head. Color is medium amber. There is a hint of diacetyl on the sniff, and a taste confirms. This beer was alot like carbonated popcorn. Very buttery. I'm fairly sensitive to diacetyl so its hard to get past to get to any other flavors.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 11:34:18 | More by bluebrew17

dmorgan310

Michigan

3.25/5  rDev +6.2%

07-06-2012 18:57:40 | More by dmorgan310

cbgbslev

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +14.4%

02-15-2012 00:40:26 | More by cbgbslev

OldTime

Georgia

2.5/5  rDev -18.3%

02-12-2012 04:13:30 | More by OldTime

dugly2ugly

Virginia

3/5  rDev -2%

02-12-2012 01:13:55 | More by dugly2ugly

GossageBrewery

Missouri

2.55/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. Poured a clear copper color, produce a thick white head, excellent retention and left a nice amount of lacing. The aroma consisted of sweet malt, and caramel. Medium in body, this ale consists of toasted grain, and finish's with a small amount of hops. Overall, not a great example of Oktoberfest. Prost!

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 22:26:52 | More by GossageBrewery