Josephs Brau Winterfest - Trader Joe's Brewing Company

MattyG85

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Sam Adams "Perfect Pint" glass. Label says best before 04/13/13.

Appearance: Pours a dark brown with hints of ruby and amber. Lots of rising bubbles and a big four finger light tan head with good retention. Leaves a lot of creamy lacing around the glass.

Smell: A very bready and dark biscuit like aroma. Roasted and toasted malts with hints of biscuit, chocolate, caramel, toffee, yeast, and toast. Hints of nuts and brown sugar. Also some subtle spices. Pretty earthy with some hops in the background. Very bready and straightforward.

Taste: Very bready, nutty, and creamy. Dark roasted malts with a a taste of biscuit, caramel, toffee, chocolate, toasted bread, and yeast. A good kick of nut flavors. Some sweet brown sugar. Light undertones of apple and dark fruit. A decent backing of earthy hops. Pretty creamy. A good bready and nutty taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a medium to high level of carbonation. Very creamy and smooth. Finishes somewhat dry. Alcohol is hidden well.

Overall: A pretty decent bock. Nice malt driven taste that is pretty nutty. Very creamy and smooth considering the higher ABV.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 07:37:46 | More by MattyG85

Teraya

Georgia

4.75/5  rDev +33.1%

03-20-2013 04:30:49 | More by Teraya

shick1

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -2%

03-11-2013 16:29:20 | More by shick1

matjack85

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +26.1%

02-02-2013 23:45:38 | More by matjack85

avckc

California

3.5/5  rDev -2%

01-22-2013 01:35:55 | More by avckc

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Celebrator pokal. Pours a dark, ruddy amber with a one finger light tan head with good retention and lacing. Very light aroma of caramel malt and dark fruit. Flavor is caramel and toasted malt, dark fruit, light nuts and a charred smoky element. Finishes with light hop bitterness and lingering smoky malt. Medium bodied with a hint of creaminess. An interesting take on a doppelbock and the smokiness was appropriate for the winter theme. Finish was a bit attenuated, but overall a pleasant winter bock.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2013 04:28:57 | More by LiquidAmber

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.43/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle pours a near-perfect 2/3 beer 1/3 head ratio! Pours a clear, dark crimson color with a gorgeous cap of tan head. Nice retention and even better lace.
One of the best looking beers I have had in quite awhile.

Nose...not so much. Ever opened one of the rotten in-shell peanuts at the ball park? Kinda a musty burnt flavor/aroma? Yea...thats this, along with a sweet, dark malt-extract syrup smell.

Taste is near-burnt caramel and a touch of roast and dark chocolate. Not bad...a little on the astringent side, but not too bad. Not sure how many I could drink at a time, but a nice affordable doppel is not always a bad thing. Its better cold than warm, for what its worth.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 20:30:44 | More by twiggamortis420

TheMarkE

California

3.25/5  rDev -9%

01-09-2013 04:58:08 | More by TheMarkE

mjpolzin

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This was a pretty tasty, decently complex, malty winter beer...but it wasn't special.

This one comes pretty cheap from Trader Joe's (and in this case was a gift). It tasted about like I expected. It was a solid dopplebock-type beer with a little holiday spice mixed in. To me, it is the perfect session winter beer but I can't rate it any higher than that.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 04:48:23 | More by mjpolzin

barczar

Kentucky

3.68/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a brilliant deep amber with garnet highlights and a frothy one inch khaki head that slowly dissipates, leaving sheets of lacing.

Melanoidins dominate the aroma. Deeply caramelized malt, molasses, tar, licorice, and dark fruit esters form the aroma.

Flavor is sweet, then turning a touch sour and bitter in the finish. Deeply toasted breadcrust forms the base, with hints of dark fruit popping up throughout. Nutty, caramel malt, chocolate, and brown sugar add sweetness, with light roast character surfacing at the end.

Body is fairly thick, with carbonation on the low side, and substantial alcohol warmth.

Interesting, fairly complex malt flavor. Esters are a bit overly pronounced. Also a bit sweet and hot, but it's a winter brew.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2013 20:18:55 | More by barczar

Lukass

Ohio

4/5  rDev +12%

12-29-2012 19:39:08 | More by Lukass

Proclarush

Maryland

3.25/5  rDev -9%

12-29-2012 02:29:56 | More by Proclarush

LXIXME

New Mexico

3.53/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Big light tan head settles into a decent lacing above a clear reddish brown colored beer.

Dark roasted malts, darker spices, and even black licorice appear in the aroma of this winter brew.

Dark roasted malts with some sweetness with just a bit of hops sneaking in the taste, there also seems to be a touch of alcohol making it's presence known.

A not quite dryish aftertaste the bring with it some of the tastes on this medium bodied beer.

A decent but sort of lack luster taste, seems to be missing something that would make a person search out more of this stuff.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2012 21:43:37 | More by LXIXME

TastyAdventure

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -2%

12-23-2012 00:55:51 | More by TastyAdventure

Fakexican

Arkansas

4/5  rDev +12%

12-18-2012 03:54:16 | More by Fakexican

hkyplyr73

New York

4/5  rDev +12%

12-16-2012 20:30:31 | More by hkyplyr73

ToMakeEndsMeet

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -9%

12-16-2012 20:04:01 | More by ToMakeEndsMeet

beerpadawan

California

3.5/5  rDev -2%

12-16-2012 03:06:35 | More by beerpadawan

Unchi

Arizona

3.75/5  rDev +5%

12-16-2012 02:54:05 | More by Unchi

murraymj

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -2%

12-15-2012 03:26:25 | More by murraymj

kew

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -2%

12-15-2012 01:35:19 | More by kew

EliRix

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +5%

12-12-2012 23:17:11 | More by EliRix

KitC

3.88/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Poured down the middle into my Augustiner .5L glass produced a large off white head that dissipated to sparse sheets. Deep red-brown color. Little lacing.

S: Quite boozy. Roasted malts create chocolate aromas. Pretty tight and closed at first, but as it warms it really opens up nicely.

T: Sweet dark malts.. Balanced with moderate hops in the finish that mellowed as the temperature increased. (I had it a bit cool for my taste to begin with and I tend to prefer better beers in the 50 degree neighborhood.)

M: Thin for a doppelbock. Low carbonation.

O: Pretty amazing for the price and the style. I was fortunate enough to be in Munich for Lent this year and this does a respectable job of imitating the Maximator, Optimator and Triumphator that I drank during my visit. It's certainly a suitable replacement until I have an opportunity to go back to Munich. I'll definitely stock up on a case or two for the winter.

Serving type: bottle

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 02:45:31 | More by KitC

cdwil

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -2%

12-11-2012 14:01:03 | More by cdwil

williahd

Virginia

4/5  rDev +12%

12-10-2012 01:27:26 | More by williahd