Jumping Cow Amber Ale

At TJs yesterday this beer was out for sample, and I liked it so I got a 6pack. Ive never heard of Jumping Cow, or their owner Steinhaus Brewing

avc: 5.5%

Smell: faint beer smell, very faint

first impressions: a nice reddish amber color, poors with a decent head that dissipates quickly

taste: very interesting, It starts off with a crisp hoppy bite, but then mellows in the middle taste for a more malty flavor, and ends with very little aftertaste

overall impression: Good

This is good standard beer, so far my 2nd favorite beer from TJs for $6 a 6pack. Overall good flavor, I could see this matching well with some spicy food.

Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale

Stone Mill Pale Ale is brewed by Green Valley Brewing, which at first looked like a nice Micro Brewery from NH. It turns out though they are the Organic Brewery of Anheuser-Busch. Which as it turns out, doesn't necessarily mean its a bad beer

Smell: classic beer smell, nothing interesting

Initial impressions: translucent light amber color, poors with little head

Taste: this beer hits you at first with a crisp hoppy bite, more then I would expect for an american pale ale. the middle taste and aftertaste are decent but are decidedly overshadowed by the hoppy start

Overall impressions: good

This beer has a bit more of a bite then most Pale Ales, one might even consider this in the bottom range of IPAs. That doesn't mean its a bad beer though. Over all it is surprisingly refreshing and enjoyable. The only negative thing about this beer is that Green Valley Brewing Company is owned by Anheuser-Busch.

Josephs Brau(TJ) Dunkelweizen

Dunkelweizen means dark wheat in German, so naturally this is a dark wheat beer. This is the 2nd beer Ive tried which is part of the Trader Joes "Josephs Brau" label

ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 18

Smell: this beer smells slightly malty with a hint of banana, a good hefeweisen smell

Initial impressions: color is cloudy dark amber, poors with a smaller head then most hefeweisen.

Taste: The first thing you taste is the wheat, and then more wheat. It definitly has flavors similar to your classic Bavarian Hefeweisen(I haven't had many dunkels so hard to make comparisons there), though it is definitely not as light, and has an enjoyable darker finish instead of the classic hefe finish. The aftertaste is subtle, and not bad

Overall impressions: good

For once a Trader Joes beer with out a horrible aftertaste, and its all around enjoyable, without a doubt its my favorite TJs beer. I paired this with sourdough pretzels and mustard(classic Bavarian fare) and it went quite well together. For the price, this beer is hard to beat!

Josephs Brau(TJ) Winterfest Double Dark Bock(doppelbock)

This beer is the last of a 6 pack I bought 2 months ago and saved 1 till I started this blog. Its made by Trader Joes under their Josephs Brau Label. Which is their German beer label(as the only other beer Ive seen under that label is their dunkelweizen which I'll probably be reviewing next)

ABV: 7.5%

Smell: this beer has a slight smell of licorice but thats it


Initial impressions: very dark, held up to the light this beer has a nice red hue. It poors with a small yellowish head.

Taste: decent. I'm not a fan of black licorice, which is the main flavor of the beer. But I have to say, Its good for what it is. Its not overpowering, and doesn't leave a bad aftertaste as I initially feared. Its not bad as a beer to go with a spicy dinner.

Overall impression: good beer, but not my style

I want to like this beer. However Ive never been a fan of licorice, which is a major strike against it(and all dark double bocks) I do like it more then the Sam Adams double bock which was a lot sweeter, and lot more licorice flavored though.

Trader Joes HofBrau Bock

Trader Joe's HofBrau Bock

This is the first in a set of "Beers from my fridge that I have held onto to blog about" I originaly thought about beer blogging 2-3 months ago, and have been holding onto 1 unique beer I get till I started blogging. (well trying to hold on to... my 6 pack Stone IPA didn't make it) so I have a bit of a back log :)

History about the name of this beer: HofBrau means "kings beer" in German. It is also the name of one of the largest breweries in Bavaria Germany, and is run by the state.

ABV: 7%
Smell this beer doesn't have much of a nose, slight sweet smell is all there is

First impressions: this beer is a a nice shade of light amber, no head


Taste: overall nice body, a little crisp at first, slightly sweet but not overpowering. The aftertaste is a bit tangy.

Overall impression: ok

This beer is not royalty, but it isn't bad either. The tangy aftertaste does detract, but its not that bad. Cost wise its a bargain, at $6 from TJs for a higher ABV beer if thats what you are looking for.

Sam Adams Long Shot 2007 Weizenbock

Sam Adams Long Shot 2007 Weizenbock by Rodney Kibzey

This brew comes from a contest that Sam Adams held in 2007 for craft brewers, They took the 2 beers which won and produced them. Seeing as I like the idea of craft brewing, I had to try. This beer came in a 6 pack, 3 of the weizenbock, and 3 grape pale ales(see below for details)

I was excited for this beer after trying a Weihenstephaner Vitus a few weeks ago out in a Whole Foods in Las Vegas

ABV: 7.2%

Smell: has a hint of banana on the nose

First Impressions: This beer is quite dark for a weizenbock, its quite cloudy, looks almost like a dunkelweizen.

Taste: slight bite at first, but not overpowering. has a decent middle taste, but has an unpleasant strong aftertaste

Overall impression: Bad

The bad aftertaste unfortunately does this beer in. I like the idea of Sam hosting a home brew contest and then making the beers of the winners, however I cant imagine that a better beer then this didn't win(don't get me started on the other beer that came in this six pack, a grape pale ale... lets just say I'm glad that 2 other poor souls finished them on the party on Saturday