Josephs Brau Heller Bock
Trader Joe's Brewing Company

Josephs Brau Heller BockJosephs Brau Heller Bock
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From:
Trader Joe's Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
Maibock
Ranked #84
ABV:
7%
Score:
78
Ranked #26,835
Avg:
3.43 | pDev: 13.7%
Reviews:
227
Ratings:
438
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 16, 2023
Added:
Jan 19, 2005
Wants:
  13
Gots:
  46
No description / notes.
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Ratings by AdamMY:
Photo of AdamMY
Reviewed by AdamMY from Illinois

3.67/5  rDev +7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
The dominant tones are malt, caramel, and candy apples coming out to various degrees in the smell and the taste, but so much more in the taste. While the mouthfeel is borderline creamy and coats the mouth wonderfully

I would score this better on drinkability but the flavors are so strong I am not to eager to drink these one after another.
Feb 25, 2011
More User Ratings:
Photo of Pegasus
Reviewed by Pegasus from Texas

3.75/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Appearance: Clear golden-orange in color, with a fairly robust and coarse off-white head, with moderate retention. Scattered, patchy lacing adorns the glass wall. Clouds of small bubbles drift lazily to the surface.

Aroma: A rich aroma of cracker malt and dark bread presents, with a mild grassy and herbal bitterness.

Taste: The taste opens with bread-like malt, and cracker-like Pilsener malt, soon followed by slightly earthy yeast. Afterward, over-ripe apples present, particularly the rind. Late in the taste, there are earthy and medicinal hops, bringing the taste to a close with a mild, lingering bitterness.

Mouth feel: Full, smooth and pleasant, with just a touch of sharp carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: A pleasing and well-made example of the style.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twelve-ounce brown glass long-neck bottle with a pry-off crown, served in a South American-style Pilsener glass.
Oct 16, 2023
Photo of Ogawo
Reviewed by Ogawo from Oregon

3.33/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
The image shown is NOT for HELLER BOCK but for their "Hofbrau" so the reader is not confident that the review
is NOT for HELLER BOCK, but for Hofbrau???
Jan 16, 2020
Photo of johnnnniee
Reviewed by johnnnniee from New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle from Trader Joe's Bedford
Dark golden in color with a thin off white head that dissipates slowly. Rich bready crackery pilsner maltiness. Light earthy floral spicy hops to counter. Not too shabby and kinda shocked my expectations.
Nov 24, 2019
Photo of mblakesley
Reviewed by mblakesley from California

2/5  rDev -41.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Just not getting a whole lot out of this one. The malt up front is simple and syrupy, and the hops on the back aren't too bitter but they do taste a bit off to me. The smell is similarly off. Maybe I just don't like maibocks?
Nov 22, 2019
Photo of Abraxos77
Rated by Abraxos77 from California

4.28/5  rDev +24.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
what a delightful find after wading thru countless I.P.A.S. A real German Beer right under my nose at TJs! Good stuff! Happy Oktoberfest!
Oct 11, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by crob3888 from California

Jun 03, 2019
 
Rated: 3.69 by Ceddd99 from Michigan

Apr 25, 2019
 
Rated: 3.83 by EAR from Arizona

Apr 05, 2019
Photo of paging12
Reviewed by paging12 from Virginia

3.69/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12 oz bottle from Trader Joe's poured into a chalice.

L: Golden amber, rich, orange in color. A decent head, half-inch, white, remained for a time.
S: Some maltiness, metallic, banana peel, European hop bitterness.
T: I tasted pears, apples. The flavor was true to the style, breadiness, sweet, yeasty. Banana peel. The flavor was good, just not as separated or individuated or nuanced as a Devil's Backbone Maibock or the Port City Colossal 8 (maybe not a fair comparison).
F: Heavy, good, a bit of sparkle.
O: This is a solid German-style beer. I like this beer. This beer does make me appreciate, more and more, German styles.
Mar 23, 2019
 
Rated: 3.36 by craigbelly from Iowa

Mar 09, 2019
 
Rated: 3 by AnotherDisease from California

Mar 03, 2019
Photo of defunksta
Reviewed by defunksta from Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours a medium, deep orange, or amber color that is relatively clear and has a mild to moderate white head. SRM of 12 (3.75)

Aroma: Tons of baked caramel w/ orange, honey, and sweet bread. A little airy. Some toasted sweet bread and a touch of dark stone or citrus fruit. (4.25)

Taste: Tons of caramel and sweet banana bread again on the tongue. But this time a lot of molasses, banana, and orange. Then spiced bread with dark fruit of orange marmalade and dried redfruit. Finishes with a slight bitterness of spices. Leans sweeter though due to the caramel. A nice array of flavors. (4.00)

Feel: The mouthfeel is heavier for sure, yet not oily. Carbonation is mild. Alcohol is slightly detectable. A little caramel and spices left on the palate. (3.75)

Overall: A really good beer. Not had a whole lot of Maibocks, so hard to compare. Slightly less flavor compared to Dead Guy. However, it has a really nice caramel and spiced banana bread flavors with a strong body. Just enough spices to round it out. A touch of citrus too. Slightly heavier and more malty sweetness than an Oktoberfest beer. Less bitter. This beer would be a perfect November beer I'd reckon. A fantastic beer no doubt. (Final Rating: 4.02)
Feb 25, 2019
 
Rated: 3.94 by Alexrdvz from Oklahoma

Dec 08, 2018
Photo of vainosuomi
Reviewed by vainosuomi from Virginia

3.64/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Look: clear golden/amber color
Smell: Sweet grain, floral hop, and hints of ripe fruit
Taste: Slightly toasted sweet grain, molasses, corn, and backed by a moderate hop presence
Feel: medium body, moderate carbonation, a bit warm

It's a decent representative of the style. For just over a buck a bottle I can't complain.
Nov 21, 2018
Photo of Schlitz74
Rated by Schlitz74 from Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Poured a dark amber color with about a half finger of head into a dimpled mug. This is a descent beer for the style, but nothing to seek out.
Oct 22, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by EdmundBlackadder from Ohio

Oct 07, 2018
 
Rated: 3.37 by Ajlvt from Washington

Sep 06, 2018
Photo of bankboy66
Rated by bankboy66 from New Jersey

3.56/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Easy drinking at a great price. Has a bit of a burnt flavor on the back end but overall pretty decent.
Aug 18, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by kdivers from New Hampshire

Jul 29, 2018
Josephs Brau Heller Bock from Trader Joe's Brewing Company
Beer rating: 78 out of 100 with 438 ratings