Josephsbrau Oktoberfest
Trader Joe's Brewing Company

 

This one pours a light golden amber color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells somewhat grainy, with a bit of fruitiness, and some caramel.

This isn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be, but it’s still not super great by any means. It’s pretty grainy, and a little sweet for the style, with some fruity and caramelly sweetness, and not enough hop character to balance those things out.

This is lighter bodied, crisp, but doesn’t finish super cleanly. It’s drinkable enough, but I don’t need to drink a bunch of this.

This is about what I’d expect from the Josephsbrau brand.

RB transfer

Sep 2025, Can. Poured slightly clear amber with OK head. Limited lacing on consumption but present. Not a remarkable flavor and perhaps a tad underdeveloped. Mouthfeel and overall presence similarly not confident, but Ok.

 

Worst tasting beer in my recent memory.

12 oz. can from a six-pack purchased in Trader Joe's in Salem OR.
$7.49
Pours a lovely dark copper colour, crystal clear with a nice bubbly light tan head.
Soft light chocolate malt aroma. Some toast and a bit of berry. Nice.
Taste similar to the aroma the light toastiness comes through well in the end.
Good medium mouth feel and well carbonated, not sticky at all like some American versions.
Overall, a really good Oktoberfest somewhere between the Marzen and Festbier styles,

Kinda mixed on this one. On the one hand, it’s not too bad with the requisite flavors in there. On the other hand, it has a bit of that cheap beer taste. Put in front of me and I will drink it. But I wouldn’t seek it out.

Don't know why I gave it a low score as I normally like Oktoberfest beers, but they all taste different, and this one apparently did not come across as a very good one.

Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours orange red with a fluffy white head. Smells of caramelized grain and some fruit. Tastes of caramelized grain with cinnamon and pumpkin. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.

a little thin, a little sweet, but really this isnt bad, especially for the price, ive had way worse trader joes beers than this one, and i think its a fine sixer for the season, we enjoyed these during pumpkin carving, and it certainly fit the occasion. a nice clear shiny medium to deep amber color on this, a short but persistent half inch of white head as a crown, and a nutty baked nose with some obvious richness, a vienna malt thing, toasted and warming, even cozy, with some familiar lager yeast in the mix, slightly cheap and metallic, but really not bad. the flavor has a pleasant front end, german maltiness and actually pretty fresh to me, very light on the hops, and the yeast isnt quite old worldy but its not way off. it warms up a little bit poorly, thats where it feels thinner and tastes a little cheap, but i think it has good minerality, not too much residual sugar, and a pretty high degree of drinkability all things considered. not going to set the world ablaze, but its good value, its crafty enough for me in this instance, and is better than many of the others. a little more body would do this well, and its lightly astringent at temperature, but the carbonation is good, the malt has some depth, and this scratches the itch just fine!

 

Look - poured into a half pint glass. Light amber in color, clear, with a large foamy head that moderately dissipates, leaving behind small amounts of lacing.

Smell - all malts in the nose, lightly toasted. some light ester-like sweetness mixed in. overall light but pleasant.

Taste - also completely malts in the taste, though lighter than anticipated. not quite as much sweetness as suggested by the nose. light toasted malt flavor detectable and lingers to the finish, which is clean. some mild sweetness in the aftertaste.

Feel - light bodied, moderate carbonation, and reasonably low in alcohol at 5.3% ABV.

Overall - an easy drinking Marzen. no alarming issues, but a bit watery and light in flavor.

Tasty & easy to look at. Herrlich!!!

Semi-aggressive pour into a shaker returns a very clear light orange color and a two-finger very light khaki head that dissipates to a thinnish cap within 2 undisturbed minutes. Not much at all rising from the bottom. Lacing is nonexistent. Gave it a 4 on the color, which is probably the best thing going for it.
Faint malt, a bit of sweetness, and not much in the way of hops on the nose.
Again, faint malt flavor and a tad of alcohol burn that shouldn’t be there considering its medium ABV.
Mouthfeel is decent. It would be well served with additional carbonation
As hard as I try to describe it, it’s rather non-descript.

Cold 12 ounce can into a can glass.
Gold orange brew brings a decent little foam.
Lacking in aroma. Like a weak pilsner or revamped Boston Lager.
If the taste was anywhere near the appearance, this could be a good ale. Unoffensive and bland, I imagine this would only complement a plate of sausages and saurkraut. Light pilsner, not a Fest bier by any means.
Feel is thin with a little oily texture. Medium to high carbonation.
Overall, TJ’s Oktoberfest needs a good kick in the schlatz.,.

 

Can trader joes

 

APPEARANCE: Deep amber, clear with a nice khaki head and lines of spidery lace.

NOSE: Sweet caramel toffee malts. Decent.

TASTE: Caramel malts up front, with a hint of citrus hops in background. Nice toasty mellow character, balanced if a bit on the lighter side. Solid representation and no real probs here.