Your thoughts on Trader Joe's brews

I thought it was no good.

I split a bomber of it with a buddy. If someone else payed for a bomber, and wanted to split it with me, I wouldn't turn it down. I'd never pay for it.

I did enjoy the Vintage Ale from 2013, and I'm letting one sit for a year. I will continue to buy those annually for sure! I'm not as encouraged to try any of the other offerings.

 

The San Jose beers, most of which I think are brewed by Gordon Biersch, can be pretty solid. The TJ's Summer is a decent kolsch.

Stockyard Stout is excellent and I think is one of the brews that Firestone Walker does from them. Ditto the Anniversary Ale Imperial Brown. At least I really enjoyed it, although others on here didn't seem to as much.

Finally, the Vintage Ale and other Unibroue beers are always outstanding and the price is unbeatable.

Bottom line, check where the brew is made and if it's San Jose, it'll be decent, Paso Robles or Montreal and it will be great.

The Wisconsin beers, of which Boatswain is one, are the least enjoyable I'd say.

 

We haven't minded the ones that we've tried. They probably get a few brownie points though because of their relationship with Firestone Walker.

 

Trader Joe's in RI doesn't sell alcohol. Very disapointing.

 

The Mission St. Beers are from Firestone Walker, but FW is getting out of the contract brewing business (my guess is because they want the production capacity for themselves), so TJ's will have a new brand produced by Golden Road from LA.

 

Apparently that is ending - Firestone Walker to Exit Contract Brewing Market.

Ol' Burro brand.

 

Stockyard Stout is also brewed by Gordon Biersch in San Jose. At least that's what the bottles from San Jose TJ's say. The Mission St. Anniversary is about the best $3 you'll ever spend!

 

Been buying Vintage Ale sjnce 2011. Working on a 3 year vertical, $5 is cheap for a high quality Belgian Dark =D

 

Yep...same in "Backwards Land" (PA)

 

I've only tried one -- the 2012 Vintage Ale. I thought it was very good (not excellent or outstanding, but still very enjoyable).

 

IMO Trader Joe's beer is great for their price. Recently I purchased a 6 pack of Stockyard Stout for less than 6 dollars. That is cheaper the some bottled water. Looking forward to try their other styles

 

The 2013 is very good, but it need's some aging. I need to pick up a few for my cellar before they disappear.

 

The Joseph Brau Summer has the most Diacityl from any commercial beer I've had. The other beers in the line are decent though for the price.

 

Mission Street IPA is solid. Great price too, at 7$ a six pack.

Stockyard Oatmeal Stout is one of my all time favorite of the style.

Also, I never miss grabbing multiple bottles of Vintage Ale around the holidays.

Trader Joes is great.

 

Their Stockyard oatmeal stout is genuinely amazing for its cheap price.

 

The Joseph Brau line is solid with Pale Bock, Dunkel Weizen and Winter Lager being in my favorites. The Stockyard Oatmeal Stout is an outstanding value. All the above mentioned are brewed by Gordon Biersch and have easy to read best by dating on the back label. The Vintage Ale and Golden Ale from Unibourne are real nice. Just had the Ol' Burro Tap 79 IPA (Golden Road) is a solid IPA and a good value but the packages don't seem to have a date on them and only 1 of the 4 cans had a readable date on the bottom of the can. Sad to see the Mission Street line going away and my local TJ's are already out of bombers. Wish I was able to grab a couple of Browns before they left the house.

 

I've been very impressed with the quality and price of Trader Joe's offerings. My three favorites so far:

• Josephs Brau Bohemian Lager
• Mission Street Anniversary Ale 2013
• Trader Joe's Providential Belgian-Style

 

When is this happening? I pick up a 6-pack every time I shop there and really like mission st. for the price

 

In my opinion all the JosephBrau brews are very bland and there is nothing special to them. However, they are a great way to experience a ton of different styles for really cheap.