JosephsBrau Hofbrau Bock

Beer:  JosephsBrau Hofbrau Bock
Brewery: Trader Joe’s Brewing Company
Style: Bock
ABV: 7.0%

 Serving Style: Bottle
Glassware: Pilsner glass
Drinking Establishment: Kerensa’s kitchen
Primary Consumer(s): Ally & Kerensa

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OVERALL RATING:

Sight: Clear golden yellow body.  Small off-white head.  It sort of looks like a macro lager (you know, like a Bud or a PBR).

Scent: Depending on how you approach it, it smells either metallic, like copper, or like apple cider.  Either way, not very Bock-like.

Flavor: This tastes one step up from generic college keg beer.  It’s vaguely German, with a vaguely discernible lager yeastiness.

Feel:  Thin, but not quite watery (like one would expect from typical college keg beer).  Moderate carbonation.

Concluding remarks: When you drink JosephBrau’s (read: Trader Joe’s German alias) Bock, you know this is a German-style beer…but you’re not quite sure what style it’s supposed to be.  It’s a very one-note brew, slightly sweet but generic.  Maybe this is what you’ll find within the keg of a German college student?  Or maybe this is what you get for spending $1 on a beer at Trader Joe’s.  While it’s not offensive or terrible, we’d recommend sticking with the 3 Buck Chuck.

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter

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Beer:  Taddy Porter
Brewery: Samuel Smith
Style: English Porter
ABV: 5.0%

Serving Style: Bottle
Glassware: Pint glass
Drinking Establishment: The Old Bay Restaurant, New Brunswick, NJ
Primary Consumer(s): Ally & Kerensa

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OVERALL RATING:

Sight: Very dark brown body with a thin, pale tan head. Large carbonation bubbles gathered in the center.

Scent: Strong caramel and toffee aroma, with crisp coffee undertones.

Flavor: Initially, the intense toffee and caramel come through, but the aftertaste is like drinking roasted seltzer, if that was a thing.

Feel: Medium creamy body, moderate carbonation.

This Sam Smith “Famous” Porter has a fascinating background: the brewing water is drawn from a well sunk over 200 years ago, and it’s fermented using the Yorkshire Square system (Samuel Smith being the last independent brewery in England to utilize this classic system of fermentation in stone squares).  However, the result isn’t as remarkable: the Taddy is your classic Porter with flavors of roasted coffee and toffee/caramel.  Not too heavy, and just a tad(dy) bit sweet.

Fun fact: All Samuel Smith beers are vegan and registered with the Vegan Society.  Woot!

Concluding remarks: Better Porters have been had, but we can see it being the Yuengling or Sam Adams go-to equivalent when having a pint in England.

Mr. George’s Ruby Porter

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Beer: Mr. George’s Ruby Porter
Brewery: Batemans Brewery
Style: English Porter/Ruby Porter
ABV: 5.0%

Serving Style: Bottle
Glassware: Pint glass
Acquired from: City Swiggers 
Drinking Establishment: Kerensa’s kitchen
Primary Consumer: Kerensa

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OVERALL RATING:

Sight: Dark brown, slightly transparent with ruby red hues. Very little, almost non-existent head. Proliferation of carbonation bubbles.

Smell: I have never smelled a Porter quite like this; it’s incredibly sweet and citrusy.

Flavor: This tastes like sweet milk, with a complex spice profile and just a bit of earthiness. There are notes of nutmeg and just a bit of citrus as well.

Feel: Very light body with excellent carbonation.

Why, Mr. George, so nice to meet you. This English Porter was surprisingly light and refreshing, all the while packing an incredible amount of sweet spice flavor. I kid you not, this tastes and feels like a sweet milk-based drink. Perhaps this is not an excellent portrayal of a traditional English Porter, but I sure as hell was excited and challenged by the flavor of this beer. Perhaps this stylistic divergence has to do with it being a Ruby Porter (though, after some research, I’m not convinced that this is an actual style).

Concluding remarks: It’s a pretty obscure one to find, but if you ever see it on a beer run, definitely give Mr. George a try. He will not disappoint. If you don’t believe me, just look at his stoic yet warm and trustworthy face.

Also, for the vegans out there, this beer is approved by the Vegan Society. So have your way with this one.