JosephsBrau Hopfest

Brewed by Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
Style: Pilsener
San Jose, California USA

Serve in Flute, Footed Pilsner

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Pours into my "designer" Sam Adams glass with a chill hazed (this dissipates as the beer warms up), straw gold color and is topped by a frothy, large bubbled, initially finger and a half thick, Pale, off-white colored head, that breaks apart and dissipates with large islands of broken froth. Nicely malty nose with notes of sweet grain, grassy malt, honey and floral aromatics . Those last are also part of hop character, which also includes a light herbal note, a touch of mint character and some light lemon notes.

Crisp, with a solid bitterness up front, the hop bite continues to play a role through to a sharp finish. Lightly sweet malt character contributes a honey character that tries to temper the dominant hop character. Tries because this is a Pilsner after all, but the malt does play a significant role here; it is in fact a bit more malty than one expects in a Pilsner & in fact contributes a touch too much sweetness for the German variety, but it is in line with the Bohemian one. A hint of buttery yeast character mixes up in & melds into the honey notes. A nice herbal hop flavor runs throughout; sort of menthol like, perhaps some lemon thyme like thing and some sharp grassy notes.

Certainly one of the better Trader Joe’s branded brews. I definitely like the flavors in this one, but I think that a bit more hop character would make this very good. There is enough malt character her to support it, especially since it seems to get to be a little too much at times and I like a Pilsner with a solid hop character.

Shared by JK, sampled from 12-oz bottle at Cellar’s Wine & Spirits in St Paul, MN. Pours a clear golden brew with a thick white head that slowly dissolves with good retention and lacing. Aroma of some caramel malt, and a mix of floral and citrusy hops. Taste is medium bodied, light carbonation with a slight gritty texture. Finish is a short lived bitterness and then a clean cut and crisp flavor.

bottle. pretty generic. crisp, cold and refreshing... not much else to say.

Clear golden with large, bright white head with decent retention. Aroma of field grasses, mild caramel and a slight spice. Mild hop bitteress in the flavor, mainly dominated by wet grasses, wheat, and crusty bread. Sourdough finish. Moderately full mouthfeel, nice carbonation balance.

(Bottle) Pours a golden color with little head. Light aroma of hops and mild malts. Taste is well balanced and has a nice hoppy bite. Decent lacing, and average mouthfeel. I was pleasantly surprised by this brew.

Picked this up at a Trader Joe’s while shopping for faux iceream... It has a bright yellow/gold body with a modest head that laces the glass nicely before disappearing. Quiet malts are covered by light floral scents, maybe a hit of grasses. A bit oily in the mouth. The flavor belies the 27 IBUs listed on the bottle. This has a good floral/herbal hop bitterness that complements the malts nicely. The finish is bitter and crisp. (I had to borrow the latter word.) Pretty decent.

Now that I’m done with my string of vacation reviews (116 in all), I can once again sit in front of my keyboard with a new beer and simply type away. Aaaahhh...

Pours a rather bright, buttery/golden with a light dusting of particulate under a mediocre white head which holds for only a short while. I find an odd note of sweet cardboard beneath a nose of mild herbals and florals. Surprisingly full bodied, a little creamy on the tongue finishing dry. Sharp continental bittering saves the day for a beer whose name I first thought was a bit of a joke. A big dose of Hallertau peppers the tongue and lasts well into the finish with only a mild distraction of sourness. I don’t think anyone has used the word "crisp" to describe this beer, so allow me.

<font size=-4>Single 12 oz. bottle from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/><a href=http://www.traderjoes.com/index.html>Tr Joe’s, Orland Park, IL 60462</font>

Appearance: Pours a clear light gold. Two fingers of fluffy white head which quickly dissipated. Smell: Mild floral hops on a grainy malt background. Taste: Sweet malt with a lightly bready background. Lots of floral hop flavour, medium bitterness. Mouthfeel: Light body, high carbonation. Drinkability: Clean and crisp flavour, very easy drinking.

Clear yellow gold with a mediocre white bubbly head. No lace. Equal parts brewer’s cereal and reedy, stemmy aroma. Grainy palate with a grassy, stemmy vegetal hop quality. Crisp dry finish. Not a bad representation of the style I guess, but not outstanding either.

Grassy hop aroma typical of pilseners. Amber gold color with a white head that stays for awhile. Thin to medium bodied. Moderate carbonation. Light malt, not quite caramel. Some bitter. The finish is at least bitter. Dry, almost astringement. Drinkable.