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- Mission St. Pale Ale. Among the esteemed lineup of Trader Joe’s beers, Mission St. Pale Ale stands tall as a shining example of the store’s commitment to exceptional brews.
- Black Toad Dark Ale. Deep, rich, and captivating, Black Toad Dark Ale casts a spell on the taste buds, making it a standout brew in Trader Joe’s remarkable beer selection.
- Trader Jose Light. Trader Jose Light, a delightful offering within Trader Joe’s beer collection, delivers a refreshing and satisfying experience for beer enthusiasts seeking a lighter option.
- Josephsbrau Bavarian Style Hefeweizen. Josephsbrau Bavarian Style Hefeweizen is a harmonious blend of ingredients that come together to create a truly exceptional beer.
- Josephsbrau Bavarian Style Hefeweizen. Josephsbrau Bavarian Style Hefeweizen is a mouthful — and a good one at that. With a sweet-spot 5.3% ABV, this is an unfiltered wheat beer, which, according to its label, includes notes of citrus, bubblegum, clove, and banana.
- Simpler Times Lager. Trader Joe's Simpler Times Lager is like the chill, unproblematic, fun-to-be-around member of the beer family. Trader Joe's describes it as "crisp and easy to drink," while being "full-flavored and well-balanced."
- Boatswain Hazy IPA. Let's note that the beers sold exclusively by Trader Joe's are all from various brewers and companies. (If that sounds confusing, it's because it kind of is.)
- Trader Joe's Vintage Spiced Ale. This ale ages like fine wine — that's to say that its flavors become more complex (and better) as it ages, according to BeerAdvocate.
- Boatswain Heavy Life Vessel
- Trader José Light
- Organic IPA
- KBC Blueberry Ale
- Boatswain Twin Screw Steamer
- Simpler Times Pilsner
- KBC Porter
- Boatswain Chocolate Stout
- Black Toad
- Josephsbrau Summer Brew
Strong Ale 7% Nice caramel color that started out with a lot OF promise, coupled with a slightly bready smell. Tastes primarily of bitter hops with no noticeable floral hops. The bitter stays with you for about 10 seconds, reminding you that you just took a sip of real, actual beer. The relatively high alcohol level isn’t evident. The faintest hint...
Mexican-Style Lager 4% Skunky smell immediately comes from the beer just like it should from a proper clear-bottle beer. The taste is more disappointing. It tastes like water. Like carbonated, slightly skunky water. Maybe a slight bit of sweet in there too. I’d still crush these endlessly (108 calories!), but you lose a lot of the cool factor by ho...
IPA6.5% Organic cascade and organic nugget hops. This beer is certified organic, and you know what? More power to TJ. It takes a lot to get certified organic. That’s about it for positive things I have to say about this beer. It’s got a long lasting, almost synthetic bitterness. No head retention. No floral aroma or taste like I was hoping an ~ org...
Flavored Beer 4.5% Can’t escape the blueberry candy that rushes out of the bottle like Braveheart. It tastes like Electric Blue Raspberry fruit rollups mixed with perfume mixed with the blueberry powder on Sour Punch straws. It doesn’t taste enough like beer for people who like beer, and it isn’t sweet enough for the Lime-a-rita loving crowd. If yo...
Double IPA 8.4% A double IPA is an ambitious move. DIPAs need to be extra. This beer is not extra. It’s less hop-forward than it should be for an IPA, let alone a double IPA. The sweet malt is very clear when you smell it, but less clear when you taste it because the bitter takes over. Very little here that makes me want to come back.
Pilsner5.5%. First impression: light. It has a bit of an armpit taste and lacks the clean flavors I want when I’m drinking a pilsner. It’s not quite a good American pilsner. More like a dirty European pilsner.
Porter5.7% Bitter roasted chocolate. There’s some residual sweetness that’s nice, though. This is one of those where I thought, “Hey, yeah, this is O.K.!” But then that’s the only thought that runs through my head after each sip. I’d drink it.
Stout5.4% The can says it’s brewed with cocoa powder, which, whatever. You do you, Boatswain. Independent brewers are throwing all sorts of weird shit into beer; why can’t Trader Joe’s get in on the action with a little cocoa powder? The beer is dry and has good balance with some bitterness. It’s got a good amount of viscosity, and next to zero res...
Dark Ale 5.3% A balanced dark beer with an almost lactose sweetness. It’s a little thin. Black Toad is good; it just feels like it’s missing something.
Kölsch4.8% Fresh and bubbly, low bitterness, some hidden citrus. Smells bretty. I did not expect to write that. If you like kölsch, you’ll be happy with this. It’s light and refreshing, with low-malt sweetness.
- Drive Thru Red Dry Hopped Red Ale. I love red ales. I think there aren’t enough of them out there. So I was psyched to try Trader Joe’s red ale—until I took the first sip.
- Trader Jose Light. Trader Joe’s light beer selection is, at the moment, limited to this Corona Light dupe. And it is perfectly satisfactory. I won’t tell you to run out and grab a six-pack but it’s a fine summertime brew to stock up on for a party, especially if you squeeze in a spritz of lime.
- Trader Jose Dark. I like this more than the light version, but it’s lacking the maltiness I want from a dark Mexican beer. Once again, it’s a totally fine, cheap beer to grab a lot of and serve up at a BBQ.
- Stockyard Oatmeal Stout. This is a nice, classic oatmeal stout. It has chocolaty undertones and, at 5.2% ABV, is a great session beer. But I wish it was a bit heavier and a bit creamier.
We bought every single kind of Trader Joe's beer and got Ethan Osborne, the head brewer of Great Divide, to taste them blind and rank them.
Mar 12, 2022 · Their Josephsbrau and Mission St series are particularly reliable, but many of these beers are great examples of their style and solid choices. Read on for all of the beers currently offered by Trader Joe’s, listed in order from best to worst Beer Advocate rating.
Trader Joe’s beers have all been made by different independent breweries which produce the products under brand labels that are exclusive to their stores. The Boatswain collection is brewed by Minhas Craft Brewing, Josephbrau beers are produced by Gordon Biersch Brewing, KBC beers come from Maine’s Shipyard Brewing, the Mission Street line ...
