Trader Joes Hofbrau Bock

Brewed by Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Palo Alto, California USA

From bottle. Light sweet aroma, a bit metallic, with some brown sugar, corn sweetness, and very little hops. Rich golden-amber clear with foamy off-white, slightly lacing head. Medium to light watery body with medium carbonation. Starts and stays pretty sweet. Sugary malt character with quite a bit of astringency in there, too. Not quite tannic, but like processed sugars were used to bump up the abv. Mild butterscotch. Light hops flavor, but mainly a bitter astringent finish that lasts a bit into the after. Not a very good bockbier.

Bottle split with pat and sean. Aroma is sunky malt. Taste is sweet malt, some corn...pretty flavorless but not too offensive

Bottle. 12 oz. Pours transparent orange with a white head. Aroma of citrus, pine, hops, vanilla, and caramel. Weak body with a thin mouthhfeel. Terrible.

Poured a dark golden color with lots of carbonation. The head quickly disappeared to almost nothing. The nose was sweet caramel malts, citrus fruits and yeast. Very sweet up front with caramel malts and a touch of honey and a light bitter finish that ends quickly. The body was light / medium and carbonated well which made for a very light drinkable bock. Overall very average.

12oz. Pours a lovely golden orange with a fleeting white head. Nose is pretty muted when cold but there is a bit of cracked wheat and citrus to be found. Body follows with similar flavors, a bit more citrus and possibly a bit of caramel. Palate is nice and medium, not too crazy with carbonation and not too soft. Overall a pleasing beer, nothing that really struck me despite the alcohol taming.

Location: 12 oz bottle from Trader Joes (Short Pump), 12/17/09

Aroma: Nose lead by apple juice, along with some cereal and biscuit
Appearance: Pours a clear golden-orange, quickly disappearing head
Flavor: Taste is somewhat sweet, apple juice and bread, lightly sour finish
Palate: This one is fairly light, finish is pretty abrupt, smooth enough
Overall Impression: When I first I opened this one there was something in unusual in the nose, and I just couldn’t quite figure out what it was, so I kept sniffing, and sniffing, and then it came: apple juice. This beer smells just like apple juice. Weird. Anyway, its a decent beer. A classic GB/TJ beer in that it is relatively on style, but just not overly exciting. It’s a solid beer for the price though, and I won’t fault these guys, as they are pushing the non-BMC agenda, which we all should thank them for.

Bottle. Bright golden. Cerealy aroma. Mildly syrupy but otherwise quite sessionable. (#3753, 11/25/2009)

Poured from bottle into clear cup. Bright and clear light orange with moderate white head. Aroma of sweet fruit and caramel with spicy noble hops. Very sweet fruit (cherry) and caramel, which turns a little spicy and bitter. Definitely a little too sweet and could use some more balancing hops. Moderate carbonation, medium chewy body that is almost syrupy. A Helles Bock really should have a drier finish. Considering the source and the price, it’s not too bad, but not worth seeking out. However, it’s a decent sipper and I am glad that Trader Joe’s made it at the appropriate high abv.