Trader Joe's Double Bock

Just had one of these over the weekend. It was called a Winter Brew, and said it was a double bock.

For those of you who have had it before: Was it a decent representation of the style?

I had two TJ beers, the Winter Brew and a Dunkelweisse. The wheat beer was way too roasty in my opinion. It drifted into porter territory with the burnt toast taste.

I'll have to get over to Trader Joe's in Westlake & see how it is. Haven't had that one yet.

Any idea who makes it? Their annual Vintage Ale is made by Unibroue and is a delicious Belgian dark strong ale.

Paulaner sells the famous Salvator Doppelbock from Germany. The Salvatoran monks made & sold it in the middle ages. Try that one,I love it. I like the bottles too,they delabel in about an hour in PBW. The older Paulaner bottles had bearded monks around the shoulder of the bottle. I jelously guard those,as the embossing has been discontinued.

I'll have to look for that one. I didn't see it the last time I stopped in a TJ.

I know Firestone-Walker makes some of the Trader Joe's beers. The Mission St. ones, I think. And like somebody said, Unibroue makes their holiday vintage beers.

All of their store brand beers are no joke and super good deals. They get legit breweries to make the beer for them.

I also like their Botswain line. Especially the HLV (heavy lift vessel) ale. Not sure what style that one is, but something british. The double IPA isn't my favorite, though. I think that line is brewed by Minhas Brewing.

TJ house brands are my go-to commerical beers. Just over $1 per bottle for Firestone Walker-brewed pale ale & IPA? Yes please.

I think Gordon Biersch brews their "Joseph's Brau" line which are all pretty good.

I'm with you on the TJ's beer. Certainly not world class brews, but I think its some of the best cheap beer you can find. I just had a bomber of HLV over the weekend. I haven't found a bottle that has an easier label to remove than either the Botswain or the Mission street 22oz bottles, even just a quick hot water soak will pull the label right off.