Skip to main content

How are Those Cheap Beers from Trader Joe's, Anyway?

You don't have to void your wallet of hard-earned cash when you want to pick up some good beer.  If you happen to live near a Trader Joe's that sells beer (sorry Pennsylvania), then I have some suggestions for you to try.

First off is the Mission St Anniversary Ales.  They are brewed and bottled in 22 oz. bottles for Trader Joe's by Steinhaus Brewing Co, which is really Firestone Walker Brewing.  They have been releasing a new Mission St. Anniversary each year for the last several years.  From my memory, last year's Anniversary Ale was good, but 2014's release is great.  Sweet caramel and dark fruits up front, with a burst of citrus at the end of each sip, on top of a layer of alcohol makes this beer incredibly tasty.  And it only gets better with each sip as it warms.  Steinhaus/Firestone classify this beer as an Imperial Brown Ale, and it comes in at a warming 8.5% abv.  Oh, and the 22 oz. bottle was $2.99! 

Trader Joe's, Mission St, 2014 Anniversary Ale
Mission St. 2014 Anniversary Ale
There are other beers in the Mission St. line, including a pale ale, IPA and hefeweizen.  I know they are packaged in 12 oz. bottles and sold in 6-packs, but I have yet to give them a try.  Sounds like another trip to Trader Joe's!

Next up is Boatswain H.LV (Heavy Lift Vessel) Ale.  This beer, coming in at 7% abv, brewed and bottled in 22 oz. bottles by Rhinelander Brewing in Wisconsin, also had similar qualities to a brown ale, but was quite different from the 2014 Anniversary Ale.  There was a similar caramel backbone, but there was much more of a hop bitterness that attacks your taste buds than in the Anniversary Ale.  It honestly reminded me of an Indian Brown Ale, or the little brother to an American barleywine.  At $2.99 for the 22 oz. bottle, definitely a good deal!

Trader Joe's, Heavy Lift Vessel, Boatswain
Boatswain H.L.V. Ale
Another beer I tried from Trader Joe's was Boatswain American IPA, which rings in at 6.7% abv, and is brewed and bottled by Rhinelander Brewing in Wisconsin.  It definitely wasn't the best IPA I've ever had, but it was MUCH better than lots of other beers in the same price range.  The Boatswain IPA had a strange hop flavor that was difficult to describe, and a bit of a harsh aftertaste, but it was still a decent beer.  It does the trick for $2.99 for a 22 oz. bottle!
Trader Joe's, Boatswain IPA, India Pale Ale
Boatswain American IPA

Yea so, give these beers a try and let me know what you think! 
Labels:

Comments

  1. DavidDecember 16, 2016 at 2:25 PM

    loved the boatswain IPA
    try the Baxter stowaway IPA brewed in Maine...exceptional.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MCNovember 17, 2018 at 12:03 PM

    Boatswain IPA is downright awful

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dogfish Head Positive Contact

Frankenstorm is on it's way.  Bread: Check.  Candles: Check.  Ice: Check.  Beer: Check!  The big storm is supposed to strike land here in NJ late Sunday night into early Monday morning, and last until late Tuesday.  Kerry and I live in the western part of NJ, so we should be safe from most of it, except for local river flooding.  Tonight I'll be reviewing Positive Contact from Dogfish Head.  This is their collaboration with Dan the Automator (who I honestly had never heard of before this collaboration). I poured Positive Contact into my Yards Brewing tulip glass.  It poured a pale orange, golden color with a two and a half finger width head.  Apples, bananas and peppers hit my nose right away.  The smell is incredible and strong.  The Positive Contact is full of flavor, and reminds me of a smooth drinking Belgian tripel.  It tastes immediately of fruity esters, mainly banana.  The finish is peppery.  I'm not getting any apple flavor.  This beer is light bodied, with
Post a Comment
Read more

BJCP: Strong Scotch Ale (9E)

This is the first article in a new series of posts, where I will periodically choose a section from the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines , write about the style, and then drink and publish my tasting notes from some of the commercial examples given by the BJCP.  Now, I'm not sure if I will ever actually take the exam to become a beer judge, but I think this will be a fun exercise to learn more about beer! Fair warning, I will not be doing the sections of the BJCP style guidelines in any sort of order.  Whichever kinds of beer I am craving is what I will be writing about! Strong Scotch Ales (also known as Wee Heavy) comprise sub-category 9E in the BJCP style guidelines.  They range between 6.5% and 10.0% ABV, and have a light copper to dark brown appearance.  Obviously, strong scotch ales are all about showcasing the malt.  While studying this style, I found it quite interesting that the brewers ferment out the wort at cooler temperatures than other
15 comments
Read more

The Six-Pack Project: New Jersey

Welcome to the Six-Pack Project!  The idea of the project is to create a six-pack of beer that would best represent the current beer scene in your respective state.  For me, that is obviously New Jersey.  The Six-Pack Project was created by Bryan over at the This Is Why I'm Drunk blog.  Check out his introduction to the project here ! 10 years ago, beer probably wasn't the first thing that came to your mind when you were thinking about New Jersey.  However, times are changing, and it's an exciting time to be a beer drinker in the Garden State.  Every year, more and more bars are starting to serve a greater variety in beer.  Even more importantly, new breweries haven been opening in NJ each year, and lots more are in planning Today, there is a wide variety of beer brewed here in New Jersey.  Choosing six beers to best represent the state was no easy feat, but I was up for it!  Hopefully, the following will clue you in a little bit more to some o
13 comments
Read more