Trader Joe's Stockyard Oatmeal Stout

Another beer I received in a beer trade with the Beer Club 4 Men was Trader Joe’s Stockyard Oatmeal Stout. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head that leaves a bit of a lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, cardboard, warehouse (weird), and toasted malts. The taste has dark chocolate and is a little bitter with toasted malts. There is a bit of a cardboard flavor before a coffee accents comes out on the tongue. The alcohol content is 5.2% ABV. I can’t say I was a huge fan of this beer. I was surprised that it smelled like the warehouse that it came from, and had hints of cardboard.

Trader Joe's Bavarian Style Hefeweizen

I swiped a bottle of Trader Joe's Bavarian Style Hefeweizen from my sister's fridge when I was dog sitting (Let's see how well she reads the blog). The beer pours an orange-golden color with a lofty foamy white head. The aroma consists of orange peel, coriander, banana, pepper, and yeast. The taste is smooth and full of flavors including orange, coriander, pepper, banana, and a good helping of Belgian yeast. The finish on the beer is a little watered down and it leaves a faint mandarin orange after taste. The alcohol content is 5.3 % ABV. Overall, not a bad Hefeweizen. I must say I was a little reluctant about this beer since it came from Trader Joe's, and I haven't had anything from a retail store before. The flavors were nicely balanced in this beer and there were plenty of them to keep the tongue happy throughout the experience.