This week's Sunday Night Suds toasts the Jets on their surprisingly good season with the vastly underrated Trader Joe's Hofrau Bock.
Yes, I save sports for Monday's post and I will not be writing the eulogy for the Jets season tonight. Still, when I received a set of Jets tulip beer glasses (if you look hard enough you can see the logo on the front of the glass) as a present this week, I knew that I had to use one to toast the Jets this evening.
During my beer education, I have learned that the glass you are using to consume the brew makes a significant difference in the flavor experience. I first noticed this when I poured the second beer from a six pack into a glass, after having consumed the first straight from the bottle on the previous evening. This may not rise to the level of eating moldy bread over a petri dish filled with bacteria, but it was an accidental eye opener for me. I subsequently began to try all my new beers from glassware which I picked up at local area beer stores. There really was a difference!
Rather than attempt to explain why the glassware makes a difference, I defer to the experts at BA, who explain:
Scientific studies show that the shape of glassware will impact head development and retention. Why is this important? The foam created by pouring a beer acts as a net for many of the volatiles in a beer. What's a volatile? Compounds that evaporate from beer to create its aroma, such as hop oils, all kinds of yeast fermentation byproducts like alcohol, fusels and fruity esters, spices or other additions. So a glass that promotes a healthy foam head may enhance the trapping of certain volatiles. And as varying levels of head retention and presentation are desired with different styles of beers, different styles of glassware should be used accordingly. Presentation marries science.
As per the picture above, I savored the Trader Joe's Hofrau Bock in my brand new (toveled on Friday) Jets tulip glass which was mailed to me by a relative who is a Jets season ticket holder (they really do know how to comp their fans). The tulip glass truly opened up the flavor of the bock and allowed me to enjoy the hops and the complexity of the spice notes. One word of caution though - the Hofrau Bock has a bit of a kick as it is 7% abv, although the alcohol does not hit you up front.
Trader Joe's Hofrau Bock is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit and their is a tiny Va'ad kashrus symbol on the back of the bottle. Please keep in mind that not every Trader Joe's brew is under kosher supervision, so check the label or follow this link http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/09/kosher-beers-semi-annual-kosher-beers.html for the latest list of beers under kosher supervision.
To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Trader Joe's Hofrau Bock, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10707/21639. As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.
If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).
Finally, if you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
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