Sunday Night Suds - Joseph's Brau Summer Brew

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Trader Joe's in house summer offering - the Joseph's Brau Summer Brew.

When growing up, every child is taught the lesson, "don't judge a book by its cover." While this is generally a good idea in life, the reverse is not always true and especially when it comes to beer.

There are quite a few good beers out there which don't have flashy labels, commercial or come ons. These are just good brews which can be enjoyed with meals or friends or together with friends at a meal. The label is not needed to sell the bottle, as the beer itself is just known as a good beer.

Then again there are beers which go to great lengths to attract the imagination of the buyer by coming up with ingenious labels or risque names.

And then there are beers which try to sell themselves as the beer of the summer, such as the Joseph's Brau Summer Brew. These are beers to stay far away from as they are usually light beers masquerading as regular brews or contain far too much flavoring to be truly considered beer.

The Joseph's Brau Summer Brew definitively falls into the former category. While the beer advertises itself as a Kolsch style brew, it tastes more like a Pilsner, and a weak one at that. The beer pours a pale yellow, with no nose and little flavor. The bottle indicates that it is 4.8% abv, but I can't taste the alcohol.

Joseph's Brau Summer Brew is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit and there is a tiny Va'ad Hakashrus 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 search my site for the link to the latest list of beers under kosher supervision.To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Joseph's Brau Summer Brew, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10707/50429.

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).

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