JosephsBrau Stockyard Oatmeal Stout

I didn't spell the name of the brewery wrong, I swear. It is actually called JosephsBrau Brewing Company, located in San Jose, CA. And you know what the trick is, what the dirty little secret is? This beer is made by Trader Joe's and sold exclusively at Trader Joe's. You know that TJs likes to play up their name for different ethic food products that they make, like Trader Jose's for Mexican food, and Trader Tito's for African food, well this is their take on the Irish. TJs is a pretty great store, and I do like their specialty food products that you can't get anywhere else, but sometimes they just piss me off. They claim that if you fill up a grocery bag of their food and compare that to a bag of food from another grocer that theirs will always be cheaper. Somehow whenever we go to TJs we end up dropping a Benjamin and walk out with three bags. WTF? Oh wait, what's that? I forgot to mention the case of two buck chuck (only in Cali, it's three bucks elsewhere) and other modestly priced delicious wines that we bought. Yea, that usually jacks up the spendage. But still. And don't buy their produce, it goes bad really fast. I do like their tortillas though.


TJs take on an Irish oatmeal stout was so-so. It has a slightly bitter aroma, and tastes a bit like chocolate and oats, but nothing too overwhelming. After taking a couple sips and waiting a minute or two, if you spit on the ground (or the wall, I'm not picky), you'll find you have crazy snotty brown saliva that looks like you were just enjoying some Skoal. This stout has an ABV of 5.2%, and goes for $6 a six pack, or a ducket for a single 12oz bottle (cuz TJs is cool like that and let's you buy single beers), so you don't have to waste your whole wad on buying a six-pack of beer that is just average. And that's what this oatmeal stout is, just average. I would maybe get it again, cuz its only a dollar, and I would definitely drink one if it was free, but I'm not going to go running out to TJs all excited for it (have you seen the traffic in TJs parking lots? Cripes almighty! You'll have better luck turning your poop into gold than finding a parking spot sometime! People love their two buck chuck!)

Drinkability: 5/10

Taste: 5/10

Value: 8/10
Curb Appeal: 4/10

Overall: 5.5/10