Trader José Dark Premium Lager

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Fairly typical (maybe ever so slightly better) mexican style dark lager. A little roast, but still refreshing. Light chocolate, caramel, and hops on the palate. Not a bad deal for .99.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Purchased at Trader Joe's in Nashville on my trip there. Pours a light copper colour with an off-white head that stays longer than expected, keeps a coat on the brew and leaves decent sticky lace. Big caramel aroma with some notes of roasted one and a touch of alcohol. Red apple taste at the start, with hints of nuts, to then end in the caramel malt finish. Coffee lingers a bit into the aftertaste. Quite a surprise, being a dark beer from Mexico and actually not being water.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours into my 33cl tulip glass with a frothy, initially almost three-finger thick, amber-dirtied, tan colored head. The beer shows some clearness but is dark enough that it is hard to see through as it sits on the table with a red-tinged, concentrated amber color; when held up to the light it shows a brilliantly clear, cranberry red / amber color. The aroma smells of caramel and grain husks up front and has a sweet, almost fruitiness. The finish has a slightly grassy, crushed grain aroma to it as well as just a bit of toasty / bready malt character to it.

Sweet tasting, with a light nuttiness to the finish and just a hint of roast to it. Fuller bodied than I was expecting, but this is light and quaffable. The sweetness plays up some light caramel notes and even a touch of berry-like flavors. The hop presence is fairly low, but there is a slight bitterness to this brew and perhaps a touch of herbal hop presence. The carbonation provides a touch of a bit in the middle that couples with the hop notes. This finishes with a toasty, almost bread crust like, biscuit malt character that in its dryness does a fair job of balancing the sweetness that is found up front.

I know it says its from Mexico so it must be crap, but I am quite surprised by this brew. I think it gives Negro Modelo a run for its money and if it isn't, it sure does a good job of faking the aromas and flavors of an all malt beer (well minus the caramel coloring). While this is certainly not earth shattering, it actually has a better mix of flavors and balance than many of the usual Trader Joe's label beers. At the price they sell this at it is almost a go to BBQ / grill beer for those hot Summer afternoons & evenings.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Pours a dark nut brown colour with a small brown head. Mouthfeel is relatively light, as mentioned before, it is pretty bland but i can see this being refreshing under the hot mexican sun. Taste is a little nutty, with a hint of nugget and almonds. finishes watery.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

This was an incredibly bland and watery beer. Deep chestnut color with a light soapy/sudsy head. As it warmed, it tasted like it had once been in the same room as some roasted caramel malts. Sickly, watery mouthfeel. So lightly carbonated, that you would think you were drinking water if you hadn't looked at the glass before imbibing. Bad all around.