Sunday, March 25, 2012

Sunday Night Suds - Josephs Brau Plznr


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Josephs Brau "Plzner" Czech Style Lager.

I first came across this beer in Trader Joe's on Atlantic and Court in Brooklyn. Trader Joe's has a number of house beers which it contracts out for production. Many of the Joseph's Brau (perhaps all, although I am not certain) beers are certified kosher by the Va'ad of Detroit, so it gives me an opportunity to expand my beer horizons.

Another perk of buying beer a Trader Joe's is their generous policy of allowing the customer to buy singles without penalty. Some beer stores will not allow the purchase of singles, while others will "upcharge" by making the customer pay the price for 1/5 of a six pack when buying a single bottle. Trader Joe's freely allows customers to buy singles, or a mix a six pack of their own.

Not long after I purchased the Plznr, I spoke with the mashgiach for the Va'ad of Detroit who oversees the Joseph's Brau production. He raved about this brew, so I chilled it for a while and finally tried it this weekend.

By now I am sure that you are wondering why the beer is spelled the way that it is. The back of the label reveals that the Czech Pilsner style was developed in the town of Plzn (now known as Pilsen in the Czech Republic). I imagine that they named the brew Plznr as a tribute to either the city or the brewmaster, but who knows.

As a Czech Pilsner, this beer has a leg up on most domestic pilsners, since it has some hop bitterness to go with the typical crispness of a pilsner. The alcohol content (5.4% abv) is on the high end of the scale for this style of beer, but not overpowering.

This beer would go well with Asian food or spicy/peppery food which packs some heat.

Joseph's Brau Plznr 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 at Beer Advocate think about this beer, click this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10707/76549 .

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 www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

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