Ah, a Trader Joe’s beer by way of Gordon Birsch: "JosephsBrau" is the contract label for TJs that has produced several beers (I’ve reviewed two). Their Dunkelweizen is fairly new, a dark wheat beer that is 5.2% alcohol by volume.

Since it’s a TJ’s "house beer", it was picked up for $5.99 a six-pack (and specials may apply)—not bad for a craft-brewed beer.

Appearance: Murky, brown with a tan head. Like a dark, unfiltered apple cider.

Smell: Tart and clovey… a hint of banana and a kind of funk.

Taste: Wheat, a bit of raw dough character, yeasty. A bit of tart funky character (green fruits) and a little phenolic. Hint of spice—clove and nutmeg. A touch of green apple?

Mouthfeel: Certainly has an unfiltered character but it also has a prickly, slightly over-carbonated feel to it… a bit gassy.

Overall: A little too gassy, I think, and the sour fruit notes aren’t my favorite.

On BeerAdvocate, it only has two reviews thus far and those two give it a grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.31 out of 5 and is in their 69th percentile.