Day 148, May 28 / Simpler Times Pilsner

Day 148  /  May 28, 2011

Simpler Times Pilsner

Minhas Craft Brewery / Monroe, Wisconsin

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Simpler Times on the Rivah!

With our daughter off in NYC on a school trip, my wife and I went down for a quick overnight trip to a friend’s new place in Deltaville, VA, near the Northern Neck on the Chesapeake Bay.  We had a great, relaxing day, did a little boating, and our Chocolate Lab Bo finally learned how to swim!

I brought some beers down with me (of course), including a six-pack of Simpler Times Pilsner, available (only) at Trader Joe’s for $3.99.  Yeah, you’ve seen the beers at Trader Joe’s that you’ve never seen anywhere else.  That’s because, just like most of their products, Trader Joe’s “private labels” their beers – they contract with an existing brewery to make a beer to their specifications.

While Trader Joe’s doesn’t release the information, it’s known in the beer community that anything under the "Josephsbrau Brewing Co." label is believed to be made by Gordon Biersch brewing, in San Jose, CA, “Mission St.” beers are believed to be made by Firestone Walker in Paso Robles, CA (I will have to try some of those), and “Simpler Times” and “Name Tag” are made by the The Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, WI.

So I guess I went straight to the bottom of the barrel.  Simpler Times and Name Tag are definitely the cheapest of the Trader Joe’s beers.  Up until 2006, the Minhas Craft Brewery was The Joseph Huber Brewing Company, founded in 1845.  And Minhas is owned by the Mountain Crest Brewing Company in Calgary, Canada.  Under both ownership groups, the brewery has pumped out a number of contract brews for the last several years, for both the US and Canadian markets.  In fact, one of the biggest beers (by unit sales) in Canada, Berghoff, is made by Minhas in Wisconsin.

Simpler Times Pilsner pours a light golden color into the glass, and has a light foamy head.  I am not actually sure if it had adjuncts (rice or corn), but it tastes like it might.  It is best served very cold, just to quench a thirst, not particularly to enjoy the flavor.  It’s a litte sweet, and a has just a little bitter bite.  It actually reminds me a little of what I remember my Dad’s Carling Black Label or Schmidt’s tasting like.