by Megan Stoddard

Created on: November 29, 2010

Mission Street Brown Ale is a hearty and satisfying beer. Medium/dark brown in color, its rich taste reminds me of dark Weissen beers I was served during the summer I spent in Germany many years ago. However, at 5.7% alcohol by volume, this American microbrew is much less alcoholic than dark German beer. Brewed by Steinhaus Brewing company in Paso Robles, California, Mission Street Brown Ale is made specifically for sale at Trader Joe’s.

More experienced beer reviewers than I have noticed chocolatey and citrusy, and coffee flavors in this beer. To me, it simply tastes like darkish beer with lots of body. It is not quite as heavy as Guinness, but it is noticeably heavier than most brown ales I’ve had. Its malt and hops blend in well.

The taste of the hops was almost too much for me at first. It probably would not be for most people, but I heartily dislike hoppy beer. Many beers that I taste the hops in at first, I do not like much by the time I finish, if I manage to finish one. Happily, this was not the case with Mission Street Brown Ale. Hops and all, it grew on me by the time I finished my first one.

Mission Street Brown Ale is a very good beer to go along with a soup or stew, preferably a somewhat spicy one. If it were available on tap anywhere, it would be incredibly good with pub fare. It is also good for drinking on its own.

At the Trader Joe’s in my area, Mission Street Brown Ale is available only in one pint, six ounce bottles, making it the equivalent of a bar beer on tap with six ounces extra. If drinking that much beer overwhelms you, it is a good beer to share. The flavor should be just right for any beer drinker, no matter their usual preferences.

If Mission Street Brown Ale were more widely available, it could be a serious rival for such popular beers as Newcastle Brown Ale and Guinness. As it is, it remains a little known microbrew, made by one particular brewery for one particular store. More’s the pity that it is not on tap in every bar or available by the pitcher in every pizza parlor. Full bodied, satisfying, and a perfect blend of its nut brown flavors, Mission Street is the perfect brown ale.

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