Black Toad Distinctive Dark Ale

Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company
Style: Brown Ale
Chicago, Illinois USA

12oz bottle, courtesy of argo0. Thanks, Aaron! Pours a clear, dark ruby-brown color; light tan head with fine-bubbled lacing. Nougat, caramel, and overripe dark fruits in the aroma; toasted malts and a bit watery. Relaxed carbonation. Medium mouthfeel: cola, roasted malts, and chewy dried fruits; light at the edges; dried cherries and more roasted malts coming through mid-palate. Medium finish, showing breadiness and toasted malts; some dough.

Very average quality craft ale, I would guess inspired by Sprecher Black or Schell’s Alt. Of the three the Schell’s strikes me as having the best character with a bit more roasty bite than this brew. This beer poured from the bottle well, with a bit too much carbonation for the style, but settled out for a nice cream/tan puffy head. Lighter body and milder flavor than you would think by looking at the mahogany color. Low aroma with a thin caramel/malty note.

Dark brown pour with a thin head. Very nutty aroma with a touch of roast too. Flavor is nice and roasty with buttery nuts, caramel, and more nuts. Drinkable with lingering nuts and roast. A decent brown ale.

bottle from irishboy: pours very dark, black with a thick foamy tan head. arom is very lacking. i really cant pick up anything but wiffs of malt. flavour si much better than aroam some roast malt and some sweet caramel matl. pretty easy drinking.

Bottle from Trader Joe’s. Pours dark brown with a minimal tan head. Roasted nuts and chocolate on the nose. Taste is malty with hints of chocolate, nuts and a slight smokey finish. Thin mouth feel with a little bit of lacing. Decent beer – comes off more like a stout than an ale though in my opinion.

Hazy rosewood color with ample fizz. Immensely nutty aroma, like walnuts and pecans, blended with chocolate and roast malts. The true roastiness belongs in the realm of the flavor, though, as the first swig goes down like warm butter toast. Hop profile is present but mild, and rounds down the sweetness of the malt to give each sip a definitive finish.

Clear walnut brown with a thin brown head. Grassy, herbal hop aroma that is surprising in the context of its appearance. Rather thin in the malt department, low chocolate, with a dominant grassy hop character and a dry finish. Kind of weird actually.

This beer is definitely distinctive. The flavors and palate were dynamic and unexpected at the same time. Hints of coffee and chocolate, but definitely an all-around nutty flavor made this brew interesting. Still, it seemed more of a hodge-podge of flavors than a directed taste.