Black Toad Distinctive Dark Ale

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

Poured a cola color with silky head and scant lacing. Toasty caramel aroma. Med. bodied, molasses, caramel and coffee flavors with some bitterness in the finish.

Fairly average offering, pours darker than an avg. brown ale so the commercial description might be more apt. The hops seems slightly out of balance in bitterness for a brown ale.

Bottle from Trader Joe’s in Chicago. Poured a lovely shade of chestnut brown with a creamy beige head (stuck around for a few minutes). Tasty aroma of caramel, brown sugar, and a hint of floral. Light-medium bodied on the palate and smooth. Flavor picked up some nuttiness as well as the aforementioned toasty darker malts. Somewhat tacky, sweet finish with a little bit of coffee. Certainly palatable, but not so exciting.

Murky dark brown liquid with a beige head that disappears quickly. Nose is malty and just a little creamy with hints of sweet caramel. Thinner than expected but still creamy. Taste is just a little toasty and malty. Nice balance.

From a twelve ounce bottle purchased at "Trader Joe’s" - It’s a fine, though a tad malty, schwarzbier.

Bottle. Poured a small fizzy tan head that mostly diminished, poor lacing, transparent, carbonated, and an orange brown hue. Malty, caramel, chocolate, sweet, and a hint of cocoa. Sweet, malty, caramel, roasty, and some coffee in the flavor. Dry, smooth mouthfeel. Medium body.

This is alot like a really full bodied nut brown. some dark roastiness, some chocolate, honey roasted peanuts, hazelnuts, and just the slightest hint of coffee and molasses. Some bready fruit flavors are more present at it warms up. A interesting little beer.

Bottle. Brackish deep brown. Nose is roasty and sweet and smells similar to Bit-O-Honey mixed with caramel. Taste is semi-sweet and has mild roastiness with caramel. Dark fruits, roasted malts, light coffee, roasted nuts, and a bit of molasses. Body is moderate and has some mild carbonation. Sometimes tingly. Finsihes with roasted malts and nuts, light coffee, molasses and cocoa. Not too bad at all.