Black Toad Distinctive Dark Ale

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

Aroma of roasted malts. Flavor is the same, with some hops at the end. Not especially complex or exciting in anyway. This tastes like a mix between a stout and brown ale. Overall a decent brew, not something I would seek out again though.

I have to get up early tomorrow, so I’m looking for something to put me to sleep. I’m hoping that this will do the trick. But before I pass out, I need to rate it. This is one of those generic looking beers that you can get at Trader Joes. I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. I thought it might be a stout or porter. Turns out dark ale = brown ale!

It looks like a stout or porter: black with a tan head. The head is a bit small. The smell is faint. I detect some fresh roasted coffee, and a foul smell like stinky feet. Flavor is mild and unthreatening. A little coffee, and a bit nutty. Almond perhaps? It doesn’t taste watery, which is nice, but the flavors are mild nonetheless. Palate is nice and smooth, if a bit fizzy. This is a beer that knows its place in the world. It is what it is, and it doesn’t try to rock the boat. Good, but ultimately boring.

A- Pours a very drak brown/black color with a frothy brownish head. S- Smell is very sweet with coffee tones. A little boring other than the coffee. T- Tastes of coffee and roasted malts with a hint of chocolate. Excellent porter taste albeit somewhat uninteresting. M- Mouthfeel is very carbonated but somewhat lacing in viscosity for my taste. D- This is a very drinkable beer for how cheap it is at trader joes. Another excellent brew if you are on a budget.

12oz bottle. Pours very dark opaque brown with little head. Mild roasted nutty flavor with some coffee. Virtually no aftertaste or lingering anything.

Decent color with a decent tan head. Not a lot of aroma. Slightly sweet with a little toasted malt. Not a bad beer, especially for the price. I buy this when lots of people are coming over and I don’t want to break out the good stuff.

Pours a dark brown with a small head. Aroma of caramel, chocolate, malt. Taste of chocolate, malt, a touch of hops, and a little brown sugar. Pretty Decent.

A dark thin beer with a quickly dissipating head. Coffee malt aroma, with a tinge of hops. Flavor roasted malt with quite a bit coffee, thin without much complexity. Not bad, but not a fan of the roasted coffee thing.

Bottle (12oz). Shared by garthicus, courtesy of irishboy. Clear deep ruby-mahogany pour, small head. Sweet medium roast caramel aroma, chocolate, with grassy bitterness. The taste followed - more an incredibly light porter than a brown - crisp, light, sweet but not too much so, only mildly carbonated, with a very quick finish. A decent, clean brew, not erring on either the bitter or syrupy side.