Black Toad Distinctive Dark Ale

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

Date: March 14, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ticker Tasting
Appearance: clear dark brown, wispy beige head, bits of lace
Aroma: sweet chocolate and dark caramel aroma
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, touch of caramel sweetness, light nutty character, earthyness keeps it pretty dry
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

(12oz bottle) Small beige head atop clear chestnut body. Aroma is medium sweet, roast, caramel, chocolate, light coffee, raisin. Taste is moderately sweet, chocolate, caramel, light coffee. Light-medium body, light stickiness.

12oz bottle shared courtesy of TomDecapolis. Poured a dark brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of chocolate, light roast, caramel and light smoke. Tastes of bitter chocolate, coffee and nutty. Thin body

This was a pleasant surprize. Expecting it to be a cheap knock-off (done by Goose Island for Trader Joe’s), I was expecting a watery American dark lager or some such. Instead, I was treated to a good session style of brown ale. It poured a clear, nutty brown with a wisp of a white head. The nose was quite fruity (plums & cherries) atop a rich, sweet malt aroma. Smooth to drink, it has that same fruitiness in the flavor, the malt becomes toffee-like, and it has just a touch of almonds. There’s only a very slight hop bitterness in the finish, but this ale stands up just fine as it was.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=1 RAYBOY01’s Fridge<font size=-1>

Brown color with a hint of ruby when held to the light. Moderate tan head with a tight sheet of lace. Dark caramel, light roasted malts and hints of cocoa and dark cherries in the aromas. Toffee and roasted nut flavors dominate. A light somewhat herbal bitterness mid quaff. Quite dry and a touch astringent in the finish. An average brown ale, whatever that means.

Bottle compliments of my sister’s fridge: Pours a darkish brown color with plenty of tan head and a smidgen of lacing. The nose is toasty with lots of coca and nutty notes, some dry cocoa and chocolate. The flavor is dry and robust with a moderate dark toast and coffee notes. Dry and a moderate body, sweet licoricey finish. Decent brown ale, but feels a bit more like a porter or a schwarzbier.

Bottle from Trader Joe’s. Dark brown color with large head that diminished slowly. Moderate well balanced sweet aroma. Medium body. Moderate malt and nutty flavor with short sweet finish.

Aromas of chocolate and (hazel?) nuts? And toasted malts? Rather opaque brown with a beige head that flattened with a wee bit of lacing. Medium bodied, with a carbonation strong enough to bite. Pretty dry, has that roasted/toasted malt flavor that suggests Guinness. There’s some sour in it somewhere. The bitter is really mild, and the finish is ? It really doesn’t fit any category particularly well. It’s about as far from brown ale as could be. A bit thin for a stout. A bit robust for a porter. Pretty tasty though.