Carlton Black

Brewed by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB)
Style: Porter
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Obviously aimed at biting into the Tooheys old market, although the availability of this is not as wide as Old (at least in Melbourne). Pours dark ruby brown with a thin light brown head. Aroma is a bit thin, a touch of smoke, caramel adjunct, sweet malt and coffee. Thin body too, with a harsh carbonation. Flavours of sweet malt (more caramel), coffee, and some dry cocoa and char. Its not too bad overall, clean enough, but I’d still prefer Old.

375 ml bottle - Very dark blackish red/brown. Thin off white to light tan head. Thin bodied with low to medium carbonation. Roasted malts with some smokiness. Slightly dry finish. Quite drinkable although it could do with some more complex flavours and a little more bittering.

Dark reddish in colour with a thin light tan head. Fair lacing. Malty aroma. Thin to medium bodied with average carbonation. A bit on the watery side. Flavour, roasted malt with slight coffee flavours in the aftertaste. Nice moderately bitter finish.

Dark red/brown i ncolour with small white head. Oliy choclate mocca flavour. Thin body.

On tap somewhere in Willoughby. I remember last having this a few years ago when it replaced Tooheys Old as the dark beer on tap at Sydney uni, and being annoyed because it was crap. Tastes slightly better than I remember, but still not great. Most distinguished by its wateriness. Smoky flavour is more charcoal. Reminds me a bit of those non-alcoholic malt drink things i accidentally ordered at a couple of restaurants in europe (only with the sweet syrupiness watered down).

On tap. Black with off white head. Quite sweet and creamy. Not enough hop bitterness for mine, but not too bad all round.

I hate it when I buy a beer that I look forward to rubbishing and the discovering that i can’t becuase it actually is quite OK. This is a good Porter style dark ale, I would have liked a bit more body, as it stands it is a tad thin. Aroma is good and the flavours are making full use of the roasted Malts. Carlton had better not keep this trend up of producing OK beers! Apart from the thinness the only other criticism would be the lack of hoppiness, but then again they used Pride of Ringwood so this is a good thing!

This beer has an amazing after taste without any hint of the heavyness that tends to come with dark/black beers.