Goose Island Black Toad Dark Ale

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

A dark brownish-black colored beer with a two fingered beige colored soapy textured head rising above. There’s decent hang time with a moderate ringlet and persistent cap left. A roastiness and chocolate rise in the nose. Ass a smokiness and burn brown sugar to the tasting. Light medium bodied with a slicky smoothness on the tongue.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Purchased at Trader Joe in Vegas. Pours a dark brown colour with a frothy beige, good retention and creamy lacing. Nutty aromas with coffee notes over mild roasted malts. Smooth oily mouthfeel. The roasted malts are felt more in the taste. Coffee and nuts still present. Quite surprised at how good this dark ale is.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Clear brown with a coppery hue and a soapy tan cap. Decent head retention with clumpy lacing. Brown sugar and pear/apple fruitiness in the aroma, a little bready, hints of roasted malts and vanilla, nice but rather faint. Very similar flavour profile, just a little less potent. Low, grassy bitterness with brown sugar and fruit, bread and faint dark malt. Creamy texture, lightish body with moderate carbonation. Overall, pretty enjoyable with some nice English character.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Aroma of biscuits and yeast, with a two-finger head and great lacing. Full-bodied mouthfeel, with a sharp, bitter flavor and a roasted and slightly nutty aftertaste

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

What a find, A "trader Joe's" purchase. This is a grand example of a tasty porter. The bottle lists it as a dark ale, but the generous toasty biscuit, dark but not quite black, is full of flavor, nutty and a small sting of alcohol. The price is pretty good, would purchase more when I have a chance.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Pours a clear, dark brown about midway between mahogany and cola with a fairly thick if not persistent pale cinnamon head. Aroma is strong, smoky and malty with nutty and molasses hints. Flavor, unfortunately, does not live up to the promise of the aroma - it is malty with nutty and caramel undertones but lacks the nice smoky touch of what I regard as a true porter. Texture is quite smooth and just a teensy on the watery side.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

maybe i'm splitting hairs here, but this is more like a black lager than a porter. solid, roasty tones, in the nose and flavor, if a little thin. nice dry finish. so-so mouthfeel.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Best By Date October 2008; Sampled June 2008
A brisk pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a frothy, initially three-finger thick, lightly brown tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a concentrated brown, approaching black color that shows a brilliantly clear, bright cranberry color when held up to the light. Sweet and fruity smelling up front, but picks up a touch of roasted grain towards the end. Berries, raisins and sweet malt yields to coffee, toasted grain and burnt toast towards the end. This has a decent mix of aromatic notes to it, definitely an enjoyable nose.

Sweet, with a soft creamy heft to it that belies what I assume is a lower / average alcohol beer; certainly not thick or rich, but I was expecting a thin beer for some reason. The sweet malt notes are balanced in the finish by a roast-coffee like note, some burnt grain flavors, and just a touch of roast-grain derived acidity; this last providing a bit of balance more than anything. The sweetness accents fruit flavors of roasted raisins, lightly burnt black-berries and even a touch of fig.

This is an outstanding beer at the often seen price of $4.99 / six-pack. While fairly sweet, the fruitiness adds complexity and it has just enough roast grain character to keep this in balance.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

This beer pours brownish-black body with a large full head. Nutty aromas and roasted almonds are very noticeable. it has a lighter mouthfeel than i anticipated very creamy and smooth.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Dark brown, nearly opaque, with a thin cap. Looks like coffee and smells like it too, with perhaps a faint trace of clove. The mostly sour coffee flavor fortunately gets sweeter. It's like a thin stout.