JosephsBrau Black Toad Distinctive Dark Ale
Trader Joe's in Monrovia, California, United States 🇺🇸
Brewed at/by: Gordon Biersch Brewing CompanyBrown Ale Regular
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Score
6.62
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We begin with a custom mixture of dark and roasted barley malts, then we add the choicest hops. The resulting ale has a dark chestnut color and a deep nutty flavor. Brewed specially for Trader Joe’s.
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7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Bottle. Pours a medium brown with two inches of off-white head. Aroma of sweet malts & dark fruit. Tastes of crisp grasses, sweet nutty malts. Wow, I’m impressed. With the exception of the cheap finish, which is a long lasting grass, I like this beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Nov 2010
at 11:50
6.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Trader Joes Bklyn ($7): Reddish brown with a quickly dissipating beige head. Aroma is a huge weak point just because you get very little on the nose at the beginning... but obviously there are some nutty notes. Really malty taste, a tad metallic. Notes of nuts. Bitterness become apparent in the finish and aftertaste.
Tried
on 28 Aug 2010
at 18:53
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Bottle. Pours a dark, clear ruby-brown with a mild white head that dissipates to a film. Roasted malt aroma with some ripe, dark fruits and light chocolate. Sweet flavor with plenty of malts, chestnut, roasted cocoa. Very faint hops. Medium in body with soft carbonation. Finishes sweet and quite malty. Good beer overall
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Aug 2010
at 11:31
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Dark brown pour in glass. Lots of roasted malt and some light chocolates. Rated 9/11/03
Tried
on 07 May 2010
at 23:02
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
12oz bottle. Red-black color with an oily head. Medium roasty malt aroma. Lots of roasted malt in the aroma, with mild, malt centered body. Very drinkable and quite Porter-like, though I suppose the nuttiness makes it a true brown. Really a pretty good session beer. Not much hop character, but overall it is very fresh and clean, with lots of specialty malt flavor. Sweet brown sugar notes in the finish. Worth a try, especially for the price.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Dec 2009
at 02:46
5.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottle pours a clear deep dark brown, with a small short lived light tan head. Light roasted aromas slightly of coffee and bittersweet chocolate. Light bodied and a slightly smokey flavor. Very low bitterness and soft carbonation. Dark for a brown ale, but mild like one.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Aug 2009
at 23:09
6.6/10
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Appearance 3
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 3
Overall 13
Bottle. Dark brown body with ruby highlights. Short off-white fizzy head, mostly diminishing. Aroma of roasted and burnt malts, caramel, cherry, fruit. The flavor is moderately sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes lightly to moderately sweet and lightly bitter. Medium body, watery texture and lively carbonation. Very close to a porter or stout because of the roasty aroma and flavor but it also displays some nuttiness akin to a brown ale. Easy drinking.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Aug 2009
at 19:16
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6
12 ounce bottle from Trader Joe’s Glen Allen, VA. Pours a clear brownish red with a medium-large tan head. Good retention and fair lacing. Aroma of caramel, chocolate, slight roast and faint metallic hops. Taste is caramel, nuts, leafy hops, chocolate, sunflower. Medium bodied. Creamy. Fairly nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Mar 2009
at 16:20
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 8
Undeniable molasses aroma with plum and pine notes. Black color, medium tan head. The taste is dark, but not strong, maybe charcoal and dough. Strong walnut and celery finish with an aged feel. Very unique and drinkable. Light tasting enough to go well with a salad. I want to rate this higher, but it lacks the strength to justify it.
Tried
on 25 Oct 2007
at 17:24
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7
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.
Tried
on 07 Jul 2007
at 22:26