Old
Tooheys Brewing

Todays bruview is a classic Australian from a brewery that has in my past asserted itself as the least offensive of an offensive lot (Macro brewers over here in general): Tooheys. And 'Tooheys Old' is that reason. It's always been my go to beer at smaller pubs that have none of those "fancy" beers (i.e. micro-brews) that I know and love.

Poured from a 375ml "overwhelming-sense-of-value" bottle into a tulip pint.

A: Looks like a stout; a deep brown/ruby body is topped with a thin white lacing. Interesting to note: the carbonation air bubbles are bigger than normal, I suspect this will be noticed when I have a sip.

S: Burnt barley grains give this brew a toasty biscuit aroma. There is a slight smokey smell. Also detecting a wateriness underlying the whole brew. No hop aromas, however this is expected for the style.

T: Not a bad brew. It's similar to Cooper's Best Extra Stout, but not as boldly flavoured; bitter (though this is much less bitter than CBES), smokey with a toasted barley note throughout. It's a more accessible stout for people who aren't stout drinkers... I'm not one of those people, so I'm rating it according to my own stout fanaticism.

M: I will put this out there; this is a gassy beer. I can normally down an entire pint of beer without letting out a loud belch, I couldn't with a stubbie of this. Also that gassiness gives a sense of feeling bloated, which really detracts from the whole experience.

D: Let me reiterate: this is the best of the macro-brewers (and I'm not counting Cooper's as a macro-brewer) beers. By a long shot. I've never been a fan of Aussie lagers... they just suck. They suck even more in comparison to foreign lagers. Which I guess which is why I would go a stout from a macro over a macro lager. Is it better than Sheaf Stout? No, but I've never seen Sheaf on tap and as such I don't classify it as a "macro".

Food match: Something heavy to counter the dreaded stomach bloat mentioned above. I think a roast dinner would match well with this, preferably roast beef with a heavy gravy and a side of roast potatoes and carrots.

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance- The beer pours a deep brown color with a small head of tan colored foam. The head fades rather fast, leaving a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is strong of a lightly roasted and toasted bready smell mixed with notes of caramel and molasses. Along with these comes some light aromas of char and a bit of earth and wood.
Taste – The taste begins with a toasted and roasted bready flavor mixed with notes of molasses, caramel, and cola, as may have been anticipated from the nose. At the same time there is a little bit of nut and some flavors of brown bread and raisin. As the taste advances the sweet increases a bit while the roast fades, and with a touch of yeast and wood, one is left with a lightly toasted and moderatly sweet brown ale taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium in thickness and creaminess with a moderate carbonation level.
Overall – A pretty easy drinking brown ale. Nothing that blows you away, but good none the less.

Explained to me as "the coal miner’s beer". Still pretty good stuff, mildly sweet, caramel, toasty malts, nutty. Brown body with small airy head, easy drinker.

From notes 2015 / Beer Safari Sydney AU.
From bottle. Weak non interesting

 

Tooheys Old. The beer your grandpa drank. The dark lager, original Tooheys before Tooheys New came out in the 1970s?

Vessel: Schooner at the Royal Exhibition Hotel, Surry Hills.

Appearance: Almost completely jet back, with Ruby red shining through. Head has settled to a thinnish tan ring atop the beer.

Aroma: Dark toasted malt, slight floral hop notes, suspect Pride of Ringwood, touch of bitterness. Not a hella lot going on, but more than a New.

Taste: Roasted malt, a hint of dark stone fruit - plum. Light floral hop cones from the Pride of Ringwood, which provides a edge of bitterness.

Feel: Thin mouthfeel, watery base. No creaminess or any real body to it. Although it's just a dark lager so I suppose it's OK for hot summer Aussie Days.

Overall: Eh, if it's the only alternative to the likes of Tooheys New, Carlton Draught or VB it's OK, but it's really just a dark Tooheys New. It'll quench a thirst.

#️⃣9️⃣4️⃣

 

Bottle:

C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE

 

This an outlier on the Australian beer scene; an old fashioned dark mild ale. It's a better beer than Coopers Dark Ale which is a relative newcomer. Toohey's Dark Ale has a fair amount of residual malt sweetness. It is lightly hopped. There are burnt caramel flavours, but not to excess and some pleasant fruity esters. (The Coopers equivalent overdoes the hops and is a trifle overcooked with the burnt toffee aromas, and imo is too dry to be a true mild ale. All of which points to a concession to their core hipster demographic and lovers of their IPA offering.)

The only major fault with Tooheys Old is it sometimes comes undercarbonated and struggles to keep a head. Accordingly, the mouthfeel is on occasions disappointing.

From 375 ml bottle. I rarely see it on tap in Queensland. L. Hard to see but appears appropriate, dark with modest head. S. Coffee, dark grain. T. A little hint of chocolate but otherwise coffee, dark grain and a little smoky. Dry but not bitter finish. F. Light for the colour and taste but not overly carbonated. O. My favourite everyday Australian dark ale, although challenged these days by White Rabbit Dark Ale which is becoming more readily available.

I have reconsidered my review from nearly 4 years ago and upped just about everything. The best big brewery beer in Australia, and still my favorite everyday Australian dark ale.

 

 

Ahh, Tooheys Old. It's this or Carlton Black for me when at the pub. Nice and mild dark flavours, not overly hoppy but certainly a good roasted flavour. Probably better off tap than in the bottle. I am biased, it is my favourite macro beer.

For me it is a better balanced beer than it's Victorian rival.

 

 

Great value dark beer!

Tooheys Old is a robustly flavoured Ale made with top fermentation Ale yeast. The beer is lightly hopped, and gets its darker colour from black malt. Fruity Ale-like esters blend well with subtle hoppiness, hints of coffee and chocolate to deliver a pretty good beer.