Tooheys Old Dark Ale

[jc64]

I'm going to say it. I like this beer.

I recently went on a roadtrip to Cairns and back from Ocean Grove and this was a beer that I could find in most places so it became a staple for my caravan fridge when I couldn't grab a local APA style. I'm back at home now but I just did it, I bought a slab of Tooheys Old! Have I failed as a craft beer drinker? h34r: I do have a APA hopped with Citra and Galaxy fermenting at the moment though

 

[GalBrew]

Don't fret. I love the stuff too. Guilty pleasure.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Its my goto beer on tap when ccopers isnt on ta[

It is actually a pretty ggod beer

 

[Reedy]

My first foray into dark beers many years ago, and still enjoy it on tap when I can find it

 

[Rocker1986]

Yeah I don't mind it either, it's a bit of a go-to beer when I can't find anything else I would enjoy at a pub or whatever. If they only have it in bottles then I ask for a glass though...

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

there are not many pubs that I have been to that dont have it on tap

Its surprising how popular it is....

Yet so many people ask " How can you drink black beer ".......

 

[Brewman_]

Yeah, I like it too. It's my local pub beer. And it is nearly everywhere.

 

[Bribie G]

As I posted in another thread I first came across T.O. in the late 1970s when I was still a socks and sandals pom migrant. That was in the days of two beers only, red pubs serving XXXX and blue pubs serving Carlton.
Then came the Queensland beer strike and the only beer available was from interstate, and I fell in love with T.O. After the strike ended, although it disappeared on tap it was still available in cans and bottles. Eventually Tooheys and XXXX were merged with Swan thanks to Alan Bond and it became a regular in most bars on the East Coast north of Wodonga.

I can still remember the flavour and it hasn't changed much in the intervening decades.

 

[hazoluke]

Pretty sure my old man bathed me in it when i was a kid. That explains my attraction to it.



It's definatly a good drop

 

[jc64]

there are not many pubs that I have been to that dont have it on tap

Its surprising how popular it is....

Yet so many people ask " How can you drink black beer ".......

That's exactly what I found. I went to the bowling club in Lightning Ridge NSW during my trip and there it was, on tap, and in a schooner for me quick smart. A quick scan around the room showed a few others drinking it as well. Took me by surprise really.

I had a few stubbies of it at Palm Cove and the guy behind the bar said he was surprised at the amount of people who look at all the bottled beer behind the bar and eventually choose it. Anyway I'm glad it's not just me!

 

[Grott]

Agree, top drop. When travelling in NSW, all I'd drink. Was on tap at local a few years back but sadly tasted off due to slow take up and you'd get what had been sitting in the beer line for sometime. Still purchase at bottle shop once in a while.
Cheers

 

[Bribie G]

In Northern NSW a lot of older guys at the pub or club drink a "Murray Grey" which is a half and half light beer (Hahn or Cascade) topped up with T.O. from the tap. Couple of guys in Kyogle were drinking them this afternoon.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Old is like any Coopers beers in that the beer lines need to be cleaned well, often and properly

You can tell a pub by the taste of Old on tap I they dont look after their lines

There are only 2-3 pubs in town here where Old is any good...and they are the ones who are fastidious about how they do the lines





And to think Old is a Mega Swill beer.....

 

[Brewman_]

OK, I am going to admit it, flame suit is ready...

One Brewday while knocking out some big IPA and US Brown Ales (Both 8% plus), we got to talking about making something more approachable..

Someone said let's make a Toohey's Old. So we did. And we all loved it. I think it may get called up again in the future it was that popular.

OK I admitted it.

 

[TimT]

Had my first TO last night for ages, it tasted a bit lighter and thinner than I remembered it. Still a good choice, especially in the Carlton only pubs.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Old is not hard to make

You cant get the choc malt they use....although Tony managed to get some and made a dead ringer for it

There is a recipe on here if you spend time to do a search...trust me

The recipe is rather simple

 

[TimT]

Thought the taste and texture might have had something to do with the pub looking after their lines, as Stu suggests.

 

[Brewman_]

Yep really simple recipe, It is a very simple beer.

You cant get the choc malt they use....although Tony managed to get some and made a dead ringer for it

Not sure what Tony got hold of, but I used Thomas Fawcett's Chocolate at 4%, BB Pale, 64% about 32% Sugar. And I think it was spot on.

 

[TheWiggman]

Bugger me, a mega swill thread and not a single horse piss reference in 17 posts? Overall positive reviews? You've changed AHB.
I'll seldom not have a glass at a pub/club but agree about it seeming thin sometimes. Between clubs it can taste different. I recall doing a round of 9 at Duntry Leagues in Orange, sitting down after 2 hours walking in the sun and it was one of the best drops if ever had. Magic. A few months later though in another pub it seemed completely different. In any case a far better product than New and glad it's on tap where New isn't.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Yep really simple recipe, It is a very simple beer.


Not sure what Tony got hold of, but I used Thomas Fawcett's Chocolate at 4%, BB Pale, 64% about 32% Sugar. And I think it was spot on.

Was the actual choc malt from Joe White in Tamworth. JW make it specifically for Old so you cant get it anywhere

I even got a kg or so of it

Was many years ago

 

[jc64]

I was waiting for a lot of flak straight off the bat with this thread, relieved, and surprised.

Bugger me, a mega swill thread and not a single horse piss reference in 17 posts? Overall positive reviews? You've changed AHB.
I'll seldom not have a glass at a pub/club but agree about it seeming thin sometimes. Between clubs it can taste different. I recall doing a round of 9 at Duntry Leagues in Orange, sitting down after 2 hours walking in the sun and it was one of the best drops if ever had. Magic. A few months later though in another pub it seemed completely different. In any case a far better product than New and glad it's on tap where New isn't.

I would have argued that it's a good option for a beer when you are out and about regardless.

 

[Blind Dog]

Will admit to a liking for a Tooheys Old if I'm out and about. Would put it before a fair number of craft beers I've had in the recent past as well.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Will admit to a liking for a Tooheys Old if I'm out and about. Would put it before a fair number of so called craft beers I've had in the recent past as well.

FTFY

 

[Brewman_]

Was out and about on the weekend at a couple of Craft Breweries. Great day I have to say, and did enjoy most of the beers. But I discovered one Craft brewery doesn't like feedback at all even after they asked me for it.
And there was no Old Tap. So.. off I went to the next.

OT, sorry

 

[TheWiggman]

How does it taste in bottles compared to a good example on tap? Must admit I don't think I've ever had it in the stubby.

 

[GalBrew]

How does it taste in bottles compared to a good example on tap? Must admit I don't think I've ever had it in the stubby.

Not too bad actually, Just make sure it's fresh. An old bottle can taste a bit like nothing.

 

[Bribie G]

Yep really simple recipe, It is a very simple beer.


Not sure what Tony got hold of, but I used Thomas Fawcett's Chocolate at 4%, BB Pale, 64% about 32% Sugar. And I think it was spot on.

What hops and yeast?
I'm doing my inaugural Kyogle brew on Sunday and will have a crack at it, haven't done a dark ale for yonks.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

POR....cant remeber the yeast...I know it wasnt a fancy one as they where not really available back then

 

[Bribie G]

I've got Notto, or could reculture some Coopers.

 

[Lecterfan]

I brought up, or at least contributed to a TO thread many years ago. Depending on the qualities that you like from it, the best advice I got back then, and I stand by it today, is to brew a schwarzbier. TO, especially cold, carries very few characteristics that I get from (and desire from) brown ales or dark ales etc... and the best versions I've brewed of it (best as in most pleasing to my palate for what I want from it) have generally been lagers, with the odd cool-fermented us05. I've only just come back to brewing lagers now after a few years and my first few are all schwarz.

Of course, if you like it to warm a little to promote its various characteristics then a dark ale is a great way to go. If you like to guzzle 17 of them cold, then I find treating it like a schwarz is very rewarding.

Just another perspective, no right or wrong of course.