Alexander Keith's Dark Ale - Alexander Keith's

MeisterBurger

Ontario (Canada)

1.55/5  rDev -41.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Pours a blackened cola color, very dark but clear when held up to the light, with ruby highlights. One inch of slightly off-white head tops things off and retains quite nicely. Laces okay.

Smells of faint grains and roast with a tinge of leafy green hops.

The taste is astringently roasty, tinny and metallic, harsh and unpleasant. Roasty and bitter and chemically. It tastes...fake. There's a cold coffee like aspect too it, but like really bad coffee from a machine. Or, worse: Tim Horton's. Really the taste is harsh. Unpleasant. Not good.

Moving on....

Very thin bodied and watery.

I drank a third of the can and dumped it.

Avoid.

Serving type: can

01-13-2010 00:51:03 | More by MeisterBurger

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

1.55/5  rDev -41.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Can: Poured a light black color with a small bubbly head with limited retention. Aroma of adjunct sweetness with limited character. Taste is also dominated by light sweetness originating from adjunct. Body is way too light with average carbonation. Bland, no character and too much adjunct makes this a bad beer.

Serving type: can

12-12-2010 03:01:23 | More by Phyl21ca

ludachris

Ontario (Canada)

1.73/5  rDev -35.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Pours a deep cola brown with 2 fingers of frothy and sticky beige head that leaves sticky sheets of lacing down the glass. Really nice appearance.

Faint smell of roasted malts, nuts, biscuit, and a touch of caramel. Very bland and unoriginal.

Shew. This is bad. A quickly fading roasted nutty character was about the only thing going on in the taste, asides from light biscuit and a dash of caramel.

Mouthfeel is ridiculously watery and thin with a body that's on par with their light lager. I got through about a quarter of this before I poured the rest down the drain.

This marks the worst stout I've had to date. I truly wasn't expecting much from Keiths with this offering, but this fell much below my expectations. Avoid as best you can.

Serving type: can

01-24-2010 23:02:04 | More by ludachris

RyanBelle

Ontario (Canada)

1.8/5  rDev -32.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Don't bother with this one. It's dark, creamy, and guiness like except with a hint of burnt coffee grains as well. Not fun, but exactly what you can expect from such a beer. It honestly ruins the stout type style if people only look at this and refer to it as a proper stout. There's some beautiful stouts out there, but this is not to be included in the list...

Serving type: can

04-15-2011 06:31:04 | More by RyanBelle

Long813

Nova Scotia (Canada)

2.05/5  rDev -23.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

G: Keiths Pint

A: Dark brown, half an inch of off white head with poor retention and little lacing.

S: Faint scents of malts, chocolate and hops.

T: Chocolate is a little stronger in taste than it smells, some roasted coffee beans and hops follow. Still quite faint in flavour.

M: Medium-light bodied with medium-high carbonation. Leaves a slight dry-bitter feel.

D: I did not enjoy this much at all. It was lacking in all aspects and to boot I had this when they tried to call it a stout. I would never pay a premium price for a beer like this when there are others out there which are far better.

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2009 16:56:56 | More by Long813

matt7215

Ontario (Canada)

2.15/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

on tap at the Black Badger in Cambridge ON

taps deep red, not even close to black

aromas are of roasted malts mixed with the same sweet aromas of a regular Keith's (fake) IPA.

the flavour is not very good. overly sweet with some roasted malt coming through the otherwise bland and watery body. the runaway sweetness is not held in check by anything, not hops, not carbonation, nothing.

at least regular keiths can be somewhat redeeming on a hot summer day but this mess probably shouldnt be consumed by anyone on a regular basis.

maybe try this is there is nothing else availible and you really feel the need to have a beer. otherwise avoid.

Serving type: on-tap

11-17-2008 14:43:19 | More by matt7215

mintjellie

Ontario (Canada)

2.25/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Alexander Keith's Dark Ale is dark brown in colour, showing ruby highlights when held to the light. It's beige head doesn't last very long and doesn't leave much lace to show for it's presence. It smells slightly nutty & faintly roasty. It barely has a scent to it at all. It tastes like Keiths with hints of coffee and caramel. Light bodied with high carbonation; feels thin and watery. It's like they took the regular Keith's recipe and threw in some specialty malts. It tastes pretty bad and doesn't seem very well thought out.

Serving type: can

02-01-2010 04:44:32 | More by mintjellie

TheHammer

Ontario (Canada)

2.28/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Appearance: Good thumb of head on the poor that produced lace but didn't make it past the 1/4 mark. The body is dark, but not stout or porter dark as some hints of brown translucence appear.

Smell: Smoky malts with a hint of nutty dark chocolate. It's not bad, but it's not all that complex. It strength of fairly average, so all in all run of the mill here.

Taste: Starts with some very weak sweet malt that fails to impress. It then builds with some rich chocolate notes but then ends with an almost cigarette smokiness to it which I think the hops triggering since they don't seem to be able to make an appearance, which is a little odd for a Keith's beer.

Mouthfeel: Watery texture, and certainly not creamy in any way. Very strange for a darker beer, as the carbonation is more reminiscent of a lager and doesn't seem to help out that much. Aftertaste is thankfully subdued.

Drinkability: It's medium bodied, but in an odd way. The lack of creaminess and watered down texture seems to hide the fact that it does fill you up fairly quick. These traits don't really go well together, because as a sipper, it's too light and as a guzzler it's too heavy and rough.

Final Thoughts: I'm to understand that this was once marketed as a Stout. Much like their India Pale Ale, if this is a stout, this is the mildest, lamest stout I've ever experienced. As a Dark Mild Ale, well, I guess it fares better but it wasn't as flavourful as I'd want it to be. Stick to the IPA or the Red if you want to drink Keith's.

Serving type: on-tap

06-03-2012 19:30:23 | More by TheHammer

DrJay

Massachusetts

2.3/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Whoa! Overcarbonation abounds as I poured this into my glass. The beer was very dark brown with clear chestnut edges. A dense beige cap formed, quickly falling and leaving a lot of clumpy lace on the glass. A thin layer of bubbles stuck around for quite a while. Malty aroma, a bit nutty, cola, sugary sweet, faint roast. The flavour and body were unfortunately thin, not light. The watery texture may have been partly due to copious off-gassing during the pour, leaving moderate to low carbonation behind. It was also a bit coarse, grainy, and dry, kind of astringent. The taste was comparable -- brown sugar sweetness and very low bitterness, not very appealing. After starting out relatively strong, this one ultimately disappointed.

Serving type: can

09-04-2010 01:45:14 | More by DrJay

Bobbyok

Nova Scotia (Canada)

2.4/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Tap at O'Carroll's. Cola-like appearance. Dark ruby colour, nowhere near opaque, probably a shade lighter than Guinness with a fully diminishing fizzy off-white head. Lightly grainy, very faint chocolate and roast aroma with some acidic and vinous notes. Grainy, lightly acidic start with a fruity, acidic, vinous, and lightly roasty bitter finish. Light (if I stretch it I could get as far as light to medium) bodied fizzy, almost crisp mouthfeel - very lager-like feel. Cleaner than I expected, but this borrows all the worst aspects of Labatt's Velvet Cream Porter, Guinness, and Sleeman's Original Dark. It's a dunkel that isn't a dunkel, a porter that isn't a porter, Guinness that isn't Guinness, and most importantly, a stout that bears no resemblance to a stout of any kind. I'd add American Dark Lager that isn't, but that's probably the most accurate classification for this. It's not terrible, granted, and it's better than Keith's IPA, but I didn't find it enjoyable. For InBev/Labatt/Keith's to call this a stout is a greater heresy than calling their IPA an IPA, if that is even possible. Poor old AK rolls in his grave yet again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-19-2008 14:31:18 | More by Bobbyok

pdgreen

Indiana

2.4/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

A - Slightly dark brown pour with a good cream coloured head

S- Sweet caramel smell with strong malt accents

T- Kind of flat caramel taste with stong roasted malt

M- More carbonization then I expected

D- Overall a nice beer but with an interesting taste

Serving type: can

08-20-2010 23:40:16 | More by pdgreen

jhall00

Georgia

2.45/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

A- Medium brown beer with lots of carbonation and full head

S- Nothing too noticeable

T- Nothing memorable. Very thin malt and bitterness. Not consistent with a dark ale

M- Thin and watery

D- Better than most macro beers, but not work searching out

Serving type: can

01-10-2010 20:51:42 | More by jhall00

Gosox8787

New Hampshire

2.48/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Presentation: Pint can poured into a tulip glass in two parts.

Appearance is dark ruby red to dark brown with a huge three finger pillowy mocha head. Aroma is deep caramel sweetness with a little pale maltiness. Not much coffee or chocolate here. Flavor profile also starts with caramel sweetness. Slight bitter coffee, but the nuttiness of the caramel dominstes. No hop presence. Some light breadiness in there as well. A much lighter flavor profile than an average stout. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and a little cheey. Almost heavy compared with how the rest of the beer feels. Drinkability is pretty good. The flavors are light for a stout and the ABV is more than manageable.

Overall, this beer just doesn't come close to fulfilling my expectations of a stout. The flavors are too light and uninteresting. i don't hate this beer, but it is just not great in any respect.

Serving type: can

01-26-2010 01:22:20 | More by Gosox8787

ZorPrime

Quebec (Canada)

2.48/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Dark brown. Cloudy looking head that disappear quickly.

S: Low intensity, what else to expect. Some coffee and chocolate in there but very light. Some roasted malts.

T: Roasted malts. Don't get much of the coffee and chocolate I noticed in the smell. One dimensional beer in regards to the taste.

M: A lot of carbonation. A little bit thin too.

D: Would be high if it tasted better.

Ordinary beer.

Serving type: can

03-12-2011 16:07:46 | More by ZorPrime

JohnnyBarman

Ontario (Canada)

2.5/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Had this on tap at the Whale and Ale in Kitchener. It was cheap Keith's night, thought I'd give it a go.

Started off well. Poured into a typical Keiths glass, nice and dark, almost like a porter. Tan head, good lacing.

The smell was okay, but not very noticable. A bit of chocolate and coffee, a slight cola effect in the back. Not bad though.

The taste is where it completely fell off the rails. Bland, bland, bland! One of the poorest dark ales I've had in a long time. Only a bit of chocolate and coffee at the very beginning, bitterness at the finish; the middle was watery and boring. It literally tastes like a dark regular Keiths, like they added some dark malts to a Keiths vat and hoped for the best. I could finish it, however, and it wasn't repugnant. High praise...

Mouthfeel was thin and watery. No real redeeming factors here.

Very poor effort; not worth bringing to Ontario. Dark ale for the masses, really. It's a shame too, because there are so many better dark ales brewed in Ontario, but this one will get all the attention in pubs.

Avoid.

Serving type: on-tap

12-04-2009 02:15:49 | More by JohnnyBarman

deg

New Hampshire

2.53/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

The beer looks good. It's dark, the head looks good. It's too dark to see any bubbles in it. I can't smell anything though. To be fair, that could be my nose, it's never been the greatest. The taste seems more like a stout to me than a mild ale. Very coffee like. However, I note that the can does describe the beer as more of a stout than a mild. The beer felt watery to me in my mouth after a very pleasant fizzing sensation from the carbonation. I thought the beer was OK to try once.

Serving type: can

09-16-2011 01:19:31 | More by deg

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

2.6/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Regular tall-boy can received as a gift along with a bunch of other brews. I guess I'm the first to review a can of this stuff.

Pours an opaque black cola colour with a rather impressive tan head, but that may just be because I screwed up and poured too quickly. Retention is decent. It seems pretty good, at least visually - unfortunately this is basically the high point.

The smell is non-descript; to be honest I can't really make out any specific odours. 'Malty' is the only adjective I can confidently use here. This is a very fitting prelude to the taste, because that's about the only flavour I could make out; roasted malts. Maybe a bit of a coffee after-taste, with a faintly bitter finish. Not repelling, but not very creative for a dark ale. The carbonation is surprisingly low - at least they did not try to use it to mask the lack of interesting flavours. It definitely has a watery mouthfeel for a stout.

It's quite drinkable, and I can see how this would seem interesting to someone who has never had anything more exotic than Keith's IPA. But in the end it's just a bland offering for the style. Dark ale for the masses? Yep - I hear you, JohnnyBarman. I won't go out of my way to buy this again.

Serving type: can

12-31-2009 01:50:11 | More by thehyperduck

SebD

Ontario (Canada)

2.7/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: It has an almost fully black color to it. It has a nice thick tan head that dies down moderately and leaves some lacing.

Smell: The aromas give out hints of roasty malts with faint hints of coffee and chocolate and a metallic note.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has a roasty malt character to it with faint hints of coffee, not a whole lot going on.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium carbonation with a light and watery overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with bland flavors and aromas.

Serving type: can

01-06-2012 20:45:39 | More by SebD

PEIBeerGuy

Prince Edward Island (Canada)

2.73/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A deep, dark, chestnut brown, with very little head - basically just a film on top after a few seconds, but enough to keep lacing as the drink gets lower. With a bit of agitation, the head comes back pretty quickly... it's a fizzy beer.

Some malty, roasted odour to it.

The taste is a little weak. Even if it's supposed to be an ale, I think it needs a bit more "oomph". It has as much corn / cheap taste to me (or more) as it does anything that's coffee or chocolate... almost a bit papery, like the Birra Morena I had last week. The first few sips were a bit better - more of a taste of coffee... don't really get the chocolate. After the first few, it's not too enjoyable.

It's a bit too carbonated - almost like how pop feels in the mouth. It's not terrible, but could be a bit smoother.

It's pretty drinkable. If you liked it, it'd be easy to have a few or several, I imagine. I just don't like it enough to do that. One was fine.

Serving type: can

07-31-2010 18:22:12 | More by PEIBeerGuy

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

2.8/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

One of the more drinkable of their beers, though mediocre for a dark ale. Pours deep brown without any lasting head. Neutral to slightly malty aromas. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, it is sweetish to begin with, but carries a small yet harsh metallic finish. I would not seek this out again.

Serving type: can

02-13-2011 02:48:28 | More by northyorksammy

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

2.83/5  rDev +6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Had this one on tap.

Before I start this review I have to say that this is not an English Stout. Not even close. It looks like Alexander Keith's mislabelling is comtinuting with this offering. At least they changed the offical name of the beer from "Keith's Stout" to "Keith's Dark."

A - Poured a light to medium brown with a nice finger of cream-coloured head. Some visible carbonation. Not stout-like at all, but definitely somewhat dark, as advertised.

S - The nose is surprisingly interesting. Roasted malts with some sweet caramel. Enough to get me intrigued.

T - The taste is not as bold as the nose indicated. There is a solid roasted malt profile and some sweetness (caramel) in the background. A decent flavour profile.

M - Light body with a good amount of carbonation. Definitely not a stout-like mouth feel, but similar to many porters.

D - This is a half decent beer in comparison to most of the macro beer that is available on tap at regualr bars and restaurants in the Toronto area. I would order this again but only because the alternatives are so bad. Overall this is a decent beer but not a great beer.

Serving type: on-tap

04-19-2010 17:38:14 | More by TheSevenDuffs

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

2.88/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

473ml Can

Appearance - The beer pours a dark brown colour with a large frothy and fizzy light brown coloured head. I can't see much carbonation due the darkness of the beer and there is some good lacing on the sides of the glass. The head lasted for 5 minutes before it was gone.

Smell - light chocolate, malts, smoke

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an average amount of carbonation and I can taste light amounts of malt, chocolate and coffee. There is also a lot of adjunct flavour going on.. corn, grains etc. The beer comes across as thin and sort of watery. It finishes with a grainy aftertaste with a touch of coffee/chocolate.

Overall – Well, the beer looked nice in the glass.. but the taste really ruins it. Perhaps with some modifications this could be a pretty decent brew. I wouldn't buy it again.

Serving type: can

08-25-2011 18:29:52 | More by spinrsx

TerryW

Ontario (Canada)

2.93/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Kudos to these guys for making such a fine looking beer. Great head, elegant lace, interesting to look at. After that just a regular macro style-rip ground out by the big boys trying to get a piece of the micro-styled market.

Some chalkiness and chocolate like you'd expect from the style, but understated. Thin mouthfeel. Slightly boozy nose without any of the other stuff you'd expect from a brew of this type.

Drinkable but uninspired. Too subdued.

Serving type: can

02-03-2010 00:34:10 | More by TerryW

pootz

Ontario (Canada)

2.93/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

On tap:

Tapped a dark brown small cap, weak lacing.

Aroma of roasted grains and sweetness.

Weak mouth feel...thin...sweet, far too sweet in an adjunct sweetness bad way...roastyness and coffee tastes are there but the weak body and mouth feel combined with the saccharine sweetness fouled this drink for me.

Serving type: on-tap

06-09-2010 19:41:08 | More by pootz

mrmanning

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Draught sample- A dark brown that lets some light in, pours a medium sized frothy mocha cap that recedes to a thin cap. Nose of toasty malts, some milk chocolate, mild pit fruits, some hops. Flavour profile is much of the same, with the chocolate, roasty malts, a bit nutty too. Somewhat fruity, leading to a slightly bitter finish to balance out the sweetness. Pretty good actually, but seems more like a Dunkel to me.

Serving type: on-tap

08-03-2009 15:24:22 | More by mrmanning