The Matador Version 2.0 El Toro Bravo
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery

Within this style, Matador 2.0 is exemplary.
Usually with rye beer, my buds cringe from the hops. But, Matador does lots with minimal hops. Substantial amounts of rye spice-up the ale and, then, they put it on this Spanish cedar (can't remember having a beer seasoned that way.)

I'm greeted with a very good-Looker: full-on, luxurious head with great big bubbles that stick around longer than expected and turn into a fine glass-length lace. Smells are mostly malt and the cedar; an exotic combo. Tastes meld so well that I cannot describe it. My mouth is full and wants more.

After 15 years at it in Barrie, Flying Monkeys is still full of the passion of home brewing. They obviously have their following who gratefully keep the brewery in business. But The Flying Monkeys are a flashback to the way things probably still should be... only everyone is growing up. Anyway, the website of Flying Monkeys is worth a visit ... particularly since it is not easy to get to Barrie.

All said, Matador is an exceptional ale, packaged creatively and, if memory serves me, a very good value. Thanks.

 

 

Aged for 4 years from bottling.

A: Excellent hazy dark orange color, finger of head that quickly dissipated after a minute.

S: Floral, spice, woody, thick. Some hidden hops, nice malt. Love the rye character. Excellent blending.

T: Earthy at first, quickly followed by the woody/rye character.

M: Full body, not sticky though. Perfect carb.

O: I thought this was absolutely fantastic, I don't understand why some people are hating on it. Perfect on all fronts. I'm guessing that letting this age for years did it some favors. Too bad I'll likely never have it again but definitely buy it again if found.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spicy and strong

 

Amber color with beige head. Aroma is really woody with resiny, coniferous notes. Taste is spicy and woody, light caramel malt but not sweet. Finish is slightly bitter and the wood notes continue to shine through. Medium body and carbonation. Really interesting beer, the spicy wood is really different from anything I had before.

 

Served at Frankenmuth's World Expo of Beer 2016.

Hey man, ever lick Ikea furniture? The cedar in this is super intense. So much so, it almost doesn't even taste like a rye beer... really, the rye intensifies that cedar flavor. There's only a modest rye sort of spice finish on this one. There's not much else going on besides... well... liquid wood. I actually strangely dig this, but I was more than content with my 5oz portion.

 

Tremendous! Wasn't expecting much and was floored by the deliciousness of this big beer, halfway between an Arrogant Bastard-like strong ale and a barleywine.

Nice caramel, toffee, hops, heftiness and some vanilla... drinks easy despite the ABV. Smooth all around, almost nitro-like. Paired wonderfully with a tapa of foie gras.

750ml bottle. Bottled on 2014-10.

A: Clear brown. Poured 2 fingers high head, moderate retention.
S: Toasted malts. Caramel. Vanilla. Slightly citrus.
T: Woody. Vanilla. Caramel. Pepper. Moderate sweetness. Moderate bitterness. Short and dry finish.
M: Full body. Low carbonation.
O: Delicious and complex strong ale.

 

750 mL bottle-in-a-carton pulled from the cellar; picked up at the LCBO last February. Bottled in Oct 2014; served slightly chilled. Be forewarned: I love rye, so my bias should be kept in mind.

Pours a foggy brownish-amber colour with orange-red highlights; seated atop is nearly two fingers of foamy, off-white head. It dissipates over the next five minutes or so, depositing a continuous curtain of lace just above a frothy collar; a bubbly film remains on the surface. The aroma is positively heavenly, featuring big notes of sappy cedar and spicy rye bread - so spicy, in fact, that it almost has a peppercorn-like potency to it. These are also underlain by touches of brown sugar, dates, and just the slightest touch of vanilla, as well as some rummy booziness as the glass begins to warm.

This one was a legitimate eye-widener upon the first sip. It starts off with generous toffee and brown sugar sweetness, but this is soon outshone by a tsunami of spicy, bready rye malt flavour that lasts well into the aftertaste. Subtle fruity flavours of raisin and cherry are noticeable mid-sip, as is a hint of vanilla - but then the cedar wood and sap start to rampage, becoming the focus of a big crescendo toward the finish. It ends with a peppery spiciness, citrus peel oiliness and some earthy, herbal astringency that is only outlasted by the rye bread (as well as some surprisingly well-restrained boozy sweetness). Medium-full in body, with low carbonation levels that limply prickle the palate. The mouthfeel is smooth and mostly satisfying, but is still this beer's weakest trait. The criticism ends there, however, because this is undoubtedly an exquisitely well-crafted imperial rye ale that begs to be shared with others.

Final Grade: 4.5, an outstanding A grade. The Matador Version 2.0 El Toro Bravo is many things, but subtle is certainly not one of them. This is not a beer for people who don't know what they like - the cedar wood offers impressive potency, and the rye malts are piled on. It is honestly much better than I thought it would be, given its fairly polarized review average. If I hadn't decided to age the first bottle that I'd purchased, I'm not sure I would have had the self-restraint to keep this one as long as I did. My favourite rye beer to date - wish I'd grabbed another bottle, but I guess I'll just have to hope that the Flying Monkeys see fit to brew this one again, instead of opting for a 3.0.