Cafe Y Churro
Carton Brewing Company

BubbleBobble from New York

4.13/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Thick, slightly hazy orange with a .5" inch, excellent lacing throughout. Nose is sweet cream, light malts, touch of vanilla, but didn't catch any cinnamon. Taste follows, with rich milk and cream notes, rounded malts, small amount of hop bitterness to even it out. Whiff of cinnamon on the finish, but very slight for me. Feel is rich and creamy, with no hint of the 12% ABV. A remarkably smooth beer, with the only knock being the elusive cinnamon.

Jan 09, 2021

larryi86 from Delaware

4.56/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Thank you y2kawakami for this
12 oz can, dated 12/15/16, poured into a teku

A- A slightly hazy copper with a small white head.

S- Cinnamon, some coffee, caramel, some vanilla. Smells like a churro with some coffee.

T- Cinnamon, some vanilla, coffee, caramel, touch of chocolate.

M- Smooth, medium to full body.

O- Wow, Carton nailed it with the churro flavor. Very easy to drink.

Apr 19, 2020

FBarber from Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a somewhat opaque burnished orange color. Thin off-white head dissipates pretty quickly leaving no residual head. Appearance appears to be in line with the style.

Aroma has notes of coffee, vanilla, light cream notes and a lovely bouquet of cinnamon. The cinnamon is just delicious.

Taste follows the nose with notes of coffee and vanilla up front all interspersed with some lovely cinnamon notes that linger through to the finish. Its sweet, but not overly so.

Feel is light, not exactly crisp, but its clean. Semi-dry finish.

Overall, this continues the series unique take on the cream ale style. The cinnamon and vanilla in this one are outstanding though. Definitely my favorite example of the coffee series I've had.

Apr 18, 2020

Holderness from Massachusetts

4.09/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Wow, this is quite the interesting one. Looks still as cider in the glass. It's rare that coffee works well in a pale ale, but this is one of those times. The sugary, toasty churro character comes through nicely to balance things out. Almost like a coffee barleywine, but also kinda reminds me of Pumpking?

82/100

Mar 02, 2020

Roguer from Connecticut

4/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Dark amber brew with an off-white head. Minimal production and OK retention. Body is lively; despite the activity and deep color, it's perfectly transparent.

Coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla on the nose. Decadent and rich; sweet and inviting. Just a bit of a cream soda note going on.

Flavor follows: sweet, creamy, and smooth. Cinnamon provides a large portion of the flavor accents, and the vanilla blends smoothly with cream and coffee notes. Less bite than other amber coffee ales (or coffee cream ales). Quite a dessert beer.

Creamy body, very smooth and drinkable. No sense of the high ABV until you notice the heat building in your throat.

Nov 17, 2019

srw from Virginia

4.56/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a golden color with a half finger of quickly disappearing head. The nose is cinnamon, coffee, vanilla and some caramel. The taste follows the nose vanilla, cinnamon and coffee with some bitterness on the finish. Low carbonation, smooth and easy to drink with a creamy mouthfeel. The 12% is not noticeable.

May 11, 2019

Harrison8 from Missouri

4.4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Transparent copper with a finger and a half of foam. Head is off-white in color and is well-retained. Aroma is cinnamon, vanilla bean, medium-roast, medium-bodied coffee and nutty, earthy, caramely malts. Sweetness right up front with just a sliver of coffee bitterness bringing it back to balance. Flavor profile is cinnamon, vanilla bean, medium-roast, fruity bodied coffee and nutty, earthy, caramely malts. Sweetness starts and closes out the flavor profile, with a light bitterness from the coffee striking a modest balance in the center. Alcohol is well hidden in the flavor profile, which is rather surprising considering the 12% ABV. Mouth feel is lightly crisp, with a velvety, medium-thick consistency beyond it. Overall, sugary sweet with a good hit of coffee. Balances leans heavily towards the 'dessert' side, which is to say - overall, this thing is sweet. The fact that the alcohol is well masked boosts the rating here just slightly.

Served in a 15.5oz Spiegalau tulip from a 12oz can.

Mar 30, 2019

Lembeh from New York

4.39/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Can you be in Cuba and Mexico at the same time? With this beer you can. Tastes of a sweet cortalito but you enjoy that with a freshly fried churro from Mexico City. If you like coffee and desserts this will win you over.

Feb 26, 2019

SmashAdams from New Jersey

5/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Fantastic presentation of flavors here in an interesting beer. The coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla all work well together and the light touch of sweetness adds a lot of character. It's strange to have a coffee beer where there's no interference from dark roasted malts but it's nice. It smells like walking into an Italian coffee shop. Overall a fantastic experience. Every flavor is on perfect display. yb

Feb 18, 2019

mkh012 from Colorado

4.5/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Canned 1 month ago.

Pours rusty gold with a white head and impressive clarity.

The nose is straight churro. Spot-on cinnamon dessert. Nutty coffee in the background.

The taste is similar. A nice level of sweetness delivers cinnamon-sugar, vanilla cookie, and extremely subtle, well-integrated booze (almost a spiced rum-like character). There's some coffee complexity, but the dominant taste is churro.

The mouthfeel is medium+. Slick yet smooth.

Overall, very good. A novelty treat.

Feb 16, 2019

Claude-Irishman from New Jersey

4.29/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a 5 on the SRM color index, nice foamy head which quickly dissipated. Smells like caramel, vanilla, burnt sugar,Taste is a lot going on,"regular coffee", vanilla,cinnamon,pie crust- Feels very well balanced, one caveat is at 12% and a sweet cream ale it is-almost cloyingly sweet,not quite. goes down smooth, nice carbonation. Overall an very good example(if not complicated)of a cream ale !!

Feb 10, 2019

jpbrooklyn from New Jersey

4.58/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Truly one of Carton’s platinum offerings...a joy to sniff, demands your thirst...tonight I popped a can from the 2019 offering that’s been sitting in the netherregions of my fridge, hidden in plain sight for a night like tonight, the world is a shitpainness...I need to calm my soul, and this lusciousness is mine to open...pours hazy honeygold, quick dissipating head...in my teku it’s smooth liquid caramel, cool sweet cream...perfectly beer-sweet, the creme lightness cuts the sugar like the cool side of the pillow...claiming this as my 2nd favorite Carton brew, second only to 2018’s All Orange Everything, the Other Half collab that must see a rerun after this pancovid nightmare is well behind us...great brewery that produces positiveness for this s great state while producing confident-attitude beers every week...if only a second can was lurking back there behind the pickles...

Feb 06, 2019

Blackop555 from Michigan

4.37/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours gold. Foamy, short white head that Fades fast.

Smells cinnamon, vanilla, coffee, sweet, caramel and grain.

Taste base coffee with light cinnamon and vanilla added. Finish is semi-sweet with a coffee linger. Cannot taste the 12% alcohol well-hidden. Lighter body and fizzy medium carbonation.

Aug 06, 2018

Jimmys from Pennsylvania

4.31/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

January 2018 canning.

pours a golden hue, fairly clear. head retention isnt great. smells like a sweet pastry. caramel. sweet body isnt cloying or overwhelming, but provides a nice backdrop for the milk sugar flavor and coffee. finish is not bitter at all, but has a distinct residual crystal sweetness. cinnamon as well. pretty tasty stuff.

Jun 26, 2018

FFFjunkie from Illinois

4.4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Look is a golden honey and poured with a finger of off white head.

Aroma is big cinnamon sugar, vanilla and lots of coffee.

Taste follows nose . Sweet cinnamon and vanilla upfront, with coffee coming on strong at the backend. Nice!

Feel is smooth, creamy and full. Carb is moderate to low.

Overall it’s honestly one of the best cream stouts I’ve had. Huge flavors and a punch of abv combined with a 12 oz can equals awesome.

Apr 08, 2018

q33jeff from New Jersey

3.08/5  rDev -30.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

**

02/22/18

Carton Coffee Cream Ale tasting.

Impressed overall at all 5 of these beers; didn't realize they were 12%. The ABV is well masked.

#1 St. Kitts Coffee
Awesome Cocnut Flavor. Rum is sweet and smooth. Awesome beer. Heavy and light at the same time.
#2 Regukar Coffee
The standard. Coffee and lactose are a natural match in this. Very SMooth. This one also feels fuller than the others.
#3 Irish Coffee
Surprise here. Minty and spicy. The mint actually works pretty well in this unlike many other mint beer disasters I've had. Nutmeg is also apparent and gives a kick to the coffe flavors.
#4 Kaffee und Kuchen
Cherry is a downer, but the almond keeps it at bay.
#5 Cafe Y Churro
Disappointed in this since it was rated so high. Felt like it needs mroe of the vanilla and cinnamon.

Overall these were a great experience. Would love to get some of the St. Kitts in the summer.

**

Feb 24, 2018

gcamparone from Rhode Island

4.22/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks Mike for hooking me up with this. 12oz can poured into a tulip.

Pours a crystal clear apple-juice looking body with a small white fizzy head that reduces to nothing.

Aromas are malty and sweet, vanilla and caramel, lots of coffee and perhaps a hint of cinnamon. On the tongue is smooth creamy vanilla-caramel, cream soda, light cinnamon, vanilla ice cream. Barely any alcohol detected for 12%, it's amazing how smooth this is for 12%.

I really enjoyed this beer, tons of flavor and easy to drink for 12%. Dangerous!

Feb 19, 2018

Tony210 from New Jersey

4.21/5  rDev -5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a beautiful golden hue with minimal head. Not much to the nose at first, but it grows as you let it warm op. Coffe, cinnamon sugar, vanilla. Big flavors! Loads of vanilla, a bit on the sweet side. Some coffee mid swallow, nice cinnamon aftertaste. ABV is pretty well hidden. Thick and syrupy, creamy and full bodied. Overall this is a fun desert beer to sip on, I look forward to next year's batch!

2/8/18
12 oz can from brewery, dated 1/12/18
4.25 rating

Feb 09, 2018

Act25 from New Jersey

4.32/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Play on Carton’s Regular coffee game. I swear I smell wood fire along with the coffee and vanilla. On tap at the brewer.
a_ Mostly clear, wisp of chill haze. As with all additive beers the head falls sooner and laces less than I would like.
S_ Ample of wood smoke, vanilla, cinnamon, roast coffee beans, sweet churro, it’s all in there.
Carnival candy, peanut, coffee milk Cuban style, with Mexican cinnamon..
T_ Slightly too sweet? But builds on the roast, char, coffee, more than balancing the sweet vanilla cake churro. The spice not overwhelming the beer, as is the case with all Carton brews except when desired -as with black truffle.
F_ Less weight than a sweet flavor bomb might have, ample carbonation, tickly, and finished balance despite the calories.
O_ good with a cigar, or after dinner, not a first of the evening beer.

Feb 04, 2018

jakenap from New Jersey

4.7/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Start @46F. Canned 12/15/16 (269 days ago!) poured into a teku glass.

Look: light orange color with slightly off white head with yeast sediment settling on the bottom (way more sediment than fresh)

Smell: CINNAMON SUGAR!

Taste: I've had this beer fresh and the coffee has faded but is still there. Cinnamon sugar is the most upfront flavor with some notes of vanilla

Feel: light to medium mouthfeel, could easily be mistaken for a high quality iced coffee

Overall: this is one of my favorite Carton beers and nice variation on Regular Coffee. I have had many times before and will always seek it out when it's released. (New Years Day usually btw).

Sep 10, 2017

JerzDevl2000 from New Jersey

4.3/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I take the Subway quite often in New York and in the stop at Grand Central, there's a lady who sells churros.

$1! $1!

I never buy them but of course, I get a whiff before boarding the 7 train to go to work.

Though it's a bit old, as the date on the bottom of the can was 12/15 with "Start @46F" written above it, this beer was what I expected those churros to actually taste like. Things that are sweet aren't normally up my alley but this grew on me as it warmed up and after downing two cans of it, I have to say that this was certainly one of cartons best offerings!

Not a bad pour to this as the beer was the color of churros, with an off copper hue that had plenty of sediment floating in it from start to finish. Plenty of sugar and cinnamon in the aroma as this had to be one of the sweetest beers that I ever held in my hand. Some fried dough came in at the end and in the taste as well, as there was cream in the mouthfeel to boot. Tough to pick out the vanilla here but the coffee could be found once the sweetness went down after each sip. Medium-bodied and somewhat full, this beer didn't disappoint when it came to the body though it was tough to discern what hops were present here!

There was enough booze in this but it was understated as the powered sugar and fried dough aspects of this were able to compensate for the apparent lack of discernible hops. While not a 4-star beer, this was one of Carton's better offerings that I had an worthy of the ride down there to obtain it late last year. As far as dessert offerings go, this was one of the better ones out there and one of the best that I've had from them. Fun stuff that deserves to be available year-round!

May 30, 2017

woemad from Washington

4.14/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

12oz can received from @MacMalt .as part of NBS BIF #5. My first of the Regular Coffee variants. According to the stamp on the bottom of the can, this was canned on December 15, 2016.

Poured into an Iron Goat snifter, this was a hazy shade of apricot amber, with a small, beige head that fled after a couple minutes, leaving spotty lace.

If you let this warm up a few minutes from the fridge, it definitely smells like a churro, with a big, sugary cinnamon blast up front. Vanilla is also detected, but no coffee made its way to the breakfast-hungry workers at my olfactory.

Definitely a beer for someone with a sweet tooth, this starts off with maximum churro to the face (and tastebuds). The cinnamon and vanilla rule the roost, but there's a warming alcohol sensation looming in the background that becomes noticeable midway through. Right then is where the coffee kicks in, giving a roasty, bitter accompaniment to the sweetness throughout the fadeout.

Medium bodied, with a moderately creamy mouthfeel that seems appropriate for what is evoked by this beer.

This may have initially seemed a simple booze and sugar bomb, but it's surprising and sneakily subtle. A 12oz can is the perfect serving size for me for a sitting (I can't imagine sessioning this), but I still wish this was available locally. Thanks, Rob!

May 28, 2017

aquabears from Connecticut

4.58/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Beautiful clear orange/amber, a few particulates (not sure what they are), creamy head. Smells like cinnamon latte. And a little bit of roast. Taste is creamy sweetness, coffee undertones, caramel almost, and cinnamon. Hardly any sense of the 12% ABV. Low carbonation, smooth and slick but drier than expected.

Feb 12, 2017

WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

4.14/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a surprisingly clear amber with an evaporating fizz of head. Cinnamon in your face....really up front. When I started I could taste the coffee on the end.... but that's all gone now. Hids the abv well... very smooth.... a great start to any psychedelic weekend.

Feb 11, 2017

mmorris15 from Maine

4.57/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

L: Caramel color. Some small sediment at the bottom. Head recedes quickly.
S: Tons of coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla. Smells just like a churro dipped in coffee.
T: Sweetened coffee with cinnamon sugar. Touch of vanilla.
F: Super smooth and dangerously drinkable despite the 12% ABV. Slightly acidic feel.
O: Another home run, and my favorite Irregular Coffee entry so far. Awesome stuff!

Feb 11, 2017