Yo
El Toro Brewing Co.

Damn if this ain't an old review. Had this for the first time at Toronado Barleywine Festival 2010 back when it was only 7.6% and still considered a barleywine. Was my first pour of the day.

Pours a light auburn color with a thin lighter auburn head 1/5". Aroma was a mixture of American spice rack, caramel-crystal malt, toffee, brown sugar.

Taste went way more in on the caramel aspect. Was expecting more of an American barleywine amount of hops and bitterness, but both were chilled out, went with way more of a toffee, caramel and brown sugar kind of smoothed out mouth feel. Definitely some desert tree sage/juniper/pine aspect to it as it warms that doesn't seem to be hop derived. Perhaps there might be some smoked malt or wood aspect to it as well. Definitely kept getting better as the drinking experience evolved. I've never seen a bottle of this before, but if I did, I have to imagine I would buy one.

 

Pour is dark copper and mostly hazed with a light brown tight head. Nose is muddle spice, grainy malt, and a lighter brown sugar sweetness. Taste is a bit more integrated, lots of spice to it up front with cinnamon and Christmas spices. Fairly present malt body, a touch sugary and gets a little sweet towards the back. Finish is a bit watery in flavor and thins in body with moderate carbonation and a slightly syrupy body.

This poured murky and with a pretty color somewhere between tea and mahogany wood . H ad nice head of beige foam that was thick and slow to fall. Left plenty of lace, a ring a cap it just loved the beer that much it wouldn't leave it. Nose is sweet and pretty. Brown sugar, juniper berry, a fruity backdrop that defied description but was light and cheerful, a touch of molasses. Taste follows the nose and this is one easy beer to drink. It it smooth, and sweet but not too sweet. The juniper gives it the taste of needles that aren't pine and that's exciting. The brown sugar is just sweet enough without heaviness and the molasses is deep. Little toffee, little bread. I liked it.

Thank you Richard.

 

 

a: This was a ruby tinted copper color. It poured with a thick, clumpy head.

s: I found cherries, toffee, molasses, raisins, pine, lemon rind, and a little heat. Plenty of layers here, but this still manages to be on the mild, subtle side.

t: Not quite as complex as the nose would suggest, but this was quite satisfying. Toffee flavors dominated from start to finish, blanketing everything. There was a bitter tingle in the middle and some cherry and vanilla lingering at the finish.

m: Medium bodied with gentle, creamy carbonation.

d: Full flavored yet restrained. Really nice barleywine, glad I got to try this one.

Purchased at the brewpub in Morgan Hill. Batch 1399 (bottled in December 2009).

Poured into a Cigar City snifter.

Appearance: A gentle pour yields a thin, tan, bubbly crown. (A more vicious pour produced a quarter inch of foam.) Light carbonation keeps the head up for a bit, but after several minutes only a hair-thin halo remains. Body is hazy and ruby with caramel-colored edges. Thin, sticky lacing follows the beer all the way down.

Smell: Doughy malts, brown sugar, juniper, and lots of floral esters. Really mild for a barleywine / winter warmer / strong ale. Alcohol plays a pretty strong role, too.

Taste: Taste follows the smell almost exactly. Toasted malt and woody hops are the only extra flavors I detect. Decent. Easy.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, oily, and nicely carbonated with lots of tiny bubbles. Finishes warm and dry, but all in all this is a pretty smooth barleywine. Aftertaste is very light; leaves a fuzzy/prickly feel on the palate.

Drinkability: This was a ho hum barleywine. I don't wanna call it bland, but it definitely needs some more flavor. I can't imagine this improving a whole lot with age either. Still, this is an easy-drinker. Probably a good introductory barleywine.

12oz bottles shared courtesy of Josh. We did 2 vintages.

Poured a medium and cloudy amber color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of dark fruits, some nuttines, and caramel. Tastes of dark fruits, caramel, and nutty. Lighter hops too.

This one had less character than the batch 1220 we had side x side.

Yo 2007! On tap at Toronado Bwine Fest
Poured a nice mahoganey with a ncie little white head. Nose was fruity, tangy even and sweet.
Taste is unique. A cherry blast even. Nice and malty. The alcohol is not to apparent until you guzzle it down. Eventhought a strong ale it was presented as barleywine and comlex enough

12/30/05- Had on tap at the Toronado in San Francisco, CA.

Presentation- Via the tap into a tulip style glass.

Appearance- Mahoganey colored pour, maybe a bit brandy-esque in color. Slight 1/5 inch creamy and smooth looking head. Nice thin sheet of lacing along the sides.

Smell- Light whiff of fusel alcohol, bit of a nutty malt scent as well as an oaky and spicy cherry scent.

Taste- Very mellow. Just a tad of alcohol detection at first (it hits you later). Nice bready malt with a black currant or really dark cherry taste. Almost like a cherry cough syrup flavor. Decent amount of hop bitterness as well.

Mouthfeel- Smooth, creamy with a low carbonation level. Cherry hop burps afterwards. Nice and warming.

Drinkability- I sensed this to be more of a lower abv barleywine than a strong ale. Very smooth though and super drinkable.