El Toro Deuce

Brewed by El Toro Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Morgan Hill, California USA

12 oz bottle thanks to friend Jimmy S. Hazy gold pour with no head-a bit cold to start. Hop bomb to start with but the dry hops come through with warming. Decent balance and a very nice DIPA. This small brewery is doing a great job but distribution has always been an issue.

Tap. I’ll start by saying that I think this beer was a little off. Aroma had roasted for the malt, herbs for the hops, and cheese for the yeast (probably from being a little old in the keg) and followed by stale and skunk. Head is creamy white with excellent lacing and is mostly lasting. Color is clear red brown. Flavor starts Moderately acidic and finishes moderately bitter. Palate is medium, creamy and has a lively carbonation. I’m sorry I didn’t get to try this fresher than I did, and unfortunately I’ll probably won’t get another shot at it for a long time.

Wow, this one’s a kick in the ass. Think powerful IIPA; clean palate; big shot of grapefruit hop on top. Kick ass. Holds up well even at Toronado.

Dark gold color. Huge grapefruit nose balanced by more malt than the regular IPA. Some fruity sweetness too. Upfront strong grapefruit bitterness. Toasty malt gives some nice fruity balance to the bitterness, but like their IPA, this one leaned towards the hops. Good beer!

(Bottle) Pours a clear amber body with a small beige head. Aroma of pine, melon, citrus, and toffee. Flavor of toasted cereal, plenty of pine hoppiness, and some citrus with a somewhat sticky finish. ell crafted and balanced for a beer with so much pine characteristics.

Draught at the Toronado. Beer is hazy, light caramel with a small, beige, frothy/creamy, mostly lasting head. Clingy lace.<P>Light malty notes of toasted grain, caramel, biscuit; Hoppy with moderate/heavy notes of resin/pine, grapefruit oil, light note of apricot; Light miscellaneous note of vanilla.<P>Moderately sweet, lightly bitter, lightly acidic with a long, moderately/heavily bitter/grippy, lightly sweet, trace acidic finish.<P>The body is medium, the texture is watery/velvety and the carbonation is lively.<P>Sharp, unpleasant.

Draught at Toronado. Head is mostly diminishing. Body is dark yellow. Aroma is trace malt (toasted grain), moderately hoppy (grapefruit, resin), lightly to moderately yeasty (dough), with a note of butter/diacetyl. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium body, watery/syrupy texture, lively carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic. A very rough-edged, dull-yeasty, and aggressive example. Not pleasant at all for me, but hopheads may appreciate the abrasive qualities.

Draft at The Bistro’s DIPA Fest; Nose of citrus hops (how many times more will I taste citrus hops today?) hazy copperwith a small off-white head; flavor showed lots of hop bitterness lasting to a strong finish. I still like their Oatmeal Stout a lot better!