El Toro Negro Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by El Toro Brewing Co.
Style: Sweet Stout
Morgan Hill, California USA

12oz bottle courtesy of IrishBoy. Thanks Richard. Very dark brown pour, bordering on black, brown edges and foam. Quickly diminishing head, leaves some bubbles but not many. No lacing to speak of. Nose of milk and dark chocolate, chocolate covered espresso, smoke, coffee grounds, creamer and dark fruits. Taste of stale coffee, oatmeal, milk chocolate, dark chocolate and creamer. Very creamy, round palate with heavy astringency. Medium bodied, bordering on being too thin. Finish is lengthy and roasty, with tons of chocolate.

Black color with a small tan head. Aroma of sweet coffee. Flavor is nice and roasty, sweet and creamy with a lingering dry roastiness.

On tap, poured black with no head, very smokey with a slight sweet mid, and a slight bitter finish. I waited as it sat and warmed in my glass, hoping it would become more complex and less smokey, but it just got warm.

Bottle from IrishBoy. Pours without much head. Soggy, meaty roast aroma. Crisp, refreshing, kind of vegetal taste. A bit of oats, a bit of lactic sugar. Refreshing. Pretty good. Running out of things to say for beers like this.

Name: Oatmeal Stout
Date: 08/16/1998
Source: Brewfest, San Jose

black, whispy tan head, roasted malt aroma with hints of coffee, rich malt flavor with lots of roasted character and a good doses of oatmeal flavor with a touch of oilyness

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Score: **+/4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Bottle from IrishBoy, and I just kinda like the way it looks right there in the bottle, nice label. The pour is pitch negro, ok initial head, diminishes reasonably quick for a sweet stout, doesn’t leave much lacing behind. The aroma is roast, caramel, some chocolate. The flavor is roast, almost burnt notes (tilted in that sense for a sweet/oatmeal stout), dry chocolate, caramel, finishing with a lovely oaty dry bite. The dry zingy finish and silky mouthfeel are the highlight of this beer, leaving a wonderful impression, although it is pretty straight forward otherwise, and perhaps less than impressive in appearance. If you like oatmeal stouts, then this is worth seeking out, a nice product. Thanks, Richard!

Bottle from Irishboy - thanks! Dark, nearly black pour with a sizable tan head. Aroma is sweet and roasty - sweet malts, bits of chocolate, coffee, and caramel. Flavor is roasty and has some light chocolate. Tasty, but doesn’t live up to that sweet smell. Mouthfeel is lighter than expected, maybe even a tad watery. Solid overall stout.

Pours pitch black with a medium small light brown head. Smells of cinnamon, spice, and everything nice. Some smoky roasty aromas mixed in with some chocolate rounded out the smell. Taste is fairly light bodied, but has a good flavor to it. A little roasty with some oatmeal characters. Subtle chocolate rears it head as well. Decent stout.