El Toro Negro Oatmeal Stout

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

Bonus from IrishBoy, 12oz no date. Black with a tiny tan head. The first whiff that I got was burnt plastic--bleh--there is also some chocolate and oats, roasted malts, slight coffee. It’s hard to get past that burnt plastic. Even the taste has that, though it isn’t the dominant flavor, as was the case in the smell. Slighly bitter aftertaste. Medium bodied, creamy mouthfeel, moderate carbonation. Can’t get past the plastic with this one.

Draught. Opqaue black with light brown head that laced the glass. Aroma and flavor are similar with chocolate, coffee, and caramle flavors. Slightly sweet on the tongue. Pretty good sweet stout.

Bottle courtesy of Irishboy. Pours brown with a thin tan head. Smells of malt, rich chocolate and some oats. Tastes malty with nice dark chocolate elements. Some cherry tartness is there as the beer warms up. Finish is coffeeish and slightly bitter with some nice earthy hops revealing themselves at the very end. Great multi-layered sweet stout.

Poured a very dark brown color with a medium tan head. Sweet roasted malt aroma with dark fruits and light cherry and chocolate. Roasted sweet malt flavor with chocolate notes. Lively fizzy mouth feel.

Almost transparent, very dark walnut body, with a very thin tan head. Aroma of chocolate and coffee, flavor shows bittersweet chocolate and coffee, with a little hoppiness in the finish.

Sampled at Noogfest-2. I think I tried this one a bit late in the evening as my writing is starting to deteriorate. Oily black pour with a light brown head. Very strong aroma that was sweet with medicinal hints. The flavor is nothing I got too excited about. Burnt malts tempered by lactose or oatmeal or something. Not too enjoyable in my opinion. Creamy body that was a bit oily and slick. Pass.

Really black, not much head. Big aromas of chocolate, coffee, and then big flavors of dark chocolate, black coffee, and then a kind of a fruity, cherry-like flavor. There are really no subtle flavors here, everything is up front and vying for your attention. Really tasty stuff. Sampled at Noogfest2.

Pours a black body with a light khaki head. The aroma and flavor is crackers, a hint of smoke, and something I mistook for alcoholic heat before I found out it was only 5.5%.