El Toro Poppy Jasper Amber Ale

Brewed by El Toro Brewing Co.
Style: Amber Ale
Morgan Hill, California USA

Name: Poppy Jasper
Date: 12/22/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

hazy dark red, wispy dirty white head, sweet caramel malt aroma with a light bready character and a touch of tartness, tart caramel malt flavor, light earthy bitterness,

Aroma: 4/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 2/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 4/20
Rating: 1.6/5.0
Drinkability: 2/10
Score: -/4

On tap @ Northstar, North Beach San Francisco. Pours a rather dirty amber color. Some hop presence, toffee, caramel. Decent amber but really wouldnt need another

12oz bottle, no date. Thanks to Colin for this. Hazy red with brown highlights and a one finger beige head, fair retention. Aroma of toffee, light earth and citrus hops. Flavor adds a little bit of either stale malt or hops--I can’t really tell which. There is still the toffee and light hops, Little bitterness in the semisweet caramel finish. Low carbonation with a medium thin body. Not too bad--not that great, either.

Bottle: Carmel in color, moderate to large foamy sandy hued head, very nice lacing.   Soft malt nose, seems to be mildly sweet.   Hop aspect is minor.   Pale malt flavor, very slight cereal and/or cardboard.   Minor enough to where it doesn’t really detract.   Little to no hop presense.   Light, fairly clean, easy on the palate.   I spoze as an English Style Brown thats why its not that agressive or at least assertive.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate.   Does sorta fall off at the finish.   Splains why its fairly clean as not much lingers.   Light, quick to finish, but with some mild malt flavors.   Not bad, certainly worth a try.

Draft at Jack’s Bar in the Fisherman’s Wharf area. Small ivory smooth head that was fully lasting, transparent, nice looking lacing, fast-rising carbonation, and a brown hue. Nose was malty, light hop notes, crisp and clean. The flavor was malty lightly hoppy, lightly bitter, crisp and clean tasting Tingly mouthfeel and light-medium body. So-so for the style, but not one that I would go out of my way for.

On tap at City Beer Store in SF. Very nice orange-tinted hazy brown, no head was poured. Aroma is clean and crisp (not necessarily in a good way) with a little cucumber and nutty funk. Thin mouthfeel, fast-disappearing taste of bread, grass and malt. Good to try but wouldn’t get it again.

This draft brew from a restaurant poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized bubbles that were long lasting and left behind a copper brown colored body and an excellent lacing. The mild aroma was brown malt and sweet. The mouth feel was weakly tingly at the start and at the finish. The mild flavor contained notes of malt. A decent one but not one that I would consider buying again.

Dark amber bronze with a thin tan pad. Sweet caramel, brown sugar and berries in the aroma. Straightforward, but likeable, flavour of nutty caramel with a fruity quality in the finish. Very good.