El Toro Yo Winter Ale

Draught at the brewpub. They had two batches of this on; one from 2008 and the other from 2004. I got the 2004 because I just couldn’t pass up the chance. Red-amber color with a small head. Very mellow sweet caramel aroma. Flavors of dried fruit and light spice. Everything is really mellow from the age, and maybe even a bit dull, but it makes a nicely drinkable, smooth presentation. Medium-full bodied. Has held up well, but I could see this being even better fresh.

Sampled at Toronado 2009 Barleywine Festival. Pours hazy copper with thin off white head. The aroma has a bit of a cherry cough syrup sensation then it moves toward figs and a bit of sweet malts. The taste is fruity to start but lacks much in the way of depth or rich dark fruitiness I’d expect for a beer at a Barleywine Fest. Seems pretty darn dry and thin in body from beginning to end.

Leftover at Toronado from BW fest. One of the hoppier barleywines, a little bit like the deuce, with more of an alcohol burn and somewhat sweeter. Fairly well balanced, with some caramel component in addition to the grapefruit

On tap at Toronado for Barleywine fest ’09. Amber color, off-white head. Aroma of caramel malt and dark fruits. Flavor is sweet and sour with caramel malt, cider, and slight port notes. Some hop bitterness. Fairly full mouthfeel, but not quite as much as others in the style.

Draft at Toronado BW fest. Darker amber pour. Nice citrus hops, caramel malt, some earthy bittering hops also. Somewhat lighter tasting than the IPA, but I think that it’s just more malt to balance all the hops in that one. Pretty solid.

12oz bottles shared courtesy of Josh. We did 2 vintages. My notes will reflect the ~2 year old bottle that was far superior to the newer one. 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, cherries, caramel, and nutty. Had a lighter tart and sour finish that I really dug. Tart cherries.

[Various vintages, unknown but recent] Poured hazy chestnut color with a small, light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of oxidized sherry, caramel malts, dark fruits, nuts, and alcohol. Taste of caramel malts, roast, nuts, tart cherry, and more dried fruits, with a bit of alcohol leading way to a dry finish. The older vintage seemed much more oxidized, and the ratings reflect that, as it had a lot more character than the newer batch. Thanks Josh!

Thanks to Josh. Pours a deep hazy amber with a smaller bubbly off white head. Aroma of gummy candies, cherries, caramel some nuts and dark fruits. Flavor of tart cherry notes, dark fruits, toffee, carmel and nuts.