El Toro Negro Oatmeal Stout

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

Serve in English pint

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Bottle into tulip glass, sometime in 2004. Musty oatmeal smell, dusty, cold butter, and toast. Black in the glass with a brown frothy head, no retention. Sweet, but not too much so. Vaguely minty. Roast and oatmeal blend together perfectly in the middle. Dry bite with a bit of bitter in the finish, which was nicely long and complex. Overall, maybe the best (i.e., most enjoyable) oatmeal stout I’ve ever had.

Pours like old motor oil, bits of milk chocolate almost foam. aroma of coffee, molasses, diluted vinegar. smooth but a little thin in the mouth. the flavor had that Guiness tang, burnt toast, brown sugar, no hop taste but something must be holding back the sugar. clean finish

12 oz single from "Lifesource" S.Salem. $1.75 typical near black ( mahogany hint) beer with a lovelly frothy,thick tan head. Creamy ,oatlike aromas..rolled Scottish oats.,coffee slightly roasted. Very nice bitter coffee and cocoa nib flavours..again a roastiness that is pleasing. Great palate to this one the oats add even more substance to an already luxuriant mouthful. Overall a very nice stout and not too strong. I can see me buying a six pack next time.

12oz bottle, purchased up at Liquor Expo in Grenada. Pours a dark color color; modest, medium-tan head with solid lacing. Dark chocolate in the aroma along with a milky oat character and cocoa and cola; bittersweet and reasonably dry. Medium body; modest carbonation; plenty of bittersweet cocoa character throughout, and the oatmeal contribution gives this a very nice creaminess and smoothness overall; plenty of bitterness, but so much of that comes from the specialty-malt character (note: some of these are book notes to myself); quite drinkable, lots of cocoa and bittersweet chocolate, and this was absolutely perfect for drinking outside by our fire when we were camping. Medium-length finish of bittersweet chocolate, cocoa, a touch of milky chocolate; light toast.

This is one of the best smelling beers I have had. Taste is typical, but still, very fine for average.

(Draught) Pours a black body with a medium tan head. Aroma of coffee, cocoa, roasted malt, and anise. Flavor of coffee, cocoa, oatmeal, caramel, and roasted malt.

12 oz bottle from Bier Stein. Slightly opaque brown pour with a whiff of tan head and slight lacing. Smells sweet, like chocolate, cream and light coffee. Maybe a little caramel thrown in as well. Tastes fairly sweet as well, with a lot of chocolate backed by caramel, oats, cream and coffee. A well constructed stout, even if it is a little sweeter than I normally prefer.

On tap at Nibblers. Pours almost black with a nice tan head. Smells smokey with some coffee. Tastes os chocolate, toffee, some coffee has some sweetness. Very smooth and drinkable.

Baie Lekker! Bottle. Pours black with medium beige fast dissipating head. Moderate lacing. Cocoa and oatmeal aroma, with a tinge of coffee. Full but mild flavour, more cocoa and oatmeal. Sweet finish, but not cloying, there is enough bitterness.

12 oz bottle. Pours a pitch black body with a small fizzy light brown head that ran to a thin ring. The nose is very roasty and thick with some oats and a touch of butterscotch. Smells fairly sweet. The flavor is thick, sweet, and roasty with a lingering sweetness. A little earthy yeast and just a touch of butter on the finish, not much, but it is there. Mouthfeel is fairly thick, a little oily in texture, with soft minimal carbonation. Overall, not the best, but it was drinkable.

UPDATED: JAN 26, 2010 Very dark brown, thin head with light retention. Nice fruity & coffee aroma that transfers to the taste with a smoky finish. Medium - Thick body, with a bit of a syrupy texture and medium carbonation.