El Toro IPA
Tawny colored, this IPA is true to style. It is very generously hopped with Tomahawk, Centennial, Cascade, and Amarillo hops for and intensely hoppy aroma, flavor and bitterness with a balanced malty flavor.
3.6
160 reviews
Morgan Hill, United States
Community reviews
Amber with some good, clingy lacing. A surprisingly cereal aroma, sweet and sticky. A lot hoppier in the mouth. Plenty of herbal pine and citrus rind flavours. The bitterness is a little harsh and grating but it remains reasonably drinkable. Orangey and sticky.
Bronzed body with a very fluffy, egg white head. Pineapple hoppy nose that moves into the gustatory realm as well, with another dose of liquid pineapple hop together with some some citrus flares. Easy leafiness. Not bad.
A slightly over-aged brie smell, a swampiness with some hop bitter still cutting through, and oak. a golden head on yellow-amber clarity, very light in the mouth but still a good presence, raspy to the tongue. I taste oak, resin, caramel—the balance goes to the hops but still contained. Hoppy finish
(Draught) Pours a clear yellow body with a medium white head. Aroma of grapefruit, grain, pine, and caramel. Flavor of grapefruit, orange, earth, grain, and caramel malt with a dry, bitter finish.
Orange pours with a white head. The aroma is toffee, caramel and herbal, tropical hops. The flavor is very bitter without a whole lot of flavoring or aroma hops. Theres some pine and earth with some buttered toffee for balance. This was a nicely balanced and potently bitter IPA. Would have liked more aroma hops.
Bottle... Poured burnt orange/amber with a thick, beige-is head. Nose had some floral, perfumey hops. Lots of bitterness here with hop flavors of pine, pepper spice, and very resinous with a residual hop finish. Malt tones balanced but were definitely the illegitimate chile here.
Bottle from Bier Stein. Hazy orange pour with a light white head. Nice mixture of hop aromas, with citrus and grass being most prominent but some nice pine notes as well as a modicum of caramel. Tastes malty initially, but then you get hit with a burst of citrus and pine hop notes that slowly recede back into the caramel. Pretty solid and underrated IPA in my opinion.
Sappy, sticky and resinous spruce and pine needle aromatics. A slightly orange golden pour that is clear and sits underneath a thick, creamy two-finger white head. Pine and northwest hops punch you in the mouth before you expect it. Finish is bitter and bone dry. Caramel traces make a brief appearance but this is about the hops. Very light but not in the least watery. Great ipa. Traces of orange peel as it warms.
I smelled this and proclaimed Summit hops. I was wrong. Big juicy dank aroma, some pineapple and lemongrass. Clear gold, tall proud sticky white head. More gummy pineapple coupled with abrasive pine. Strongly bitter, with a long tingly finish. Medium bodied, no alcohol sting, just gooey hops.
Bottle. Pours tawny orange with foamy white head. Full floral aroma, citrus, especially orange notes. Medium body, all over the tongue flavour with seville orange and tangerine. Lasting hop finish.
12 ounce bottle. Pours a hazy orange with a thick rocky head. Aromas of grapfruit and pine. Huge citrus hop flavor with just the right amount of malt sweetness and a nice bitter finish; really good stuff.
Cask. Amber beer with an off-white head. Grapefruit aroma. Grapefruit and light pine flavor. Medium bodied. Grapefruit and light pine lingers with light malt.
Earlier Rating: 1/29/2010 Total Score: 3.7
Draft. Amber beer with an off-white head. Grapefruit aroma. Resin and earthy flavor with pithy grapefruit. Medium body. Good bitterness. Pithy grapefruit lingers with pine resin and light earthiness.
Earlier Rating: 10/11/2005 Total Score: 3.6
Draft. Orange amber color with a low whitish head. Citrus aroma. Nice grapefruit flavor with some smooth malt backing and good bitterness. Good IPA
Bottled. An unclear golden beer with a lazing beige head. The aroma has notes of malt and hops. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt and hops, leading to a dry and bitter finish.
GABF 09. Pours a nice hazed orange with a sticky white head. Aroma is juicy, orange citrus, light grapefruit and some tropical notes. Flavor is low on the malt just hints of cara sweetness, good frresh green hops, juicy, light mint, pine and citrus all around. Clean finish and dry with resin. Nice.
For 6.5 abv this is a strong single IPA. Aroma is resin hops, spices, and a very unusual malt scent. 3 finger head that sticks around. Not too good of lacing going on. Taste is very hoppy and bitter with a great unique malt to balance it out. I first attributed the faint citrus to grapefruit, but seeing amarillo is one of the four hops included, I think the note of citrus is coming from the amarillo, could be both grapefruit and amarillo. The world may never know. Great drinkability for a heavily hopped IPA. Great balance. Seems like there was a little of time put into the balancing of this brew. Would love to have it on tap. To the hopheads, if you haven’t tried it, it’s worth a try with the unique malt and quadruple hops combo.
Light orange in color with a small but rocky head. Aroma is creamy orange, grapefruit, and a dash of lemon. Flavor is extremely bitter, and it’s a harsh chalky bitterness. Very astringent finish. A part of me loves this, and another part of me wants to throw it across the room in disgust.
Poured a slightly hazed gold color with a medium sized white head. Hoppy aroma with notes of both citrus flesh and citrus rind. Citrus and pine hop flavor. Malty middle with a dry and fairly bitter finish. Light to medium bodied.
12 oz. bottle from Beer On The Wall (Brew 1367, whatever that means). Dark orange pour with a fluffy off-white head. Aroma of pine needles, tangerines, and grapefruit. Somewhat grapefruity flavor but enough balance that this is not too bitter. Personally, I would have preferred less balance.
Bottled. Poured clear medium golden with a dense cap of white head. The aroma picked up bright floral and orange zest over soft caramel and pale malts.. warmth brought out some black pepper.. very nice stuff! The flavor found more of the black pepper all the way through.. sweet caramel and bready notes at the core, with the pepper and orange zest around.. spicy and warm on the finish. Medium-bodied and well-balanced on the palate.. the finish stuck around for quite a while. I’d drink more of these.
GABF 2009. Great IPA, one of the best I had all weekend, including Judging the Alpha King @ Falling Rock. Orange colored hop deliciousness. sticky hops, wonderfully balance, great stuff
Solid IPA from El Toro. A big hop bomb coming in at 6.5%. Firm dank nose with floral notes and grapefruit. Citrus doesn’t last too long, quickly covered up by the rush of hop buds being washed down the pipes. This is a bitter-ass beer! I like it though.
Bottle from Ledger’s. This was a month old when I got it and is still great. Fruity citric nose with light tart hops. Flavor is a bit run-of-the-mill for me but is still great. Hops could be bigger.
12oz bottle. Thick orange-brown color. Respectable head. Bitter hoppy aroma. Rich toasty malt backbone saturated in a syrupy hop bitterness. Pretty good and tasty, quite well balanced. I almost get a touch of amber malt in there, but it could be the thick, soapy hop profile. Pretty good.
Bottle 35,5 cl. Courtesy of KimJohansen. Very cloudy orangey golden with a small, rough off-white head. Fresh and citrusy hop aroma. Medium body, dominated by the very fresh and citrusy hop accents with a slightly unclean edge. Very bitter finish. 270509
Hazy orange with a tiny white head. Aroma had hops, peaches and apricots. Flavour had plenty of hops, pine and grapefruit notes. Finished quite bitter.
12 fl oz bottle. Pours hazy orange with a small off-white head. Dry orange fruity, grapefruity and light malt based aroma. Bitter and dry hoppy flavoured. Pinewood and dry malt based flavoured. Dry pinewood hops and bitter flavoured finish.
Tap sampled at SF International Beer Fest. Golden-amber color with a nice off-white head. Aroma of piney/floral hops and sweet malt. Flavor is sweet caramel malt, pine, earth, and citrusy hops. Palate medium with average carbonation.
Bottle courtesy of Lothore. Pours copper with a generous white head. Smells of citrus, wildflowers, metallic. Tastes of caramel, light resin, soapy, earthy, floral.
Draft at the brewery. Good straight forward IPA. A little jumpy pine with some tart citrus. Good beer after a long drive.
Draught at the brewpub. Hazy gold with a sticky head. Floral piney hops and light dough in the aroma. Straight bitter and hoppy stuff. Dry with light malts and firm grapefruit bitterness. Medium bodied with ample carbonation. Pretty standard stuff for the west-coast style, but not really too interesting.