El Toro Deuce Imperial IPA - El Toro Brewing Co.

warriorsoul

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A special thanks to zrrbrrt for this drop-off.
Pours quite hazy...golden honey in color with less than 1/4 finger of bright white head, disappearing all too quickly and very little lacing.
Fruity hops in the nose with some caramel malt sweetness....some floral notes as well.
Taste is very enjoyable...a balane of floral and fruity hops...severely bitter with just a hint of sweetness to add some balance. Finish is bitter and dry, yet clean.
Fairly thick mouthfeel, but quite crisp...not overly oily or cloying.
Alcohol is very well masked...at 8%, this one could be quite quaffable for a DIPA...not gonna happen here, as I only have one, but I am quite lucky to get one of these to consume.
Thanks again Josh.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2007 00:17:21 | More by warriorsoul

MastaShonuf

California

2/5  rDev -49%

06-01-2013 04:20:21 | More by MastaShonuf

popery

California

3/5  rDev -23.5%

02-27-2013 03:09:16 | More by popery

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +2%

09-25-2012 23:19:12 | More by t0rin0

Beercounter1

2.75/5  rDev -29.8%

09-10-2012 04:26:35 | More by Beercounter1

slimntubbs

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

08-08-2012 02:52:58 | More by slimntubbs

GJonesy

California

4/5  rDev +2%

04-10-2012 23:38:54 | More by GJonesy

shelby415

Oregon

4/5  rDev +2%

04-06-2012 03:14:57 | More by shelby415

punkhim

Washington

2.75/5  rDev -29.8%

04-03-2012 05:59:03 | More by punkhim

capolo2k

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

03-04-2012 06:17:39 | More by capolo2k

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

2.03/5  rDev -48.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Copper pour at the Bistro dipa fest. 1/2" head on it, looked nice. Aroma was just rough, bitter dog hair. Needs more dog? No thank you.

Taste, was even more rough, the bitterness was accompanied by terrible off flavors. Plenty of hops, but it made you wonder if it was infected, or just awful at times. All three of us that went to the festival together drain poured this and joked about how the 'drains to ocean' sign made us feel bad for the aquatic life that was going to get the remaining ounces. It tasted like the beer came through the most wretched tap line of yesteryear, uncleaned, and hooked right up to this beer.

I'd like to think this keg was just terrible, but I've never really been into El Toro's stuff anyways. We'll see, they're often at the Bistro fests, so I'm sure I'll take one more plunge into their creations, even this one, just for the sake of knowing if it was just a bad batch, or if they truly just make something so offensive to me and my crew.

Serving type: on-tap

02-19-2012 05:46:13 | More by Beerandraiderfan

pdxbeerdrinker

Oregon

4/5  rDev +2%

02-19-2012 00:37:00 | More by pdxbeerdrinker

sharpski

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

02-15-2012 21:54:40 | More by sharpski

Livid

Oregon

3.93/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Growler from draft. Pours a hazy amber color with about 1/2" of white head, laces nicely down the glass. Aroma is almost all hops - citrus, pine, floral and grassy notes. Good body and mouthfeel - not oily like many high IBU IIPAs. The flavor is very hoppy and unbalanced. Big hit of citrus rind and pine flavors, with faint malt flavors of caramel peeking through right before a long bitter aftertaste. This is a borderline hop bomb. I happen to lean towards the hoppier end of the spectrum, so this is right up my alley.

Serving type: growler

02-04-2012 22:13:06 | More by Livid

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

01-29-2012 10:32:31 | More by ygtbsm94

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.08/5  rDev -21.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Picked up a 12oz bottle oon 12.29.11

A - Pours a cloudy dark orange with a two finger yellow-cream colored head. Good retention and nice lacing.

S - Very carmely, malty and sweet.

T - Similar to the nose, Carmel and sweet. Some hoppiness in the background, but not much.

D - Good carbonation and an average body for the style. Slightly bitter finish.

O - It was sweet and not much hops. Makes me wonder if it was an older bottle, but I don't think it was.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 03:04:08 | More by HuskyinPDX

JeremyDrinksBeer

California

5/5  rDev +27.6%

11-21-2011 06:37:49 | More by JeremyDrinksBeer

cbarrett4

Oregon

4.4/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into pint glass at APEX PDX.

This was recommended by the bartender as I am a huge fan of Fort George Vortex and Pliny the Elder (which I consumed that same night).

Pours a lovely golden/copper hue, pretty clear with very nice head fading to a good lace. Low-ish carbonation. Smells of hops and malts, mainly a diverse mixed bag of fresh green aromatics like mint, pine, and loam with some dried hay notes. A little citrus, but not much. Pretty one dimensional but good nose.

Flavors expand upon the palate, building to an impressive crescendo of hops with emphasis on the pine and fresher hop oils, very nice malt backbone with a faint raw oat, roasted nut character and some fresher citrus, perhaps lemon, kiwi, and tangerine. Lovely texture, rich and savory without being overtly alcoholic. Balances nicely on the long and exciting finish.

Overall this beer is a blast and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for some pretty intense yet balanced IPAs.

Serving type: on-tap

08-27-2011 21:33:41 | More by cbarrett4

czechsaaz

Washington

4.3/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The aroma is thick with hoppy goodness. Lots of citrus and grass. Underneath is some caramel malt and some spicy yeast, almost peppery.

Orange with a solid small layer of white foam. Cloudy but lots of rising carbonation from the bottom of the glass. Moderate lacing too.

Big malt backbone, lots of caramel and some crystal. Then come the hops. Good bittering and some grassy and citrus hop flavor. Big hop oil lingering aftertaste too. As it warms up, there's more malt comlexity. I get honey and brown sugar. Overall, pretty balanced in that it's got a ton of malt balanced by a ton of hops.

Body is thick but not heavy. Prettty high carbonation level adds to it seeming lighter than it is at 8%.

Nice, nice beer. Maybe even better than some of the sought after examples of the style but less well known and a bit more rare outside its home market. If you see it, get one.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2011 06:52:16 | More by czechsaaz

olmatty

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a deep orange amber with a sticky white head.

Aroma is grainy biscuit and a floral spicy hop character a candy sweetness lurks deep below.

Flavor is rich and hugely hopped. Strong malt backbone with lots of cereal grains. Hops are spicy, floral bitter and piney.

Body is huge and chunky.

Overall, this bottle is lacking some if the incredibly wonderful intensity of aroma and flavor that were in this been when I had it on draft recently. I upgraded this bottle slightly based upon the strength of the excellent draft.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2011 05:47:23 | More by olmatty

wagenvolks

Texas

4.13/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle (Brew 1377) into a Unibroue tulip. Listed at 7.75% ABV. Thanks to MilwaukeeCrusher for the trade!

Pours a murky orange-creamsicle for the body. Very yeast-hazed, but clarity is overrated anyway, right? The rocky head is towering, lace-leaving, and the color of lemon meringue. Fresh hop aroma absolutely drips with the scent of pungent, piny hop cones. Musty almost. The malt backing is no slouch either, with lot of caramel and toffee sweetness to support those hefty hop aromatics.

Hop bitterness pounds the tongue with each sip, but is restrained enough to allow the malty sweetness to come through. For all intents and purposes, Deuce IIPA is a lot like smelling and tasting a hop pellet: intensely aromatic and bitter, but the hop flavor makes up for it with notes of pine and resin. Bready, carmel-rich malt profile is big enough to withstand the hoppy onslaught. Mouthfeel is creamy and full-bodied for the style. Low carbonation but zesty in the finish with lots of bitterness. All in all, this is a tasty (if somewhat unconventional) Double IPA. Worth seeking out for fans of Humulus lupulus.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2011 23:22:05 | More by wagenvolks

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer pours an orange amber color with good head retention and lacing. The nose in this beer is incredible and is clearly it's best feature. It really smells as if a lot of simcoe and amarillo was used in the making of this beer, as I get a huge dank aroma of fresh tobacco, wet earth, pine and skunky marijuana. The flavor profile replicates the nose in this beer, though the alcohol is a bit more noticeable and prominent than I like to see (especially for a 7.5% abv. beer, according to the label). What's interesting in this beer is that initially there's some pretty noticeable sweet malt, which is then shoved aside by the tidal wave of hoppy bitterness. This leads to very long, slightly alcoholic, very dry, bitter finish. Drinkability is OK, though as noted above, there's a bit too much of an alcohol bite for my liking.

An interesting take on the style. I tried this side by side with the maharaja, and frankly it made the maharaja taste rather tame. That's how hopped up this DIPA is from El Toro.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2011 02:52:38 | More by johnmichaelsen

kitty66

Washington

3.55/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Must have been an old or sun-exposed bottle. Can only assume that much of the freshness of hops had disappeared.

2/3 Caramel sugar soda, 1/3 california pale ale. Girls would probably like this one as a sipper.

Will hold final verdict until having a chance to visit the brewery, lots of talk about toro, kind of disappointing with this one.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2011 00:00:15 | More by kitty66

jdense

Oregon

4.03/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle form bottle shop in PDX, poured into Delirium Tremens tulip glass 3.25.11.

Finger and a half broken white head, medium-slow dissipation with above average lacing. Orange amber cloudy body, significant amount of floating yeast, bottled conditioned?, should have been more careful pouring. Whoa, impressive nose, huge citrus/tropical notes, no bubblegum, grapefruit and guava, a bit of bready malts in the middle, aroma maintained its fruitiness as it warmed. Taste mirrors nose, melon up front backed by a bit of citrus, then whap! aggressive skank pine resin finish. Mouthfeel is about medium, slightly above average effervescence, though this in one resiny beer. This is not a beer to be taken lightly.With this flavor profile, I'd like to see what El Toro could do with a CDA. Highly recommended for dedicated hopheads.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2011 04:54:49 | More by jdense

ccrida

Oregon

3.38/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle poured into my Murphy's Stout tulip, Deuce is dark burnt gold with a tight, sand colored head that leaves scattered, foamy lace, as well as some nice rings.

Smell is a hop explosion, no two ways about it. Loads of resiny pine, apricots

Taste is super fierce. This one's got plenty of hop flavor, but a very gritty, intense bitterness that lingers on the long aftertaste. There's some sweet alcohol flavor but it's mostly hop bitterness and fruity and resiny hop flavor. Extreme.

Mouthfeel is on the thick side, dry.

Drinkability isn't too high for me. Too bitter, a strong bite from the alcohol, which is only listed as 7.75% on my bottle, and fairly expensive as well. Worth a try for hop heads, but only lovers of extremely bitter IPAs will really dig this.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2010 02:48:56 | More by ccrida