Friday, April 30, 2010

Beers at the Toronado Pub in S.F.!

For some time now, whenever Mugsy and I would mention San Francisco in the vicinity of beer lovers, they would invariably ask, “Have you guys been to the Toronado? They have an amazing beer selection!” We heard this over and over – and wondered to ourselves, “What is this fabled Valhalla?” and “Will it actually live up to our expectations?”


In a word, friends, YES.


The Toronado is not a fancy bar. You wouldn’t take a woman there on your first date (unless she was a devout lover of quality beer). It’s not the kind of place where you casually meet up with co-workers after a hard day. No. The Toronado is a beer bar for beer aficionados. The walls are adorned with old beer advertisements from around the world along with a bumper sticker proudly proclaiming, “No Crap on Tap.” Indeed! The lighting is dim… the seats, not terribly comfortable, but what it lacks in atmosphere, it more than makes up for in the sheer variety of tasty craft beer selections.


For your reading pleasure, we’ll include a mini-review of some of those brews here.


In every proper review, your trusted husband & wife team of Beeraucrats will examine the Appearance, Aroma, Taste, Mouthfeel, Drinkability and Overall Rating of the Beer and arrive at a Total Score from 1 to 10.



Beer: Death and Taxes

Brewed by: Moonlight Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA

Style: Black Lager

ABV: 5.0%

Bottle: On draught

Served in: Pint glass

Place of purchase: Toronado, San Francisco, CA

Price: $5


Death and Taxes


APPEARANCE:


Mugsy: Black, opaque. Very thin head. Some lacing on glass.

Jugsy: Dark brown with little to no head and not

much carbonation.


AROMA:


Mugsy: Roasted malt, coffee – almost chocolaty, like Quik chocolate milk mix.

Jugsy: Sweet chocolaty malts, possibly even the sweet smell of dates. Very light scent of roasted coffee; overall scent is of chocolate and fruit.


TASTE:


Mugsy: Sweet roasted malt with a fair bit of hops. Slightly chocolaty with a nutty finish.

Jugsy: True to its smell, chocolate malts hit the tongue first. Taste of hops in the finish and hops / yeast aftertaste. Also some dried fruit flavors, prunes, perhaps.


MOUTHFEEL:


Mugsy: Bit of sting from bitter malt and hops. Goes back quite easily, like a lager should.

Jugsy: Drinks light – a bit on the watery side with a thin mouthfeel.


DRINKABILITY:


Mugsy: Could drink all night. Not too heavy. Quite refreshing, actually.

Jugsy: This is a drinkable “everyday” beer.


OVERALL:


Mugsy: Would order again in a heartbeat. Tasty and refreshing. Don’t let it get too warm, though. Savor, then throw it back!

Jugsy: The taste reminds me of Black Hart Irish Stout, only fruitier. I wouldn’t seek this out, but I wouldn’t turn it down, either. It’s a good beer, but with a name like Death and Taxes, I expected something slightly more bold and creative.


SCORE:

Mugsy: 7.7

Jugsy: 6.5


Naturally, with such an extensive selection of brews from which to choose, Mugsy and I wanted to try all sorts of different things on our own as well! So, we’ll break with tradition a little bit here and include some solo reviews. You’ll notice that one of us had a few more brews than the other!



Beer: Grand Cru

Brewed by: Brouwerij Rodenbach, Belgium

Style: Flanders Red Ale

ABV: 6.0%

Bottle: On draught

Served in: Tulip glass

Place of purchase: Toronado, San Francisco, CA

Price: $6

According to its website, the “Award Winning Rodenbach Grand Cru is a blend of ‘young’ beer (33%) and an older beer (67%) that has matured in oak vats. It is the high percentage of the older ripened-in-oak beer that gives it the complex and intense bouquet with a very long aftertaste like a Grand Cru wine. This is a complex beer with lots of wood and fruity esters, wine-like and with a balsamic vinegar aroma. A sharp taste, fruity, refreshing and with a balanced Madeira-like sweetness.”

The late Michael Jackson bestowed upon this beer the titles of “World Classic” and “the Burgundy of Belgium.”

Grand Cru


APPEARANCE:


Mugsy: Dark, coffee brown with a very thin head. Thick lattice-work of lacing.


AROMA:


Mugsy: Malt vinegar! Slight scent of alcohol and a slight hint of citrus; sweetens as it warms.

Jugsy: I can vouch for the strong vinegar smell – whoa!


TASTE:


Mugsy: Malt vinegar! Extremely sour. Slight hint of sour cherries, sour blackberries..

Jugsy: Okay, I had a sip. Just one. (That was all I could handle.) Who put vinegar in my lambic and why?!?



MOUTH-FEEL:


Mugsy: Little sting from the bitterness, otherwise goes back easily. Aftertaste is quite overwhelming and stays in mouth for a long time.


DRINKABILITY:


Mugsy: Only in small doses. Far too sour for me.

Jugsy: Saying this beer is “sour” is actually being kind. I love vinegar, but not in my beer glass!


OVERALL:


Mugsy: Interesting to try but otherwise far too sour for my palate. Wouldn’t say no, but probably would not order again. Not complex.

Jugsy: I don’t really understand people who think this brew is drinkable. After one sip, I absolutely refused to have another taste.


SCORE:

Mugsy: 3.5

Jugsy: 1.0


Partly to get rid of that awful vinegar aftertaste and partly because we were getting pretty hungry after drinking our beers and watching patron after patron bring in what looked to be utterly delicious sausage sandwiches from the place next door, we decided to take a little food break. If you find yourself at the Toronado, we highly recommend getting a sandwich from Rosamunde Sausage Grill. They have everything – including vegan sausages – you can add sautéed onions and mustard and it comes in a warm & toasty sourdough bun. Heavenly!


Beer: Blind Pig IPA

Brewed by: Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.0%

IBUs: 72

Bottle: On draught

Served in: Tulip glass

Place of purchase: Toronado, San Francisco, CA

Price: $5


Blind Pig IPA


APPEARANCE:


Jugsy: Golden amber with some carbonation visible. Thin head dissipates quickly.


AROMA:


Jugsy: Nothing but an influx of fresh, piney hops! Smells like an Evergreen forest in a glass!


TASTE:


Jugsy: Smooth and bitter, with an overwhelming hops punch. Can’t taste much else when it’s cold, but as it warms, an apricot flavor emerges. Hops aftertaste.


MOUTH-FEEL:


Jugsy: Very smooth. Not watery at all. Fair amount of carbonation present. Leaves a bitter hops coating on the tongue. Tastes like it has a higher ABV than it actually does.


DRINKABILITY:


Jugsy: Very drinkable, but only for pure hopheads!


OVERALL:


Jugsy: I really enjoy the beers I’ve tried from Russian River Brewing, Pliny the Elder being my favorite so far. Blind Pig is not a balanced brew by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t think that was ever its purpose. It’s difficult to taste anything but hops. I really like it, but it’s definitely not for everyone!


SCORE:

Jugsy: 7.2


And… possibly saving the best for last (of the beers at the Toronado, that is) – Mugsy ordered another fine brew and, as always, offered me the first sip (ever the gentleman!) The Dubuisson Scaldis Quadrupel. Oh, so good!


Beer: Scaldis

Brewed by: Brasserie Dubuisson Frères, Leuze-Pipaix, Belgium

Style: Belgian Style Quadrupel Ale

ABV: 12.0%

Bottle: On draught

Served in: Tulip glass

Place of purchase: Toronado, San Francisco, CA

Price: $7


Dubuisson Scaldis Quadrupel


APPEARANCE:


Mugsy: Golden amber, tan. Thin head, lacing on glass is a lattice-work


AROMA:


Mugsy: Lots of yeast, fruity scents: passion fruit and figs


TASTE:


Mugsy: Honey drizzled on top of sweet fruit. Slight hoppiness comes through. Passion fruit and ripe fig strong aftertaste.


MOUTH-FEEL:


Mugsy: Delicate. Balance is sweet with slight hint of hoppiness.


DRINKABILITY:


Mugsy: Like drinking fruit juice. Could get you in to trouble very easily. Easy to drink. Watch out for the hangover.


OVERALL:


Mugsy: Beautiful balance of honey, fruit, yeast and hops. Fruitiness may be a little heavy-handed, though. If anyone hasn’t bottled the Greek God’s gift ‘Ambrosia’ as of this writing, then Scaldis may be able to take the copyright.


SCORE:

Mugsy: 8.90

3 comments:

  1. Haha! Having known many "lushes" in our day, we beg to differ!

    Lushes will drink any alcoholic drink they can get their hands on. We, on the other hand, are unusually discerning! ;-)

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  2. Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.

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