Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau
Sep. 7, 2012
Summer certainly isn’t over yet, but the shadows are getting a little longer and we had our first truly fall-like day here in Boulder today. After a short hike in the Flatirons this afternoon I decided to settle down on the patio and enjoy an Avery Nineteen. Brewed in honor of Avery’s Nineteenth Anniversary, this year’s brew is a Belgian Tripel. On a side note, Emily and I attended the celebration at the brewery in honor of this creation. Maybe I’ll post some pictures of the event sometime soon. Long story short, it was unreal. Uncle Jacob’s was pouring freely, and that wasn’t even the best of it. That might have something to do with why I didn’t blog it at the time.
Anyhow, this Anniversary brew is the second that we’ve done as a part of The Avery Project here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights. The first (actually the very first review for the project) was Thirteen, which I was fortunate enough to get my hands on at The Kaiser’s release party last September. Of course, Nineteen and Thirteen are entirely different beers, so here’s some stats for Nineteen:
Location: B Town Wine & Spirits
Cost: $7.49/22 oz. bomber
ABV: 8.23%
IBUs: 41
Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado
Style: Belgian-Style Tripel
Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.88 – Very Good
My Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.1 – Excellent
Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate: 54
Brewery Description: Avery Nineteen
Bottled: April 2012
APPEARANCE: (4 out of 5) This is one of the more yellow-colored beers I have seen. A nice, almost perfectly white head tops this bright, but hazy beer. It is also very lively with hundreds of bubbles rushing towards the surface. The head retention is average and lacing is decent towards the top, but drops off below the first third of the glass.
SMELL: (4 out of 5) The Nineteen has a very complex, but pleasant aroma. The smells of orange peel, lemon zest, coriander and a bit of breadiness all blend together to form a pretty standard example of a Tripel.
TASTE: (4 out of 5) The citrus is strong in this beer, particularly in the lemon department, but orange flavors make their way forward throughout the sip and a hint of grapefruit creeps in to provide a slightly bitter finish. A touch of funk and a mild spiciness helps to bring this beer from a nice, tasty and easy-drinking brew into the realm of a complex, and nearly spot-on example of a Tripel.
MOUTHFEEL: (5 out of 5) Very light in body. Beer Advocate’s description of the style says “Tripels are actually notoriously alcoholic, yet the best crafted ones hide this character quite evil-like and deceivingly, making them sipping beers.” I could have attempted to write something along these lines, but BA nailed, “evil-like” is exactly the right phrase. There isn’t even a hint of that 8.23%. Aside from that, this is a very nicely balanced beer, neither too sweet nor too dry.
OVERALL: (4 out of 5) I’m slowly becoming more and more of a fan of the style and, of course, Avery does it right. I will say, however, that this is more of a straight example of the style rather than a typical Avery-style, push-the-limits version of it. A beer like this simply serves to prove just how precise Avery can brew a beer. If they want to nail the style they will. If they want to interpret it a little differently, they can do that too.
After tasting it in the taproom a few times in the past I am very happy to have been able to take the time and review it at home, especially on a gorgeous Boulder afternoon like this one. What a great beer for the moment.
Great – now I’m hungry AND thirsty.
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