Avery Review #19 - The Beast Grand Cru

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Nov. 5, 2012

Election Night Eve and we are down to our second to last beer of The Avery Project – The Beast Grand Cru.  The Beast, as the name would suggest, is a big, huge, frightening, yet surprisingly tasty monster.  

While I have a bottle of this sitting in my cellar for a future date that (most likely sometime around the next Presidential Election when its Chris Christie versus Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer - just trust me on this one) I also realized that we have nearly completed this project and not yet reviewed a beer from Avery's "Demons of Ale" series.  I was a little ashamed when I realized this, also a little sad since Mephistopheles is one of my all time favorites and I failed to squeeze it in.  On the other hand, I knew, when I began this project that I would be certain to miss out on at least one or two Avery brews that deserved recognition.  I can live without doing the Mephistopheles, but at least one of the three "Demons" had to be represented and this was the one I had access to.  All three, however (Samael's is the third), are wonderful beers.

Location: Harvest Wine & Spirits, Boulder, CO

Cost: $8.99/12oz. bottle

ABV: 16.83%

IBUs: 63

Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.78 – Very Good

My Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.93 – Very Good

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate: 519

Brewery Description: Avery The Beast Grand Cru

Bottled: July 2012 – Batch #10

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) The beer pours much lighter than I remember it from the taproom and unlike the tap pours, out of the bottle, this one has a little bit of head.  That head hangs in there, at about a quarter-inch for a minute or two.  The beer is a lighter burgundy color and thousands of bubbles can be seen darting up the sides and the middle of the glass.  It is very clear and without any haze.  The lacing sticks around for one sip at a time, but this beer is just too heavy to sustain it.  It just slowly slides down under its own weight and never stays long enough to stick.

SMELL:  (4.5 out of 5) There is an impressive amount of malt in this beer to be sure, and every ounce of it is present in the nose.  This smells like a Dogfish Head beer to me, a lot of raisins and a nice, solid, boozy heat wafting up from the glass.  There is a lot more going on here though, and after three or four sniffs I am getting some molasses.  This sounds bad, but there is a hint of gasoline in there as well, but it is very faint and does not actually detract from the smell, just seems to supplement the booze.  Very complex aroma. 

TASTE:  (4 out of 5) The Beast really is a unique beer and while I have tasted it many times I don’t think it has ever been my first beer of the night, nor have I sat down with no distractions and paid my full attention to it.  Big, sweet candied orange peels are hitting me the hardest here.  The raisins from the nose along with some cherries and other dark fruits are swirling around those oranges in what is an increasingly complex beer with every sip.  Caramel and vanilla are both here.  Grapes?  Yes, I think that is a hint of grape I taste.  I feel like I am just throwing flavors out there, but there is a ton going on.  A little oak shows up for the finish right next to a small hop kick.  The aftertaste is most definitely hoppy, a little piney and resinous.  While the alcohol is certainly noticeable, it is not nearly as strong as it could be. 

MOUTHFEEL:  (2.5 out of 5) Saying this beer is full-bodied might be the biggest understatement I have ever made here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  This is huge!  The booze gives it some heat and this thing is sweet.  This finish dries up a touch, but the sweetness lingers until the next sip with a bit of a mouthcoating sugariness.  This is one of the few issues I have with this beer.  It is a little too much in the sugar department.  That, and after 8oz. I am feeling fairly tipsy.  Two of these and I would be outright drunk.

OVERALL:  (4 out of 5) One of my personal goals for this project was to intimately get to know many of the Avery beers that I take for granted.  Those world-class brews that I can bike down the street to get pretty much anytime I want.  This review and the last one in particular have helped me achieve that goal.  I have sipped on this beer over a dozen times at the brewery.  It is always enjoyable, particularly because I am drinking with great company and probably in the midst of some great conversation as well, but in those cases The Beast is a supplement to the atmosphere.  And to be fair, those conversations and company over the past year and a half have probably become a part of what I am experiencing every time I stick my nose in this glass or take a sip. 

Despite the number of times I have sampled this outstanding effort from Avery, tonight is the first time I have ever had more than 4 oz. at once.  I am slowly working my way through the full 12 oz. in this bottle simply so I can get the full experience…and it is good. 

Is this the best Avery beer I have had?  Not at all.  But for hundreds and hundreds of other breweries in this country it would be their best effort.  It just so happens that Avery probably has 10 – 15 more beers that beat this.  They are a world class organization and, in my opinion one of the more underrated of the top tier breweries.  There is a reason that Vinnie from Russian River has chosen to make his only two big collaboration beers with Sierra Nevada and Avery.  That’s because he knows neither brewery will release a beer unless it is just right.

Ultimately, Avery Brewing Company makes a lot of beers with a lot of hops and they make them very well.  This is a beer that showcases just what Avery can do with malt, but of course, in true Avery fashion, even their malt masterpiece still has 63 IBUs.  

Avery Review #17 - Salvation

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Oct. 30, 2012

Salvation – An appropriate word and beer to rinse away my memories of our last review here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  Avery’s Salvation is also a beer with a great story.  It essentially became the mother who gave birth to Avery and Russian River’s “Collaboration Not Litigation”.  For those too lazy to click the link, the short story is that after Adam Avery and Vinnie Cilurzo (of Russian River fame) became friends they realized that both of them had a beer called Salvation in their line-up.  Rather than fight about it or choose who removed the name from their portfolio of beers, the two decided to simply brew a beer together which contained elements of both and to both retain their respective Salvations. 

As we approach the end of The Avery Project, this was a beer I had to get into The Project.  Sure, it was great to taste and review some of the rare Avery offerings, but any serious look at this brewery as a whole would be incomplete without this Boulder staple.    

Location: Ace Wine & Spirits, Boulder, CO

Cost: $7.99/22 oz. bomber

ABV: 9%

IBUs: 33

Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado

Style: Belgian-Style Strong Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.82 – Very Good

My Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.98 – Very Good

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate: 482

Brewery Description: Avery Salvation

Bottled: NA

APPEARANCE:  (4.5 out of 5) Beautiful, brilliant and light golden in color, this beer is a looker.  The rich head rests gently on top and reaches about a half-inch before receding.  The head is gorgeous, but retention could be better.  The lacing is not bad at first, but it isn’t strong enough to hang on throughout the whole glass. 

SMELL:  (4 out of 5) Lemon zest, spice, other citrus (grapefruit) and that touch of funk immediately identify the Belgian yeast and noble-like, aromatic hops in this one.  Nothing out of this world or completely unique here, but this is simply a pleasant smelling beer.

TASTE:  (4 out of 5) Citrus and tropical fruits (banana in particular) lead the way here, but those fruit flavors are all complimented with some nice spice.  A little clove, maybe a touch of cinnamon and a tiny dose of brown sugar.  It oddly has many of the same flavors as a good Barleywine, but this is obviously much lighter in body and far less hoppy.  Although, the noble-like hops flavors do come through here, it is not lacking in the hop department.

MOTHFEEL:  (3.5 out of 5) As I mentioned above, the Salvation is fairly light bodied.  It is on the dryer side, but has a slightly sugary and sweet finish.  Carbonation is light and tickling, providing a crisp and clean mouthfeel.

OVERALL:  (4 out of 5) This, the third beer in Avery’s Holy Trinity Series (along with Hog Heaven and The Reverend).  While it is not as complex as some other Belgian-Style Pale Ales (to be fair Avery calls it a Belgian-Style Golden) it is nicely balanced, easy drinking, refreshing, crisp, clean and a nearly perfect beer to use to win over a Coors Light drinker.  If they’re open-minded enough to at least try this beer it will not offend them, but should pleasantly surprise them with a ton more flavor and certainly with a bigger, better buzz if they drink enough. 

Avery Review #16 - Oud Floris

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Oct. 29, 2012

…And we’re on the home stretch of The Avery Project with Review #16, a.k.a. Avery Barrel-Aged Series Beer #12, a.k.a. Avery Oud Floris.  These last few reviews will go relatively quickly.  After today’s review I have one more already written, I have two other Avery beers in the fridge and the plan for #20 is to head to the Taproom sometime before Election Day to do that one – which should give you a hint as to what #20 will be.

But back to the beer: the Oud Floris is a blend of brown ale aged in four different barrels – 67% in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, 17% in Bourbon barrels, 8% in Rum barrels and 8% in Chardonnay barrels.

I went into this one very excited – the Flanders Oud Bruin is a style I have enjoyed greatly in New Belgium’s La Folie and Monk’s Café.  Plus, I was in the mood for something nice and sour when I cracked this beer open.  My true excitement, though, was from the variety of barrels involved in process and I was hoping to pick out unique and distinctive flavors from each of the four barrels.  Here’s what I found:

Location: B Town Wine & Spirits

Cost: $7.99/12 oz. bottle

ABV: 9.39%

IBUs: NA

Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado

Style: Flanders Oud Bruin

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.09 – Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: D+/2.43 – Poor

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate: 17

Brewery Description: Avery Oud Floris

Bottled:  June 14, 2012

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) Deep, dark brown throughout, but when held up to the light a much lighter brown (think the color of the old, light brown M&Ms) comes in at the top of the glass.  A small head disappears as fast as the beer is poured, leaving a bright, off-white ring of foam around the edges of the glass.  Bubbles are flying up the sides of the glass, giving this beer a very lively look.  There is some lacing, but very minimal.

SMELL:  (4 out of 5) Funky.  There is a lot going on in the nose here, but in a very subtle way.  Some vanilla, a little oak, a hint of grapes, tart cherry and maybe even a little nuttiness waft up from the glass.  The aroma is pleasant and light, but also contains warning signs of an intensely sour beer.

TASTE:  (2 out of 5) Jesus.  This is like a sour punch in the mouth.  Tart cherry is the only thing I can taste at first.  It completely dominates the beer in a way I have never experienced.  It’s like Brian Urlacher nearly single-handedly bringing the Chicago Bears back from a 21-point deficit against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half in 2006, or Michael Jordan…well, anytime ever…that dominating.

After a few sips though, some other flavors emerge (or at least the palate is so desperate for them to do so that it imagines them).  Vinegar is second to the cherry and a good dose of wood in the form of vanilla and oak.  The caramel and spicy flavors of a typical Flanders Oud Bruin seem to have just been decimated.  Also, sadly, the bourbon and rum barrel flavors are nearly non-existent (save the hint of vanilla). 

MOUTHFEEL:  (1.5 out of 5) A little carbonation and a shit-ton of pucker is the only way to describe the feel of the Oud Floris.  This is not an easy beer to drink.  I never say this, but I’m going to have a hard time getting this one down.

OVERALL:  (2 out of 5) I love big, bold and aggressive beers.  I love gigantic double IPAs, huge Imperial Stouts and ridiculously sour beers, but this might have been the first sour beer I have tasted that has gone too far.  Call my palate undeveloped and immature, but I can’t taste all four barrels that this was aged in, which is an enormous disappointment. 

I have very, very rarely said this about a beer, but it is over the top.  Too much.  I would have loved to taste the subtle flavors of bourbon and rum barrels alongside the funk of wine barrels.  I had so much hope for this brew, but it ultimately let me down.  I think the only option here is to take my second bottle and age it for two, maybe three years and see what happens.

Now, with this all said, I think it is worth noting that there are plenty of people out there who disagree with me on this one, and for some extreme sour fans who I can see how this would work.  I also think that this missed the mark, not because of a lack of effort on Avery’s part, but because they tried to do something different and this time it simply didn’t work.  Maybe 67% on the cabernet was too much.   

As with many of their beers (and all of them in the Barrel-Aged Series), however, it was brewed as an experiment.  There are few breweries out there willing to take the same risks that Avery does.  Dogfish Head comes to mind immediately and as almost anyone who is a fan of the Milton, Delaware brewery can tell you, sometimes their crazy ideas simply don’t pan out.  When you take risks like this and do something completely out of the box you win some and you lose some.  95% of the time Avery wins, but I have to place this one in that rare 5% category.

Avery Review #15 - Nineteen (Belgian-Style Tripel)

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.