Avery Brabant

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Boulder, Colorado USA

12oz bottle from Beer World (Largo, FL). Pours a dark muddy brown with one finger off-white to tan head that settles quickly. Aroma is sweet and floral with notes of red wine, vinegar, balsamic vinegar, wood, barnyard funk, some tartness. Flavor is sweet and floral with notes of red wine, wheat, yeast, barnyard funk, ripe grapes, wood, some hints of sweet malt, caramel, honey. Generally medium body with a sweet and tart finish.

12-oz., capped and foiled. Pours jet black with a big rocky tan layer of creamy, pocked head. Tons of stringy lace. Looks great. Big sharp nose, tons of balsamic vinegar tartness magnified by acetic red wine notes. Not much else there to give it dimension, or else it’d score a bit higher--it’s pleasant enough. Creamy medium body, fairly flat. Drying red wine notes under a bunch of sweet and sour funk; those things are fighting each other right off the bat. There’s the balsamic again, maybe some candied dark fruit and a little chocolate. Definitely less than the sum of its parts, unfortunately.

The first time I picked up a bottle of "The Reverend" started in me a pure skepticism of Avery Brewing that never really went away. Something about the marketing mixed with something about the beer made me think that these jokers were up to no good. I’ve got a better head on my shoulders these days, and I’ve given the old boys at Avery another go, I’ve liked a lot of their beers but I’ve never considered anything that they have made to be truly exceptional, till now. The beer pours a deep brownish red with an enormous tan head. I basically can’t imagine a beer looking a whole lot better than this one does in a tulip glass. The aroma is wonderful, very oaky very wine like with plenty of barnyard aromas but predominantly you can smell the Zinfandel on this one very strongly. The flavor is complex and very challenging which at this point in the game is one of the most refreshing things about a good beer. The first impression of the beer is that it is very alcoholic and a little bit too boozy, but as it rests on the tongue it settles down a bit on the alcohol to present the most dominant flavor which is leathery and corky, very vinous and reminiscent of a deep red wine. It isn’t till you get past the wine that the funk shows it’s self, but once it’s there it is the most delightful thing about the beer, the beer is very dry and tart with a funkiness that plays well against the red wine canvas. This makes me want to drink some funky wine. This is a truly exceptional beer.

Bottle. Bretty leather nose, light cherry and some oak. Dark brown with a patchy head. Tart cherry/strawberry flavor, oddly lacking the mustiness implied by the nose. Much more lactic sourness in the flavor than aroma. Need some age, but drinks well.

deep walnut-y/coffee brown-black with a fluffy tannish head. the aroma is of the bugs fine burgundy wines tend to have... what makes them better than all others... big old bretty stink followed by red wine, neutral oak, spice, flowers, earth/good healthy soil and a touch of sourness. i found some of what the wine drinkers refer to as ’dirty diaper’ in here as well... i’ll call it barnyard. it sounds more appealing... the flavor shares much of the aroma’s characteristics and the palate is beautifully dry throughout.... red wine, spice, a touch of saltiness, leather (though i think this is more the yeast than the barrel), flowers and a great funky tartness. the yeast starts to pull out as it warms up making it rich, lux and oddly ’yeasty’. it is medium bodied though the dryness and mild tartness make it seem thinner. the carbonation is prickly at first and only gets more enjoyable after some of it is worked out... i can’t wait to put some more age on it... 9/4/8.5/4/18/4.35

No light escapes this beer’s brown-black embrace. The aroma is wild as hell - oak, brett, and a hint of dried fruit. I found the flavor to be a big letdown - not very funky or sour with oak and some muscat grape. While it was smooth and refined, this is not what a "wild ale" should be. Disappointing, especially with a $9 price tag...

Tan full head with extensive lacing on the glass. Dark coffee color. Very aromatic, smells like aged oak barrels, mild sour flavor with aged oak taste.

Intense, wild aroma. Dark, rich funky aroma. The flavor does not quite live up to the aroma. Funky, dry flavor. Lightly astringent, and tannic but not great. Woody and dry, no real nice fruit character.