Avery Brabant

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

Bottle poured a clear dark brown with a small lingering tan head. Aromas of horseblanket, leather, tobacco, toffee, cherry, vanilla and multiple layers of funk. Palate was light bodied and crisp with a lightly tart finish. Flavors of toffee, cherry, horseblanket, leather, light vanilla, oak, some light vinous notes and multiple layers of tasty funk with a crisp tart funky fruity finish.

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.

Draft @ Monk’s: Part of the Brett Pack dinner during PBW. This one poured a deep dark red, like wine. The aroma was oak, cherry, sour, and funk. The flavor was smooth, dry oak, sour cherries, acetic acid, and funk. Overall, another A+ beer I’d love to find more of.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown with a small tan head... looks like a cola. Aroma is very wine-like. Oaky and sweet. Taste was very unique. Started out sweet, vanilla maybe? Finish was very fruity and white wine flavored. I loved this one! Probably couldn’t do more than one in a sitting, but I am very impressed with this beer. UPDATED 6/09/09: Even better! The sour flavor is much more pronounced. The strong wine flavor has subsided some but it is still quite noticeable. Great, great beer from Avery.

Bottle @ PP Belgian Fest 09. Pretty much an amazing beer! Pours reddish brown with a tan head. Nose is sweet and funky and sour. Taste is sweet and bretty, tart and overall yummy. As some call in cuvee light, I like it!

500th rating. Bottle from Flying Saucer. Pours a dark brown with a medium frothy light tan head that leaves behind good sticky lacing along the glass. The aroma is a sour fruit with cherry and oak. The taste is a rich malt with the grape from the zinfandel lingering in the finish and aftertaste. Enjoyed this one, a really good Belgian Strong Ale from Avery.

I was cold and the line was long, but it was worth it. Judging by the crowds at the brewery, bottles from this first barrel-aged series may be hard to find. Anxious to taste one of these puppies, I thought about strapping one to my roof-top cargo container on my Xterra so that it would be perfectly chilled by the time I got home, but I exercised patience and waited. After giving it a short bath in ice water, the beer poured dark maroon in color and it had a sudsy light-tan head full of small and large bubbles. Intricate lace patterns lingered for a long time on the inside of the glass. Its cobwebby nose was filled with a sour Bretty-ness that beckoned further investigation. Texture was creamy, smooth and light, with a soft carbonation. The beer had a solid baseline of gum-numbing sourness from start to finish, yet it wasn’t sharp, pungent or puckering at all. After the first couple sips I thought the beer was rather pleasant yet not too complex. But after allowing my taste buds to adjust, and giving the beer a bit of time to breath and warm up more, delicate nuances and subtleties started to surface, such as faint chocolate, white wine, leather-trimmed BMW seats, Redwood bark, vanilla, raspberry and cherry, light perfume and wildflowers. That quenchy baseline sourness snapped it all together. Other background flavors of sweet grains, cookie, pear and yeast followed. This beer doesn’t hit you over the head with boldness. It’s more like a complex assortment of mellow flavors and aromas that blend well together. I found it to be rather enjoyable.

Pours deep bornw with ruby edges and 1-finger tan head. Nose is complex; a medley of tart cherry, oaky, malt, earthy figgy fruit, and sour mashy wet basement. Tastes tart, with prominent cherry, dark malt, earthy, peaty, and oaky notes, and more and more blackberry as it warms. Becomes very much like a solid blackberry merlot late, and smoothes out to become a fine accompaniment to my Don Tomas Maduro cigar. Well done.