Avery Fourteen

Formerly brewed at Avery Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Boulder, Colorado USA

Excellent Excellent Excellent . This is fine beer that has a nice hoppy alternative to regular beers. I won at pool while drinking this...is that enough for a recommendation?

A brown ale with a dense beige head. Aroma is filled with sweet malt, some toasted notes and a nice hop presence. The flavour is complex and nice with loads of malt, sweet molases, wonderfully balanced hops of the amarican style. Like the bottle says, its hard to define the style but a very rewarding beer to drink!

Bottle. When I was at the store, I wasn’t sure if I had rated this one yet; the label is similar to the one for Thirteen and I had kind of lost track of what number anniversary they were on. Fresh, fruity hop aroma; very nice. Opaque body with a very large tan head. Weaves a tapestry of lace. My palate really had to adjust to this brew. The first sip made me wince, but it settles into a pretty good brew. There’s a malt and hop combination that aren’t perfectly compatible. However, it is unique, and when you’ve rated 1,600 beers, finding something unique can be a challenge. I really do like this beer; it challenges the status quo. The label speaks to "a very distinct yeast strain". Perhaps that is what makes this brew so different. Kudos to Adam Avery for his contributions to the craft beer movement.

bottle. This thing was big and matly malty malty!! Brew poured a motor oil black with a huge tan head. Nose was chocolate, toffee, caramel, some spice as well. I t was a little rough on my palet, probably because it was my first strong ale in quite some time.

This is one huge, delicious beer. Huge nose, huge flavor. Huge. Every single drop of this beer screamed at me. What was it screaming you might ask? GET MORE. Unfortunately, this is it. My one and only bottle. Damn. The beer pours out this intriguing brownish/eggplant purpleish color witha huge off-white 3 finger thick head. My first impressions on the aroma was cchocolate covered raisins with an intriguing woody hop aroma. Lots of plums, some vanilla and molasses too. The first time it hits your tongue it’s like getting whacked on the head and you are sort of dazed a bit. Not sure what the hell’s going on. There’s some figs/plums, molasses, dark chocolate, smoke, vanilla with interesting underlying spicyness that damned near perfect. Reminded me in some ways of Firestone’s 10. Lots of sstuff going on here and it’s all good.

Wonderful aroma of sweet malty molasses. Tastes just the same except with a strong note of alcohol. Great beer to sip and enjoy. Hops tend to linger at the end. Mostly malts taking over.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 1   Light Brown(1)->Dark(5) : 3   Ruby : 3   Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 2
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 2   White(1)->Tan(5) : 2   Lasting: 2   Lacing : 1
Aroma:
Intensity : 3  
Yeast : 1   Bread : 2   Apple : XX   Esters : XX   Banana : XX   Phenols : XX   Leather : XX   Perfume : XX   DMS : XX   Diacetyl : XX
Malt : 3   Biscuity : XX   Toast : 2   Caramel : 2   Toffee : XX   Maple : XX   Molasses : XX   Nuts : 2   Candy : 3   Pumpernickel : XX   Cereals : XX   Fruits : 2   Chocolate : 2   Coffee : XX   Vanilla : XX   Grapes : XX   Blackberries : XX   Dates : XX   Cherries : XX   Plums : 2   Figs : XX
Hops : 3   Noble(1)->American(5) : 4   Leafy : XX   Floral : XX   Orange : 3   Herbal : 2   Spicy : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX
Notes :   Earth : XX   Wood : XX   Cloves : XX   Smoke : XX   Pepper : XX   Ginger : XX   Peach/Pear/Apricot : XX   Candi Sugar : XX   Anise : XX   Vinous : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 4   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Sourness : XX   Bitterness : 3   Complex : XX   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 3   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : 2   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : 2   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Strong and spicy American strong ale with an oily and sweet palate. Rather classic Avery.

I liked it more on my last try, feeling that the hops were still quite expressive after a solid year in the bottle and the alcohol flavours were less obvious. Raising from 3.0 to 3.4.

A dark brownish pour with ruby highlights, minimal tan head, Aroma is malty with citrus hops and ester, phenol background. We have dark fruity, chocolate and bread malt supporting a healthy infusion of hops; yeast contributed flavors add to complexity, alcohol presence wraps up the package. An interesting and complex brew, quite enjoyable,