Avery Fourteen

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

22oz. bottle. Intriguing aroma, featuring an array of malt and hop characteristics, including darkly toasted toffeeish sweetness, dried fruits, spruce, floral perfume, pineapple and earthiness along with a lighter degree of doughy yeast, peppery alcohol and faint smoke. Deep, clear mahogany color with a lasting, fine, creamy tan head. Flavor profile is also fairly well balanced, with sweet, roasty, caramelized malts and a hint of cocoa combined with a brief hop bite up front followed by a lingering bitterness and citric, spicy character, and seeing a bittersweet, long, mildly alcoholic, semi-dry finish. Palate is fairly active and gently astringent, slightly sticky and combined with a full body. Certainly unique and flavorful, although I found it a bit harsh in places. Regardless, Happy 14th!

Very dark brown with ruby hues, creamy tan head, estery, fruity nose, has some off elements in nose as well (burnt plastic?) ,alcohol and hops. Medium bodied, creamy, sweet chocolate malt, almost roasty, belgium influenced flavors, controlled bitterness, warming but that "something" in the nose is in the flavor as well and its funky, not awful for that it wavers in and out. Its distracting and a shame because this is tasty. Will need to rerate and see if it is still present.

Pours a deep cola black with a large, rocky beige head that quicky diminshes to a film. Aroma is moderately sweet caramel, herbal, grapefruit and some dark chocolate. Flavor is plum, raisin, herbal, chocolate, floral, grapefruit and finally caramel. Full bodied, sticky texture. I realy liked this beer much more than I thought I would.

22oz. Bottle: Nice aroma. Smells of malts, with hints of caramel and cookie, but dominated by hops, with spruce, and resin. Clean crisp scent. Poured brown with a hint of ruby. Big, rocky, dark-tan head lasted throughout. Great lacing. Opaque. Flavor is a little sweet and a little bitter. Tastes of raisin, coffee, alcohol, chocolate, roasting, cream, spruce, and a tiny bit of spice. Very odd flavor. Like they threw the whole kitchen sink into it. Medium body. Slightly thin texture. Average carbonation. Long, coffee and spruce finish.

From bottle. Nice sweet hoppy nose, plum and grassy hops. Pine. Twizzlers. Mild ozone and light roasted grains. Alcohol vapor, rich and hoppy. Dark black-brown with cocoa-colored lacing head. Medium-heavy body with medium carbonation. Starts sweet and rich with some caramel malt and brown sugar. Alcohol warming. Mild hoppy finish, fairly sweet. Big beer, very pronounced profiles, and still a bit hot.

Took a while for this to grow on me, but think I hadn’t waited near long enough for it to warm up (still not used to my new fridge). As it warmed, the initial blast of alcohol/sweetness/hops diminished, decided to shake hands and come out and play as friends. Still not quite sure I’m in love with it, but does have a quality that seems it might possible do well with a little age. Sure hope so as I’m hanging onto a bottle for that purpose.

My Bottom Line:
This Imperial India Dark Ale (if that means anything) promotes intense herbal, piney hoppiness atop the fruitiness of berries and roasting molasses. This is a nearly-balanced strong ale full of Americana.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam circles the blood-laced black.
-A little less alcohol and this would make a tantalizing quaffer just like Baird’s First Impact or The Alchemist’s El Jefe.
-The hops provide a lot more flavor components, including leafy and citrusy angles.
-Carbonation is frothy, which actually helps drinkability in the case of this behemoth.

Bottles.

Bomber. Very dark brown beer that is tried this again recently, still a nice drinker, but nothign too special. nearly black. There is some light brownish red at the edges with a light uellowish head on top. The aroma has some rich caramel and booze. There is also some chocolate covered cherries. The taste is dark chocolate covered cherries with some rum. There are prunes and some light tobacco notes. Surprisingly good and this approaches a stout.