Avery Oak Barrel Reverend

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Boulder, Colorado USA

Draft... Mid-GABF ’06 at the Falling Rock Tap House, Denver... Hazy, light amber ale with a small, creamy, white head. Some tartness in the nose with notes of lemon, oak, white wine, caramel and toffee. The barrel aging did wonders with this one. Caramel sweetness countered by good acidity, bitterness and muted alcohol. Medium to full-bodied with a dry mouthfeel and unpretentious carbonation. Finishes astringent and bone-dry.

Draft at Falling Rock. Very malty, very subdued Belgian spices, almost burnt caramel, medium tannins fresh cut lumber, flowers, cinnamon. A weird spin, but I like it. The barrel aging seems to have replaced the normal reverends sweetness and maltiness with a tannic quality that I think improves the beer. Nice.

On tap at the Falling Rock. Hazy gold/amber pour...smallish off-white head. Lotsa malt in the nose...woody, toasty, caramel, maybe a little fruity. Flavor is malty, woody, spicy...very interesting...much better than the Hog Heaven we tried first. Nice light bitterness in the end. Good stuff.

On tap at the Falling Rock. A real sturdy looking amber beer, but has no head at all. Lots of oak and cabernat character comes throught in the nose and flavor. Medium body with a chokingly dry finish. I really liked this beer a lot.

Rerate: Sampled at the 5th Annual Boulder Strong Ale Fest. Beer is medium-hued, murky orange-brown with a small, white, mostly and quickly diminishing head.<P> The aroma is malty with light notes of toasted grain, apricot; Hoppy with trace of resin/pine; Yeasty with a trace of basement; Light miscellaneous of white vinous cinnamon apple.<P> The flavor is heavily-to-moderately sweet, lightly bitter, lightly-to-moderately acidic with a longer-than-average, lightly acidic, trace sweet finish.<P> The body is light, the texture is watery and the carbonation is lively.<P> More subdued, but improved from 2006.<P> Original rating: Sampled at 4th Boulder Strong Ale Fest. Beer poured a hazy medium amber color with a small, creamy/frothy, off-white head. The aroma was malty with moderate notes of toasted bread, toasted grain, cookie and caramel; yeasty with a trace note of dough; moderate miscllaneous notes of honey and candy sugar, light notes of pear, vanilla, cinnamon and spicy alcohol. The flavor was moderately bittersweet with a long, moderately sweet, lightly acidic and lighly bitter finish. Special spicy pear retros.The body was light-to-medium, the texture was watery and the carbonation was lively.

At brewery (young) and at the Boulder Strong Ale Fest (aged much more): Some of the differences I noticed (warning, some made-up words here): Sweetness has richified a bit. Aromas have complexified. Olfactory evidence of sweet wine, wafty vanilla, sugar-drenched wood, honeysuckle flowers, herbs and light spices. Very pleasant beer. I may have liked this one younger and more raw.

Reverend on wood-on tap-pours a creamy white head. Color is cloudy orange. Aroma is vanilla and oak, woody. Taste follows with a smooth finish.

2005 Boulder Strong Ale Fest. Body is medium amber. Aroma is lightly malty (caramel), lightly hoppy (flowers), with notes of banana, orange, and wood. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic. Still needs more aging time, clearly. Some woody aroma, but I blindly rated this almost identical to regular Reverend (as I did with the other two oaked beers). I hope Adam is patient with these oaked versions, especially the Salvation and Reverend, which stand to gain the most from this process IMHO.