Avery Oak Barrel Salvation

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

Draught at Avery, GABF week 2009. Pours cloudy dark yellow with a large creamy off-white head, mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (bread, cookie, hay, straw, meal), average hop (flowers, perfume), heavy yeast (horse blanket, barnyard, earth) with notes of apple, pear, pineapple, and wine. Full bodied, creamy texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, moderate sweetness, acidity, and sourness.

Draft at Avery, June 02 2007. Apparantly this spent two years in the barrel? Wow. Aroma is of light spices, wood, grapes, cinnemon, ginger, and has none of the peppery qualities of the normal Salvation. Tart grape flavor with some gentle wood and pear qualities. Also finishes very smoothly and woody. Very soft velvety mouthfeel. Full, with no trace of stickiness. This is a pretty amazing metamorphesus from the original Salvation and shares very few similarties to the original beer.

Draft @ Falling Rock: My favorite of the BA Trinity series. Hazy golden color. Great aroma of white wine, caramel and some light yeasty funk. A little sweaty. Nice balance of malt, fruitiness and chardonnay. Lightly tart. Warming with a medium body.

First beer of EBF ’07, on draught on 2/9/07
Medium-sized white head is shows moderate retention. Sparkling golden-banana colored body shows plentiful carbonation and moderate lacing. Clear, but I do see a chill haze (served too cold to start).
Very soft, but aromatic wine notes interwoven with pears, dry peaches and nectarines. Light, somewhat oilly oakiness is fantastically aromatic and not tannic at all (no heavy nuttiness or graininess). Strong, moderately tart ending crackles with Belgian yeast, light pale malt sugars and some green grape and something like starfruit (a dry, crisp, yellow fruitiness, with a little bit of juiciness to it). Frankly, not much like regular salvation. No obnoxious fusels or heavy peachy sweet-and-sourness. Very smooth, soft but noticeable barrel character is very well-done. It must take the edge off of the normal Salvation aroma.
Tart fruits, but with a dainty pale malt backing, bring on a lively and tight flavor in the mouth. Pears, nectarines, white grapes and a dry oakiness slowly give way to controlled Belgian yeastiness that isnt full of the usual brutish Avery flavors. Alcohol is not heavy or sharp, no clove or heavy peach/banana. I almost thought I tasted brett, but that must just be the crisp/tart fruitiness from the barrel. Soft, actually engaging carbonation is surprisingly nothing like the real salvation. Light biscuits and pale grains linger on with the fruity and oaky barrel character. Medium body, some alcohol warmth with warming, as well as a bit of phenolics and chewy tannin on the end, but fine stuff overall.

On tap @ Boulder Strong Ale Fest poured a cloudy gold with a small white head. Aromas of fruit, oak,vanilla, spice and carmel. Palate was light bodied. Flavors of oak, fruitiness,vanilla, spice and some vinous notes with a dry finish

Sampled at the second annual Bistro’s West Coast Barrel Aged Beer Fest as "Salvation Crucified": Clear golden bronze color has a nicely-lacing white head. Aroma of sweet biscuity Belgian malt and a hint of mint and orange peel along with a light fruity tartness. Body starts with a nice oaky chardonnay complexity and sweet Belgian maltiness with a good balance of coriander and clove spices toward a crisp oaky vinous finish. Nice choice of barrel and good balance throughout.

Pour is clearish golden with a thin white head...smell is strong with yeast and wood and something very sour...taste is warm and chewy with lots of delicious sweet malts with a nice tart finish...this is amazing compared to its base...

Tasted on tap at the 2007 Bistro West Coast Barrel Aged Beer Festival. This Belgian Strong Ale poured a medium gold color. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is fruity and sweet with a touch of brett sourness. A medium bodied Belgian Strong Ale. Malts are fruity and sweet, with some cherries and apricots. There is a nice sweetness to this beer, yet there is also a nice understated sourness and oakiness as well. Nice balance. Smooth and clean, this beer does not have that Avery alcohol hotness character to it. Very drinkable beer, kind of understated, but very nice. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.