Avery Salvation

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

Bottle from Ledgers; Nose of light spices, a little fruitiness, yeast, and caramel; hazy dark gold with a small yellowish head; flavor has some pepperiness, caramel, fruitiness, and a little hops and alcohol in the finish.

Tripel-like appearace and aroma, with notes of apricot, apple, peach and spice - the flavor doesn’t quite offer up what the aroma promises - this walks a fine line between "delicate" and "weak/thin" and it doesn’t always lean toward the good side of that line - light fruits predominate at first, pear, grape skins - saison spice shows up late, with a gradual swell of hops that don’t seem to meld nearly as well with the spice as they could (or should) - a good, albeit out-of-balance effort.

65 cl bottle. No yeast at the bottom. Orange colour with a small head. Aroma of yeast, coriander, orange peel and sweetness. Very tasty flavour of yeast and a lot of coriander, also hints of maltness and sugar. Ends up with a warm feeling from the alcohol.

The aroma is complex with coriander, nutmeg, light fruit, yeast, malt, and alcohol. The appearance is hazy copper gold with a two finger head. The flavor is complex just like the aroma with a spicy peppery finish. The palate is smooth. This beer could be from several of the best breweries of Belgium and no one would even know it’s an Avery. Maybe I should say any of the best brewers of Belgium are close to the quality of Avery.

I was expecting a good beer, but not this good! Very malty flavor seems very German in nature, though there is a very modest amount of spiciness to slightly trigger that Belgian sensor; Fairly sweet with some honey flavor, only mildly bitter, and the alcohol is hidden quite well; Exceptional, malty aroma is similar to a German doppelbock; Dark golden color is bordering on apricot; Fairly heavy and sticky mouthfeel; Slightly hazy, though that's because the significant sediment remained undisturbed on the bottom of the bottle; Almost no carbonation bubbles rising through the beer, so the off-white head settles to a thin layer fairly quickly

A pellucid amber color on the pour, the head immoderate in size, spumescent in texture, and the color a light tan and as it vanishes a thick glutinous sheet survives to conceal the glass. Big malt nose, citrus crisp and fresh, quite pleasing to the senses and the start thickly sweet malt, top is middling in its feel to the palate. Finish has a spicy hop bite that pleases the palate, the acidity moderate to mild, the aftertaste droughty, and in my humble opinion another winner from Avery.

Bottle. First, if you don't give this beer a 5 for appearance, you never will give anything a 5 for appearance: the illuminated scene on the bottle is incredible, the beer is a super clear, intense light honey gold, and the foam hangs on the sides of the glass like Spanish moss hangs on a tree. Nice buttery, fruity, yeast and slight vinegar aroma. The alcohol is certainly noticable, but it's complemented by the fruit and spice flavors and the starchy mouthfeel. Moderate alcohol and spice burn to the finish. I'm currently quaffing this one with a pressed Cuban sandwich with seedy brown mustard, and it's doing the trick for me. Very good.

Tap at Barcade: Slight haze to the golden pour and topped by a white ring of head. Spicy nose with some sage and thyme along with other peppery alcohol esters. Body is medium, with a honeyish sweet background overall. Lots of various spices in the flavor with thyme and peppery alcohol, which dominate. A bit simple, but drinkable.