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Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale 3.58 639

Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

Percentile
92
overall

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
6393.59/5.03.58/5.0Special15.53%61.5Snifter
Commercial Description:
Samael is the prince of demons, the angel of death, accuser and destroyer. Filled with enmity towards man, he planted the vine, the forbidden tree of paradise. Behold his venom and vengeance, both sweet and tempting, enticing you, his spellbound victim, within his wings.

Samael’s Ale is a super-caramelly, oak aged English-style strong ale. Perhaps the least hoppy (sacrilege here at Avery!!) beer we’ve brewed, to accentuate the malt. The oak is very apparent in this rich and high gravity ale, adding additional depth and complexity with a woody and cask-like nose and a pronounced vanilla flavor on the palate. This potent ale is the second installment, along with The Beast, of our “Demons of Ale Series”.

Brewed with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, turbinado sugar, hops, yeast, and American oak chips.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 martin21 (155), Quebec city, Quebec, Canada
4.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/105/519/20
Dec 27, 2008  
Deguster au Mondial de la Biere. Belle couleur oranger. Intense gout de vanille prevenant du chene se transformant graduellement en gout d agrume sucrer! Collet absent. Un delice! Tasted at the Mondial de la biere. Very beautiful orange colour. Strong vanilla taste from oak evolving in a sweet citrus-like taste! Lack of head. Awesome!


cohiba73 (11), Texas, USA
2.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
4/102/54/102/59/20
Dec 26, 2008  
Not real impressed with this beer, a big fan of Avery though. Decided to pick up after all the great reviews but didnt get it. Pours with no head and no lacing, smell was kind of musty and sweet. This beer has the consistency of motor oil, thick sweet and the alc is hot and overwhelming.


 KnN (753), Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
2.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
5/103/55/103/512/20
Dec 24, 2008  
My least favorite of the three "Demons of ale" beers I have tried from Avery. This one poured a nice caramel color, but the aroma immediately reminded me of gym socks. Almost like instead of being aged on oak chips, this beer had been aged in a YMCA locker room. After trying to dig a little deeper than my first impression, there certainly are some nice caramel notes here and the malt is just intense. A great big malt bomb. There were some nice aspects to this beer, but the initial impression of socks kind of killed it for me. Might have to revisit and see if I get the same again.


 FatPhil (3483), Espoo, Finland
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/513/20
Dec 17, 2008    Updated: Jun 28, 2009
355ml bottle (Pikkulintu, Helsinki)
Sweet oaky vanilla aroma - beautiful. Big alcohol bite. Very sweet sticky palate. Woody, and a touch nutty, and with loads of dark fruits. All in all very enjoyable apart from the big burn. (8:4:8:3:14=3.7)
Rerate: shared by Mirjukka and Janne - thanks! (7+:4:7:4:13-=3.5)
Vanilly and nutty aroma. Toffee. Sweet sticky taste. Plenty of hops, but a bit odd, I really don’t know what I’m drinking.


 fidelis83 (729), Clinton, Iowa, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/518/20
Dec 16, 2008  
Pours a super hazy dark caramel with a thin off white head. Aroma is huge on toffee, toast, bourbon, citrus, oaky vanilla, a little caramel, and dried pitted, fruit. Flavor is hugely sweet, caramel toffee, vanilla, oak (pretty weak but there), there are some citrus hops to be had, there is a slight yeast spiciness, and a really strong candied yams taste, heavy on the marshmallows. Very smooth for a barleywine, body is maybe a bit too syrupy, but something (presumably the super high abv) keeps it from being super sticky. Great beer.


 hirigalzkar (601), Stockholm, Sweden
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/103/513/20
Dec 13, 2008  
Bottle. Dark orange. No head. Aroma of malted barley, hops, raisin. Sweet fruity flavor. Not as extreme as the smell of it (probably becouse of the oaking). Some bad things going on in the aftertaste.


 finol (528), Nacka (Stockholm), Sweden
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Dec 13, 2008  
Bottle from Olbutikken Copenhagen. Amber and hazy with minimal head.


 after4ever (2828), Brier, Washington, USA
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/56/104/512/20
Dec 12, 2008  
12-oz, capped and foiled. Wow, I have not had a night like this of clearing out extraneous bottles in over a year, since I kept all beer in one fridge. Dear god, this is soooo boozy. Pours a murky dark amber with a dense, shallow, short-lived tan head. No real lace. Huge vodka, bourbon, and barrel stave nose. Creamy medium body. Sweet tangy orange, butterscotch, toofee, bourbon, vodka, vodka, bourbon, vodka, and vodka on the mid-palate. Tarnation, this beer is h-o-t hot and twangy. Long dry gin and tonic finish. Lotta work and ingredients went into making this just-ok beer.



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