Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Boulder, Colorado USA

remember seeing this bizarre story in the news? a truck driver from a major candy factory crashed headlong into a nearby glue factory. the resulting inferno took up the century old oak beam structure. what a mess it was. but, after the blaze was extinguished, someone had the presence of mind to sop up some of the sticky, caramelized, phenolic ooze and bottle it. his name is samael, and while he’s under indictment for tampering with a crime scene, his beverage is now available to us, and this resinous, still dangerously flammable oak-butter bears his name. like a liquid candy cane, with caramel and strawberry, it is intensely sweet, with enough honey to fuel every indigent bumble bee from boston to berkeley. so dessert-like, i suggest enjoying samael with a double espresso-- but you’ll want to periodically monitor your heart rate just to be safe. the sheer gravity of samael will put a little extra bulge in your snifter. it drops innocently enough into a glass, showing a buttery baked pineapple bronze color-- and in spite of the roiling turbulence of alcohol--rising like a summer storm cell over texas-- it actually manages a tight little fellowship of foam. the beer has an admirably daring crudeness about it, one can imagine that it might have been based on a recipe found smudged on the wall in a sooty, pre-historic cave. it’s a formula that combines elements for a ceremonial bonfire: it weds volatility and sweetness, it’s a lumber-based lamp oil mixed with caramelized apricot syrup, grains, and for good measure, the gastric juices of a huge, obese honey badger that died of gout. full on the tongue, it etches perfectly configured and sinuous golden rivers of bitterness across the palate like micro-circuits on a memory chip. it’s a heavy fruit brandy, vulgar enough to fart some fusel alcohols in mixed company, refined enough to spin a rococo tapestry of toffee fibers, earthy enough to tell of bitter root tinctures, elevated enough to raise a rocket into space with it’s jet fuel potency. i awoke after dawn back at the scene of the accident-- having run out of bottled samaels-- i was found delirious and licking the curb where he’d long ago collected this hypnotic nectar. next time i may try simply injecting it into my arm-- that’s how much i crave that sweet oak, man.

Pours a ruby hued brown with a finger of creamy light tan head that dies quickly leaving sheets of lace. Smells of sweet bourbon, oak, cherry and malt. Stings the nose. Taste is very sweet. Boozy with a sherry character. The oak chips are prominant. Syrupy and spicy. Full and sticky in the mouth. A gynormous brew that must be sipped spurratically. Would be very interested to revisit one of these after aging a few years as there are many flavors but all buried by the booze.

[Bottle] Pours brown with a light tan head. Aroma is fruity and sweet with a fair amount of raisin. Taste is very sweet also--too much so for me, with caramel and a little bit of oak in there too. This was just far too sweet for me. I could barely finish the sample I had, and there is no way I could down a whole bottle.

Amber color with small off-white head and no lacing. Aroma was nice and malty with some vanilla notes. Flavor was really bad and unbalanced. Strange sugarry, syruppy malts. Very awkward, sweet flavor with woody notes. Overall a bad mixture of flavors...couldn’t finish the bottle.

Clear copper color with a white sheen. Good oak charactor in the smell. Medium/heavy body and light carbonation. Sugary sweet taste is more grand cru like to me, with raisons, dried plums, caramel.and alcohol. Reminds me of a port wine. not too bad. 03/03/2006

old rating: 6/3/8/2/13 - 3.2 pour is a dark amber-orange with a small light tan head, and good lacing. smell first hits you with a whisky smell, then dark fruit, toasted toffee, and wood. taste is strong, smooth, a little sweet, prune, burnt caramel, toasted nuts, some sour malt, cedar, a little sweet cherry juice, and licorice, ends dry and a little bitter.

Bottle pours ruby red with a one inch tan head that leaves some nice lace. It looks awesome. The aroma is plums, oak, beautiful hops, wine like, cherry, sugar maple, just perfect. The flavor hit up front with sugar, caramel, candied cherries, oak, prunes, french slik, and vanilla. The palate is rich and sticky - but not cloying with some carbonation to balance the richness. There is some lingering sweetness and much warming. This might not be for everyone, but I for one have a place for sweetness and snifter time. This is meant to be had slow. This is over the top sweetness and alcohol - I love it. Wow, this is perfect for the first big snow of the season. This is what rating is all about. This is a very good English Barley Wine.

This was a really strong barley wine. Oaky and sweet. Vanilla taste. Light amber brown color. Little to no carbonation. A solid barley wine.