Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale

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

2006 bottle. Intense on the nose and in flavor. Knocked out by the sweetness and my head is swimming from the alcohol. Drinking this one alone could be dangerous.

7-6-08 bottle (2004) shared by strelnikov
Semi clear, yet thick red brown with no head. Smell is alcohol and molasses and a touch of nail polish remover and a touch of pie crust too. Flavor is a touch boozy with more alcohol in the finish that I wanted. A hint syrup like but mainly because of the alcohol heaviness. Not horrid but a touch difficult to go down.

Bottle. Pours a deep translucent dirty copper with a dark beige, quickly diminishing head. The aroma has a ton of barley with lots of sweet honey and some subtle notes of darker fruit . Alcohol is noticeable in the nose as well. The flavour is initially has lots of honey and caramel, and very sweet. Roasted nuts add a nice complement. The alcohol, however, becomes slightly overwhelming. Towards the finish, the roasty, nutty notes become slightly more dominant as the alcohol flavour fades. Honey follows closely in intensity. This is much more like a barley wine than a belgian strong ale, in my opinion. It’s too sweet for my tastes, like many other barley wines. It’s not much towards my interests, but it’s tasteful for a barley wine style. The honey sweetness is a nice touch, and I like the roasted nuttiness.

What a beast (no pun intended). Not very characteristic of a Belgian Strong Ale. The alcohol overpowers this one, but it is still enjoyable. Lots of raisins and dark fruit. Finish is sweet stays awhile. Overall, a good beer.

Thanks to KAggie97 for the beer. Bottled 2006. The bottle looks really good. The beer in the glass also, quite dark, not much foam. The beer starts strong-alcoholic, quite malty. Warming and intense finish, sweet notes. Very good beer!

bottle - batch 3 ’05. solid Belgian Strong / Barley Wine hybrid... this stuff is really tasty.... a sipper for sure and is quite sweet. The sugars really come through strong. It pours a deep red/brown with a 1/4" head. Huge aromas coming out of the bottle and the glass. Lots of candy sugar, molasses and some dark fruit notes... but mainly sweet sugar. Huge full body, with the alcohol making itself known on the sides. Sticky and sweet on the tip of the tongue, while more strong on the back. The finish is almost numbing and sticks with you for a bit. Overall, an excellent offering from Avery... this is not something you would want to drink often given the pure sweetness to it, but occasionally it is a wonderful treat.

Bottle from 2004 shared by strelnikov. Thanks!
Pours a rich, murky brownish color and smells very sweet, aged and rounded. Taste is smooth, tart, maple like sweetness and the 18.1% ABV is hidden surprisingly well by this point. A twinge of alcohol in the end, but not bad. Rich syrupy body with light carbonation and an intense sweetness in the flavor. Drinkability is pretty low, however. Interesing brew.

Have to agree with the last rater, More of a barley wine than a belguim strong ale.Very strange, a little to over the top. Not sure what they were trying to do. But tasty anyway.