Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale

I really wanted to like this beer. This is not the worst beer I’ve ever tasted, because Avery’s ’The Reverend’ takes that distinction. Sweet beyond reckoning, the adjectives have yet to be forged to describe how terrible this beer is. It has a nice label, though. It would be easier to chug sulfured molasses

Batch number three. Poured a reddish brown color that was lighter in color than I had anticipated. Aroma was sweet and dominated by the smell of dark fruit (rasins, dates?). Taste is of dark fruit, caramel, and molasses. Strong, so this must be drank slow. Very good, but not outstanding, to me.

Bottle. Batch 6. Aroma starts with moderate malt notes of cookie, roasted and molasses, moderate hop notes of flowers and orange peel, and light leather for the yeast, with raisin, port and alcohol in the background. Head is small, fizzy/creamy, off-white with fair lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is reddish brown. Flavor starts and ends heavily sweet with light bitterness in the finish. Palate is full, between creamy and syrupy and has a soft carbonation. It finishes metalic, lightly astringent and moderately alcoholic. The amount of sweetness in this is surprisiing given the alcohol content. I wanted to like this more, but each sip felt like a bit of a chore because of the sweet/syrupy character. I hate say it but this is probably better drunk cold than even slightly warmed.

Batch #5. Red in color with a decent head. Malt and carmel aromas with some prunelike aromas as well. Sweet very sweet malty flavor of candi sugar, raisons, molasses, and prunes. Very thick body. Had again this weekend and the beer had most of the above but was too overly sweet in the taste and not really that pleasing to me.

Purchased from Holiday Wine Cellar. This strong ale appears with very clear clarity as a mahogany color topped by a small layer of film. It doesn’t have a strong induced aroma for having such a strong and high alcohol percent, but it does allow some aroma of sweet malt and sugar to be sniffed out. In the flavor, a more noticeable alcohol presence is apparent as well as sugary sweet malt and moderate spiciness of yeast being utilized.

batch 4. It is a beast, that describes it well. a aggressive and thick intimidating beer. poured into a tulip. pours a relatively thick syrupy amber that is dark yet clear, with plenty of bubbles and a full high frothy white head. sweet caramel/maple aroma, sticky strong presence, dark brown sugar on aroma. a thick strong presence on the palate. a very aggressive and complex beer, sticky aftertaste and a warm finish. strong malt, syrupy caramel, malasses, and raisins come thru, honey is in the background. very aggressive, complex, thick and warming. you do not notice the 14.6 ABV, very subtle yet the warmth does come thru.

Bottle,14.6% alcohol, brewed in 2006. Dark bronze colour with a rich yellowish head. Complex raisins and dried fruit nose. Sweet, yet vinous raisins and fruit flavours with very noticeable alcohol and hints of nuts. Sirupy and smooth. An extreme night-cap beer.

12 fl oz bottle, batch 3 - 2005. Pours amber with almost no head. Thick raisin aroma, dried fruit and quite strong. Malty, fruity and a whiff of liqourice. Sweet, very sweet indeed. Surpricingly wellbalanced. Although the alcohol is present and gives some warmth, it really doesn’t take over and leaves the feeling of a great brew.