Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale

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

Batch 4 (2006). I waited a year to try this and it did not disappoint. Strong alcohol flavor but it mixes well with the rest of the product. Not too thick but a little sweet and sugary. I also just opened a bottle (couldn’t wait to age it) of the 2007 and actually find it even better than last years.

Bottled, 2006 14.6%. Aroma has sugar/molasses, lots of raisins, barley and some honey. Clear, dark red coloured with an off-white, thin head. Taste is very, very sweet, sugary with lots of raisins, some barley. Alcohol is reasonable hidden for 14.6%. Sticky mouthfeel. This brew is way too sweet but certainly has potential. Rerate when aged some more years.

Bottled, 2006 version, 14.6%. Clear redbrown color, medium off-white head. Aroma of candy sugar, sugar cane, molasses, sweet, alcoholic, american strong ale like. Very very sweet taste, it has that american strong ale like taste, but way too sweet I would say. It surely has potential as a good barley wine, but for now it is too sweet.

Clear dark copper with quickly fading, but clinging to the edges head. Sweet malt aromas from a potent brew wash over the olfactory glands, honey syrupy sweet, piney malts emerge. The taste is viscous and hoppy with a fairly decent job of disguising the monster abv. Not a bad brew, but potey for sure.

Old rating Drank in March ’06? 2005 bottle. Maroon color. Plummy, alcohol aroma, also some turbinado sugar, vanilla, and raisins. Taste is caramel, apple cider, turbinado sugar, and cinnamon. Mouthfeel is thick and chewy. I think this is a rather enjoyable beer, though one I would only want to have at the end of the night.

2007 Bottle. Transparent copper-red color with a fine film head. Beautiful hue that shines through my Trappist glass. I thought that the extreme ABV would have overwhelmed the aroma, but it was quite nice. Lots of honey, candy sugar, caramel and a nice bitterness from the eccentric hop combination. Sweet, sweet sweet flavor with notes of molasses and more honey. Fruity finish that goes down smooth, with a tingly warming effect on the palate. Definitely an ass-kicker, one bottle to myself that gave a fat head-buzz. I could def. see this beer getting better with some age on it. Nice beer!

Had at the Flying Saucer in Ft. Worth - Bottle / Batch 5 - Nose was Tabasco Pepper Sauce, or at least that’s what i could equate it to. Initial taste was nearly sweet, very smooth, no real over alcohol taste, very well hidden, the finish was spicy, definatly would drink again.

Bottle. Batch 3 (2005). This one has aged enough I guess. Pours a deep ruby red with light brown head. Aromas are sweet and full of sugared berries and candy with light hop notes to spice it up. Very interesting nose on this one. Palate is sticky as hell, honey and syrup like, and tough to wash off the glass. Flavors are deep and full of more malty sweetness than raisin/fruit sweetness although the dried fruit thing is here as well as a touch (small one) of the artificial cough syrup sweetness but only because I look for it. Hop spice is abundant but nearly overwhelmed by alcohol warmth and chewy candy like malty sweetness. Finish is warm and cleaner than I expected. I’d have another glass for sure, but not today.....this is a big big brew.