Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale

Red mahogany with big, foamy head / Big nose of vine fruit and alcohol / Full bodied with spritzy carbonation / Sweet, syrupy, complex flavors of raisins, figs, dates, backstrap molasses, cinnamon, and stick sugar / More like a sweet sherry. If you can accept the style, this is a spectacular beer. An extra point just for the insanity. (Share in liqueur glasses.)

We make a a good pair, this beer and I. Beauty and the Beast. I do believe carnal relations with this creature is illegal in most states. 12 oz. bottle (’05 15% rendition), all I could handle. May be the most ridiculous beer I’ve had yet, which may be saying something. This or Founders Devil Dancer IIIPA. Heavy portly fumes, very slick-syrpuy with fruity undertones heavy on the sugar. This one doesn’t even bother trying to hide the alcohol. How does one even rate something like this? Along some dimensions it’s fabulous; along others almost sickening. It’s akin to a barley wine with a bunch of figgy sweetness crammed right in there. I give it a couple extra points just for being so ridiculous. The Beast may be foolish and ignorant, but it’s got guts, and that’s good enough. Carry on, ladies.

I am convinced after looking at these ratings that people on this site will rate any strong beer high. This was a drain pour for me. Pour was a flat light brown with no head. Aroma of alcohol and cinamon. Taste was incredibly sweet and hot. Can’t pick up much other than alcohol and sweet and sticky malt with sugar being strong as well. This beer makes a hot day seem hotter and wetter. Blah. I guess some people think strong = good but I don’t.

I brought the ’05 for theisti and KAggie 97. KAggie brought the ’06. 2005: Clear mahogany color with very little head. Big raisin and maple and honey nose. Huge alcohol warming sensation with strong candied and sugar flavors. RATING: 7/4/8/4/16 = 3.9 2006: Similar in appearance to the 2005, but with a foamy tan head. Take some raisin and brown sugar and mix it with bourbon aromas. Nice. Not initially, with lots of candied fruits like apricots (and raspberries as it warms) as well ass rose and floral notes...and these all get swept away by cloying sweetness. Seems like it needs more time to mellow just a bit. RATING: 7/4/7/3/15 = 3.6

Much too sweet for my taste. Smell of caramel and very fruity. 2005 bottle did not imress me much. Cherry flavor after taste

2 x 12 oz. bottle shared by KAggie97 (2006) and Zinister (2005) at the "Double Tree Houston" tasting.

2005 - pour is an orangey caramel with a very limited tan head. Aroma is honey, caramel malt and dry fruit (raisin). Taste has the honey, raisins and alcohol, though it is mostly hidden by the caramel sweetness. Good balance rate - 3.7.

2006 - Pour is orange-caramel with a small-medium tan head that lasts for a bit. Sweetness, floral and then a ton of alcohol heat. Not quite ready yet - 3.4.

Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a ruby chestnut color with a large tan head. The aroma was sweet, fruity, caramel and molasses. The flavor was sweet caramel, ripe fruits - cherry mostly, molasses and port wine. Very complex. Wonderfully thick and sweet. The alcohol did show through a noticeable amount. I liked this one. My wife thought it was a total beergasm and wanted to give it a perfect rating.

Batch 4 (2006). Beautiful, dark but clear ruby-amber with a medium-sized and lasting tan cap. Deep rich pine resin aroma blended well with chocolate, caramel, citrus fruit, honey and dark earthy molasses. Wow, flavor is initially very sweet with some nice alcohol tingle and spicy hop nasals that almost make me sneeze. Settling into it, the hops start to linger, and the big malt evens the score quite nicely. Probably too sweet for most Ratebeerians, but to me this is an excellent dessert beer. Flavors are more akin to some barleywines I have sampled rather than a Belgian. Alcohol is well-hidden. Palate is medium-bodied, sweet and pretty smooth.