Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale

350 mL bottle. Clear copper brown with a creamy off-white head. Aroma of caramel, malt, and alcohol. Syrupy palate. Very, very, very sweet candy and caramel taste with an alcoholic warmth in the finish. Way too sweet for me.

2005 bottle. Aroma is of dark fruits, vanilla, yeast, and alcohol. Flavor is quite sweet, but pretty complex with caramel, dark fruits, chocolate, molases, grapes, and alcohol all coming out. Pours dark brown with red hints, and a small tan head. Full bodied. Whoa, already feeling it after a half glass. Better than I was expecting, very good, and STRONG.

Appearance: Pours a clear rusted red color. Surpisingly, a rather full tan-colored head bloomed leaving a thick rings of lacing with each sip. Bottled in 2005, btw. Smell: Honey, tawny port, and with an alcohol waft that bristles the nose. There’s some fruit to be found in the aromatics as well, for me it was orange (zest) and cherries (the ones from the jar, swimming in sugary juices). Taste: Again, sharply honey-flavored initially, which then transitions into an intense malt profile sided with the super-sweet Belgian sugars. Of course there’s the mark of the dark fruits prevalent in so many of these types of beers. Hops provide a slight bitterness, but for me it can be hard to find at times amidst the stronger alcohol and sweetened components. Remarkably though, the taste of alcohol is rather "gentle" for the high ABV. Mouthfeel: Finishes like a velvety port wine, but there’s a noted astringency to it. Massive in body, almost obscenely (though lusciously) syrupy. There’s also, to absolutely noone’s surprise, a tingly alcohol finish. Drinkability: It’s delish - just keep it to one, and a 12-ouncer at that. If you enjoy succulent sweetness and higher ABVs, then I’d recommend this one. However, if you have an aversion to either of those, than I’d steer clear. All I really got to say about it is: whoopeee!

Vintage 2006 and I enjoyed it June 2007. The color is incredibly beautiful, dark red amber and the head is golden and creamy. The aroma is vinous with notes of raisins, dark fruit and a light sourness (pleasant). The mouthfeel is oily. The flavour is vinous, sweet and very complex. I find notes of raisins, candy sugar, a spicy hoppy bite and citrus. It’s kind of like a mix between a flemish sour and port wine. It’s truly nice! 2313

Dark hazy orange amber with a thin beige cap. Sweet raw cane-syrup aroma with ominous ethanol as well. Extremely sweet raw sugar and sponge toffee palate, syrupy mouthfeel, with a salty finish. There is a funny coppery flavour in the finish that just doesn’t fit. The alcohol is fairly well hidden, but it climbs the back of your nose after each swallow. This quickly became much to cloyingly sweet for me. I would not return to it.

Bach 4. Pours a very red amber with a small dark tan head. Strong, sweet aroma of alcohol, and fruit. Notes of raisins, a bit of apple, a definite vinous character, a note of molasses, and a bit of intermingled spice. Flavor is very sweet upfront, with lots of honey, candy sugar, and a bit of caramel/toffee notes. The alcohol and hops hit mid-palate and subdue the sweetness quite a bit. Finish is long and bitter-sweet. Palate is full, syrupy, mouth-coating, and pleasantly warm. Alcohol in this brew is totally unoffensive, but nice and warming. Might want to try this one again in a year or three though, right now it’s just a bit too sweet for my taste.

2006 Version. This brew is not for me. Smells like wood, and pours amber with minimal disapating head. hints of apples, white grapes, Figs,& raisins this is a warm beer. overall its just to damn sweet.probly gonna cellar my other bottle. Was batch two fortified???

2004 Vintage; Batch 2 (18.1%)

Date: 4/28/2007 Event: DarkLord Day 2007 Location: Evening tasting in jquire’s room at the Hampton Inn. Thank you for hosting Jeff! Serving: 22 oz bottle shared by TheBeerCellar2. Thank you!

Aroma: Alcohol. Appearance: Clear bourbon color, no head at all. Flavor: Sweet caramel malt and alcohol. There are some other flavors hiding in there as well (i.e. dates, rasins, etc.), but it takes some time to get past the intense malt sweetness and hefty alcohol. This sucker is HOT! Burning sensation everywhere. Palate: Medium-light body; thin mouthfeel. Overall: Yikes! I’m almost sorry we uncapped this beast! I’m not sure if this one will ever cool down enough to be truly enjoyable. Score: 7/3/7/3/14=3.4


Bottled in 2004 - Batch 2

1/21/2009: Okay, time to revisit this beer outside of Darklord Day aftermath... This beer has a deep, rich honey color with a beige head with a somewhat quickly dissipating head. Wow, based on the aroma, this beer has truly gotten better. It is heavily malty and moderately sweet with a discernable citrusy hoppiness and only a mild showing of alcohol. The flavor starts really sweet and caramelly and then becomes strong, alcoholic, yet drinkable. More of the flavors can now be discerned at this point. I like the contrast between the caramel-toffee maltiness, date fruit, and lightly citrusy hoppiness. This beer will put you down fast due to the alcohol, but it is actually drinkable at this point and doesn’t taste like rubbing alcohol. It has definitely balanced out and isn’t nearly as sharp as it was. The Beast is finally starting to tame after 5 years and is almost enjoyable!

1 pint 6 Fl. Oz. bottle (O.G. 1.138; Alc. 18.1% by Vol.) shared by Tmoney99. Score: 7/3/8/4/16=3.8