Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale

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

Dark chestnut; brown-creamy dense head. Woody, hoppy and liqueurish sweet aroma, dark brown candi sugar. Endlessly hoppy & malty beer, extremely liqueurish, sweet almond cake. Extremely well-bodied, slick & syrupy; burnt MF, getting more obvious warming up. Alcohol obvious. Great beer, incomparable balance - a masterpiece for maltheads. My bottle says "only" 15.7 % ABV. And why has the "Beast" bowling alley skittles for teeth? Thanks, Jeremy Gray!

Pours a dark amber with a tiny frothy head. The aroma is reminiscent of a barleywine, lots of toffee. Flavor is very nicely complex, with a mixture of a dubbel and a trippel in the mouthfeel. Lots of figs and raisins, along with hazelnuts, cinnamon and caramel. Very malty and spicy, but surprisingly very little alchohol in the taste.

Batch 1 - May 2, 2004
Deep brown with a small tan head. Big aroma of grapes, sweet malts, chocolate and caramel, with some big hops showing up as well... this has a really nice hop aroma, but it’s a bit weak early on. More plums, chocolate covered cherries, burnt licorice and sweet apricots. Thick and sticky, a little fizzy, and stunning the mouth with a carbonated shot of alcohol and yeast. The finish coats the mouth with burnt malts, dark chocolate, cherries, plums, butterscotch and more alcohol. Burning throat has a coating of chocolate to sooth it a little bit. Big time acidity throughout the drink... musty bananas, clove, toffee, etc. Stinging bitterness accompanies the alcohol, making this one a great fireside drink. I like it.
9/4/8/5/17

Batch 2 - Nov 2, 2004
I’ve heard a lot about batch 2 being hot and young (heh heh), that is tastes and smells like fuel and whatnot. Well I cracked my bottle anyway, as an election night sipper. I admit I’m surprised that it doesn’t resemble fuel at all, considering how many bad reviews the new batch has. The color seems lighter than I remember from batch 1, and the nose is full of honey, molasses, pineapple, some sweet, resiny citrus hops, scotch, butter, brown sugar, brown ale malts, with a huge, nose-sticky concoction of malts that just explode up the nose. But seriously, there’s not much alcohol to notice in the aroma, and taste-wise I would guess that batch 2 is about 11-12% ABV, not 18%. Big belgian yeast and candy sugar flavor, a light burn on the back of the throat, with a frothy coating covering the mouth. Sweet, stinging alcohol burn, but that’s something that scores points with this one... don’t drink it as a beer, sip it as winter warmer. Good stuff still, though I prefer batch 1.
9/4/8/4/16

Thanks to Joebrew for this one. Exceptional. This beer has one of the best aromas I have ever found. Loaded with yeast, wheat, and lots of fruit. Appearance is ordinary and misleading; it doesn’t give any indication of the tremendous flavors that will follow. This is a very sweet beer, almost a dessert beer. There is some sensation of alcohol on the palate but it is well hidden in the flavor and aroma.

Aroma is cherries, dried fruit, caramel, alcohol sweetness. Body is a gorgeous ruby with a thin head that dissapates. Taste is sweet, like fruit, and candy, burn is moderate for a 18% beer, not as well covered as WWS, but for the style I think it is done very well. Grapes, dry mouthfeel.

Truly a great beer; I was skeptical that 15.7% ABV was a bit extreme but my fears were put to rest after a few sips of The Beast. Poured ruddy clear red-brown with a thin-medium light tan head. Very bready aroma with sweet fruit notes and alcohol. The very creamy, full body opened up with caramel, vanilla, woody tanginess, and sweet dark fruit (especially cherries) which became tart after a few sips. Alcohol was notable at first but became less noticeable as I progressed through my glass, never becoming a hindrance to enjoying the amazing flavor complexity and rich body of this beer. Incredibly drinkable and rich, and a must-try.

This is a big, beautiful brew with tons of flavor and a warming sensation that lasts. Really quite exceptional.

WOW this beer kicks like a mule. You can smell it when you crack the bottle. Pours a beautiful clear amber-red with a perfectly sized off white head. Aroma of strawberries, alcohol, rose petals, raisins, maybe cinnimon. Taste is definately almond, belgian candy sugar, more cinnimon (bit spicy too!) Just wonderful all around. Very warming! The flavors become more pronounced and robust as it warms up- chiefly the alcohol feel. Mouthfeel is almost syrupy, but not quite- very full and pleasent. A great beer, but man does it leave a mark. I think I fell over and slept on the floor last time I drank one.