Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale

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

Yikes! What a beer! Definitely the biggest most pungent and robust nose on a beer I’ve ever had. Super rich with brandy/vinuous notes, coconut rum, dark fruits, banana, burnt sugar, alcohols. Mostly sweet but surprisingly not cloying, big on fruits and burnt sugar, some spicy hops. Lightly carbonated but still smooth and easy on the palate, almost slick, certainly heavy bodied. Slight alcohol burn in the finish, pretty well balanced for the strength. Dark amber color, no head. Lingering chest warming.

batch #3; courtesy of fiulijn - cloudy ruby in colour; little head; powerful and complex whisky-like aroma showing notes of sour cherries, prunes, alcohol, yeast and toffees; strong initial sweetness sonn met by a very robust bitterness; sticky, syrupy and full-bodied, very long dry and bitter peppery, herbal finish with notes of licorice ... and of course a big burning alcohol kick - very good and enormous beer which is still quite raw and would probably benefit of some ageing

Ruby red body, thin head, vinous texture. Sweet, alcoholic aroma with strong notes of toffee and caramel as well some burnt almond/nut and some light fruit. Initial malt flavor of caramel and toffee dominate the initial malt flavor, but there is much more to this beer than that. Syrupy mouthfeel, notes of honey develop. As the beer warms frutier flavors begin to develop as well, including melon, bubble gum, and even licorice. Finish is warming, spicy (cinnamon?) very alcoholic but not unpleasantly so. Very sweet finish that becomes overwhelming towards the bottom of the bottle (one of the few complaints I have). A HUGE brew, commendable effort by Avery.

2004 vintage, 18.1% abv. Pours a clear, dark ruby red with tints of brown. Head is initially very large and off-white, but quickly dissipates to this thinnest of rings. Very sweet and thick aroma: plums, brown sugar, pineapple, toffee, green grapes, raisins, licorice, and quite a bit of alcohol. Moderately sweet flavor, with thick molasses notes nicely accompanied by subdued, spicy hops, dates and candied fruits. Mildly, yet sharply carbonated underneath the syrupyness - as I savor it in my mouth, I am unsure if it is the bubbles tingling my tongue, or the alcohol. Finish is moderately bitter and alcoholic. It tastes as strong as it sounds, and the alcohol is anything but well-hidden when tasted this young, though it is not too overpowering or astringent. A very warming beer for those cold winter months, or for sharing with the family on a Christmas Eve.

Bottle@Home, vintage 2006. Raisin, roses, fruity, flowers and molasses aroma. Orange/red colour, yellowish head, good lace. Very very sweet, raisin, floral, tangerine, pretty bitter. Sticky and full.

Dark reddish brown coloured. Very fruity aroma. Very sweet and fruity flavour. Some hoppy spiciness. The alcohol is well hidden. Very powerful.

Thanks to MilkManDan for providing this treat. Deep, dark brown. Surprisingly non alcoholic aroma. Rich and sweet smelling, with loads of noble hops. Flavor is rich, quite sweet, with some serious alcohol flavor, but its not too much. Glorious swirling noble hop flavors. I’ve never tasted a beer that has such a full, rich noble hop flavor, they’re quite sexy. I really like this.

2/21/2004: Pours a clear deep brown with a thin, and finely-lacing light tan head. Richly caramel, soy and alcoholic aroma with some western hops and Belgian yeast. Body is rich, thick, and syrupy, with lots of sweetness and complexity. Smooth with plenty of alcohol, but it is well masked. Thanks to belgianhomebrew for bringing this to the Atlanta gathering. Re-Rate 8/20/04: This has as much sweetness as one could ever want in a beer, yet it's not very cloying. Aging this for six months has helped to mellow it some. Still reminds me of peaches dipped in sticky caramel and sprinkled with dark Belgian candi sugar. This makes a great dessert beer, but definitely a sipping one. Thanks to TChrome for the bottle!