Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale

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

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

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!

12oz. Bottle: Strong aroma. Smells like Robitussin. Also smells of fruit, berries, alcohol, and sour mix. Poured ruby in color with a big, foamy, tan head that lasted. Good lacing. Clear. Very Sparkling. Very complex flavor is lightly sweet but not bitter. Tastes of cherries, alcohol, toffee, malt, nuts, molasses, and sugar. Full body. Thick texture. Average carbonation. Sweet, raisin flavored finish. Overall, this really hides the alcohol content well. I did not think I would like this beer, but I did. Pleasant surprise.

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.