Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale

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

Pours like a high abv Barely Wine, like head, small bubbles, viscous oily appearance. Color is deep amber/burgundy. Noise is cherry wood, alcohol and plum. First taste reminded me of cherry cough syrup, but not in a bad way. Very warming as it goes down. Surprisingly sweet, never bitter or harsh. Probably would be an amazing desert beer.

Split a 12oz 2009 bottle. Pours a deep amber with a white head that doesn’t last. The aroma is very sweet; tons of caramel, molasses, malts, candied plums, and a ton of brown sugar. Some booze, but not as much as I would have expected. The taste is quite sweet on the front, marmalade, brown sugar, cotton candy, plum and raisins, toasted malt, a touch of hops come through. Quite a lot of flavor. The sugars really stick out. Altough it does not finish nearly as sweet. You get much more of the boozy flavor in the finish. Not really that hot, but the alcohol shows. Not sure if this helps it or not. I really like the flavor that hits you up front, but if it finished the same it might be too sweet. I am curious what this one is like with a little age.

Bottle. Batch 4 (2006) 12 oz. Pours shimmery amberish copper with a small, quckly fading beige head. Aroma of alcohol, fig, raisin, oak, and hints of metal. Full bodied with a sick, sort of oily mouthfeel. Heavy, bold finish with a distinct warming and an alcoholic aftertaste. Decent Belgian strong. Does not hide the alcohol very well, so be forewarned.

2009 - 15.07%. Clear, copper color, not much head. Not much aroma, mostly alcohol. Has an amazingly sweet taste and never bitter. Smooth going down with a slight bite and a solid aftertaste. Overall, a great beer worthy of being consumed by the Beer Gods.

A clear dark red/brown colored beer, with a small beige head. The aroma of sweet fruits like apricot with malts and alcohol. The taste is fruity, like apricot/peach. It’s sticky with a lot of alcohol. The aftertaste is bitter with honey sweets and a full taste.

Bottle. Thanks Taylor. Poured a copper hue with a thin off white head. Nose is strong and sweet with alcohol with a hint of sour. No sour in the flavor, which is big, way big. For this abv this is very drinkable. Very sweet, and very strong, but very tasty. Its like whiskey beer, but not quite. Some carbonation. Really good

Pours a clear reddish copper with very little head. Aroma is largely alcohol. flavor is oak and alcohol. The alcohol notes over pour most other flavors and aromas. Body is light.

Thanks Strykzone for this fascinating brew. From a 12 oz bottle this four year old (2005 bottling) poured a very dark brown with a large bubbled tan head and good lacing rings. You can smell this from six feet away with a big nose of fermented raisins, and alcohol. Mouthfeel is slick and oily and the body is fairly heavy. The flavor is more like Creme Sherry than beer and the finish is surprisingly mild considering the high alcohol content. A very unique and quite remarkable beer. You sip this one, and it was enjoyable from start to finish.