Avery Thirteen

Formerly brewed at Avery Brewing Company
Style: Weizen Bock
Boulder, Colorado USA

This beer is a dark reddish-brown color and has a thin beige head with fair retention. Thin sheets of lacing. The aroma is big on toasted malt, along with some chocolate and a bit of smoke. Rich body with a nice roasted character. Sweet malt, grain and chocolate flavors are all noticeable. It seems to lean more heavily to the Doppelbock side but there is an interesting hint of wheat here and there. Either way it is a great blend and one of the best Weizen Bocks I have had. At 9.5% ABV it has a nice alcohol presence too. The finish is long and sweet, with a hint of bitter hops and alcohol burn on the tail end. Very good throughout.

Cloudy brown body with a long lasting small tan head. Nose is earthy, cloves and even a little nutmeg. I expected a dirty heavy bock but I was surprised by the soft silky body and its soft carbonation. Pleasantly soft body I’d say. Taste is rather complex or all-over-the-place depending at how you look at it. Tropical fruits under dry chocolate. Well hopped with woody and floral hops. Every sips I got different kind of fruity flavours. I won’t even bother listing them all. Spices are a bit less apparent in the taste but are there nonetheless. Finish has an interesting mix of cacao, woody flavours and floral hops. No alcohol presence. Interesting and original. 13 an unlucky number? Pfff. I’m about as superstitious as a pocket calculator.

Bottle. Dark reddish brown with a medium beige head. Complex fruity aroma promising raisins and alcohol as well as marcipan. Raisins and nutty flavours, delicious licorice. Full-bodied and soft. A treat.

Rich doppelbock with a strong hop finish. Spicy and fruity sweetness amplified by a strong carbonation that brings the palate to life. Very heavy tasting on the palate, but the strong hop side of this cleans it all away. Quite a bit of excess alcohol shows.

Deep burgundy with a frothy, light tan head and lingering lace. Very inviting nose. Like fresh-baked chocolate bread. Creamy and super-smooth texture; deceivingly lightish weight. Complex malts, with notes of chocolate, cookie and fresh sourdough bread. Very balanced bitterness (dark chocolate, clove and a hint of tart fruit). Banana is far in the background, but it’s a pleasant addition. At first, aromas didn’t seem so strong; but given a little time to breath and warm up, they began to loft about nicely. Not over-the-top by any means, but it had a mellow complexity that was nice. Not my favorite style, but I enjoyed this stuff.

22. Thanks, Goldtwins! Somehow I always procrastinate the Avery specials, pass them up on beer run after beer run, and end up left behind when they sell out. Larry and I had not talked about adding this one to the trade, but he pitched it my way, and I am grateful, because when I opened the box and saw it, I realized I’d spaced this beer completely last year. Better hustle down and look for the Fourteen if I haven’t rated that yet. Anyway, this one’s got a year on the bottle on it, and that’s gotta be an interesting thing, probably even a good thing.
This one pours black with a thickish sudsy tan head. Plenty of bubbly sheets of lace. Gotta love a wheaten bock that comes out that dark and sudsy. Beasty. Clearly the grain bill for this one wasn’t hauled in by hand. Mild nose. Not much happening there at all. Soft sour wheat note that wouldn’t smell like much of anything if you didn’t know what to look for. A little bit of nuts and mild black olives creep in after some time to warm and aerate.
Nice medium, creamy body. Very smooth and supple. So drinkable right off the bat. Soft, velvety carb.
Mid-palate gets a little goin’ on with sour wheat, some brown bread and black bread notes, mild olives again, and nutty, toasty bits. Nice complexity and harmony, subtle and satisfying.
The finish goes a bit acetic and maybe a bit overly sour, but only when the beer is at its coldest. As it comes up through and past cellar cool, it opens up and gets a nice dried leaf flavor and maybe a cola note, and the acetic quality disappears. Had been meaning to dock a point from the palate for that aceticity but not it seems unjustified. This is a good beer.

Dark dark amber color. Had to work to get the tan colored head to rise. Light aroma is sweet-fruity, yeasty with a touch of malt. Mmm. Thick mouth feel. The fruit flavor from the yeast seems to be the dominant flavor component by just a little bit. Next comes the hefe weissen wheat flavor, coffee and a healthy dose of rich dark chocolate malt. This is a nice drinkable beer. It leaves a dry taste behind along with a lingering and delicious chocolate flavor as well as a warm alcohol sensation.

Pours a ruby-esque brown with a small creamy tan head. Strong wheaty bubblegome nose. Nice yeasty flavor that turns astrigent and metallic, with bits of caramel and toffee. This is very disappointing as far as Avery goes.