Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Boulder, Colorado USA

Bottle. poured a dark red/amber color. Small head which disappeared quickly. In your face aroma of oak, vanilla, and alcohol. Taste is super sweet. Not the best beer, but not that bad on a winter day.

Pouring at EBF’s Night of the Barrels. Pours a mostly clear orange amber with a thin white head. Boozy, caramel. Sweet caramel and candied fruit. A bit easier to drink than I was expecting, but didn’t blow me away.

Bottled in 2005. Super sweet. Definitely aged, has some nice oxidation. Pretty solid. Too sweet.

Flaske batch 2 2006: Brunrød let uklar øl med et meget lille skumhoved. Alligevel er karboneringen yderst tilfredsstillende. Kraftig sødlig duft af alkohol og karamel. Smagen er brandvarm med en kæmpe sødme som bliver opvejet af alkoholbidet. I det hele taget en ekstrem øl der dog fungerer på fornemeste vis.

Cherry red pour with light off white head and lace. Aroma is raisins, oak, and abv. Flavor mirrors the aroma with a very sweet malt front and some toasted malt. Medium/full bodied with decent carbonation. A hint of fizzy threw it off a tad. A very nice beer.

12 oz. Bottled in May 2006. Batch 2. Have been sitting on this one for a few years and it has definitely paid off. The oak hits you as soon as you open the bottle. Pours a dark ruby color with no head whatsoever. Big strong nose of caramel, wood, dark candied fruits, smoke and a subtle trace of booze. Unbelievable flavor complexity with just about every malt flavor I can describe. Huge caramel flavor with overly ripe old people fruits (dates, figs, prunes) and sweet vanilla. The oak flavors come through towards the end and the bitterness is very minimal, but enough to prevent this from being a sugary disaster. Viscous, syrupy texture that reminds you that this beer is supposed to be a monster. Carbonation is kept to a minimum which also contributes to the heaviness on the tongue. Ends with some oak and some lingering vanilla. So much better than the "green" bottles I’ve tried in the past. Worth sitting on, this is a masterful sipper.

this beer is no joke.... pours thin, with almost no head. Tons of sweet malt aroma, unable to escape the richness.... The first taste is of sweet oaky fruit.... would be great with some spicy bbq ribs or a rich steak.... not much hop body, but still serious beer.... Tons of malt and roasted oak with some citrus spice...... this bottles has been cellared for almost 5 years... couldn’t imagine how brutal it was when young. Overall, I enjoy the complexity of this beer... definately not for sessioning, but a nice sipper at the end of a long night of work....

Bottle. Pours a clear dark amber with a white ring. Huge aroma, of malt, oak, meat, smoke, candied citrus. Taste is very rich, of sweet malt and dark fruits, smoky meat and oak. Lingering sweet-smoky wood. Rich as hell, but my kind of beer.