Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

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

Poured an amber red with very light head. Smelled very sweet with a presence of alcohol. Very sharp taste that hits you right away. The taste settles in the back of your mouth after sipping. Definite strong presence of alcohol going all the way down to the stomach. Overall pretty good beer.

Very very oaky beer. Strong vanilla character. Big caramel, as advertised. Sticky and sweet. I would like some more hops in here to balance the sweetness. Almost like a liqueur in it’s mouthfeel and sweetness. Alcohol is hidden well though, for a 15% beer. Pretty good, but not worth what I payed for it.

Pours a deep copper color with a white head. Aroma is sugar, oak, vanilla, and dark fruit. Flavor is sugar, fruit, oak, and alcohol

MMM MMM Good. Nice amber/brown color. Good caramel malt aroma, sweet. It tastes creamy, creme brulee, caramel, malty and smooth oak. So smooth I had no idea how much alcohol was in it untill just now.

This was the last of the Avery trio for me to try, having already had Mephistopheles and The Beast), and I thought it somewhere between the other two. I’m not sure there’s any merit in evaluating these three on a "true to style" basis, as I’m pretty sure part of Avery’s intent in launching these beers is to "bend" some styles. On a purely "tastes good/is easy [or least punishing] to drink" basis, I enjoyed Samael’s considerably more than The Beast, but considerably less than Mephistopheles. The beer a surprisingly bright red color with a pretty well-textured head of fine bubbles that faded rather quickly to a scummy coating. Aroma was definitely extremely caramel-y, but not of the malted-milk ball variety. Flavor was also a lot of caramel maltiness that was not cereal-y and I found to be rather pleasant. I got some vanilla-ness off of the oak, and I also got a lot of spiciness that was reminiscent to me of eggnog. This nutmeg/nogginess was easily the most surprising and enjoying aspect of this beer to me. Mouthfeel was pretty astringent and definitely warming. I thought this beer was pretty good, and was definitely interesting.

Bottle. Pours amber with a very thin beige head. Aroma is strong sweet malts, caramel, lots of oak, and alcohol. Flavor is oak, dark fruit, and sweet caramel with a strong warming sensation due to the alcohol. Almost feels like it’s melting in your mouth.

Beautiful amber with a light brown head. Very malty arina with lots of raisin and another riped fruit that I cannot put my finger on. Flavour is very sweet, almost cloying.

Bottle. High off-white fluffy lasting head. Hazy orange body. Distinct and pleasant malt aroma. Do I smell the oak, maybe. You will not be in doubt about the barley ! Sweet and fruity caramal malt flavor without much bitterness. Long aftertaste. Alcohol hidden by the sweetness.