Avery Fourteen

Formerly brewed at Avery Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Boulder, Colorado USA

(RBESG 2007, Glasgow. Bottle) Dark amber color, brown head. Malty and milky aroma. Creamy, malty chocolate flavor, some fruit andsome caramel notes.

Fairly well carbonated, this beer is topped initially by a three-finger thick, lightly browned, amber-tan colored head that leaves a wispy lacing pattern as I drink this beer down. The beer is a brilliantly clear, blackened-amber colored brew that shows deep red highlights when held up to a bright light. The aroma is interesting; it is certainly hop driven, yet somehow is reminiscent of a citrus & spice, black holiday cake / sweet bread. I get notes of roast coffee beans, bergamot, candied orange peel and some un-specified spice notes sort of like a mix of allspice, clove and cinnamon, but really unlike any of these. The aroma almost has a split personality; at times the hop notes provide a citrus character which mixes with the malt to form notes of a dark spice cake, but at other times sharper, herbal, green, pine-like, even menthol type, almost raw hop notes provide a rough contrast to the other side of the aroma. If you really dig around in the aroma a substantial malt character becomes noticeable with notes of toasted malt, browned bread crust and lightly burnt biscuits. As the beer warms, aromas of warming alcohol become noticeable.

Thick and quite a bit sweeter than I was expecting. The hop character is still quite evident, but again it seems to contribute flavors that meld with the malt character to display a deeply rich, sweet, dark spice cake flavor that has notes of molasses, burnt toffee, orange zest (the citrus character is actually quite prominent), at times notes of cherries and a bitter finish that has lingering notes of espresso and hop bitterness. The usual citrus hop flavors at times take on a fresh, raw hoppiness that reminds me of spicy, freshly chopped herbs, piquant pine needles, and even something like garlic chives. How would I describe this beer quickly, well it is a cross between molasses sweetened earl grey tea (with lots of bergamot and a green, herbaceous, tannic tea character) with a black coffee. The flavors are juxtaposed, cacophonous and jarring, yet somehow remain eminently drinkable and enjoyable. Despite the straight-forward sweetness, this beer has a fairly light body, or I should say that with this level of sweetness I would expect this beer to be sticky and cloying, but instead it has a medium fullness to it.

This is one of the more interesting beers that Avery has put out recently. When compared to there super-high alcohol brews this beer is quite stellar in the comparison. I really like the mix of hop character and dark malt flavors; even the sweetness seems to work here. In fact without the ample hop character the sweetness would likely overpower this beer and make it undrinkable for me (think the beast, mephisto or Samuel). I was fully expecting this to be another strong beer from Avery that was a complete flop, instead I am pleasantly surprised by a beer that almost seems like it shouldn’t work.

Thanks to rsamayoa. Bottle: @ rateberians informal gathering. malty, smokey, earhty and woody, nice balance conplex and well balanced.

Bottle: Deep brown pour with ruby tints in the light, topped by a tan, creamy head. Aroma shows some sweet rye malt hints. There’s also some spicy/peppery hallertau suggestions, plastic-y, and sweet fruits of berries & plums. Creamy, velvety mouth feel. Flavor has some big spicy malts upfront. There’s also some fruity character of dark berries, nutty/brown sugar hints, and toasty toffee. The finish has a great roasted character which is almost coffee-ish. A bit less hoppy than I like my ASAs, but the malt depth is quality and has a balancing roastiness. No sign of alcohol in the flavor, and just a nice tasty Ale.

Such a quirky beer. My last bomber (can’t remember where it was purchased). Big and dark pour, with a pretty lively body and an impressive head. Tart aroma, with some modest chocolates in there. As you get into the beer, what first seemed to be choc malts expand into a drier, slightly more astringent molasses. Just a trace of sour fruit at the edges too. But then there are those quirky hops, suggestive of a Belgian black, or a schwarzbier, or even a black IPA. Slightly malty finish, deepening the complexity. I’m not always convinced it all hangs together, but the ambition is props-worthy and the beer is really good.

bottle from ølbutikken, enjoyed at home after work. (bottled in 2007) dark almost clear brown/very dark amber, large smooth light brown head. sweet malty aroma, some dark fruits, some alc, a few hops have survived the aging. chocolate. complex aroma. flavor is sweet malty, mouldy or a little oxidized, faint chocolate, dark fruits, strong alc, but not unpleasant, sweetness is balanced by a spicy peppery slight piny flavor, could be hops. in general it reminds me of what would happen if you mixed up 1/2 barley wine and 1/4th belgish quad and 1/4th imp. stout.. As it warmed up the mouldy flavor got away entirely, but i got some licorice and roasted grains instead. this rating then reflects the entire experience, cause it sure got better as it warmed up.

Bottle, Statelineliquors.com. Poured a filtered brown color with some mahoganey hues, tan head. Floral, spicey aroma. Flavor was caramel, chocolate, spices, zingy coriander and light ginger, fruits, rose petals and lavendar. The flavors all worked together quite well in this one, a delight coming from a brewer I don’t trust worth a darn. Took this as a belgian style dark ale. Thanks, Robert!

Dark brown with medium brown head. Sweet aroma with notes of hops, grapefruit and caramel. Sweet flavor with hops, caramel and chocolate notes. Ends bitter.