Avery Ale to the Chief

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

Pours a lovely clear orange-amber with a fairly thick and fluffy white head. Aroma is odd, more like a cider or fruit beer than an IPA, strongly of fruit - mainly orange and a hint of grape - but with some hop smell. Flavor is strongly hoppy and fairly fruity, tasting almost like a good IPA mixed with grapefruit juice. Finish is smooth, hoppy and citrusy, a little bitter and a little sour.

Bomber from Binny-apostrophe-s Beverage Depot in Orland Park, IL: Not very impressive, but then, neither is our Chief or those currently vying for the job. It poured a brass body with a slender head. The aroma was mainly citrus hops with a touch of the floral over a weak caramely malt. The bitterness was somewhat stronger in the flavor and a splash of alcohol was added. The finish was dry and solidly bitter. Okay.

Re-rate on draft at SL, 10/08. Original rating stands, although the malt base was a bit stronger this time around, so a slight bump up in the numbers for palate and overall. Original rating: Bottle from Stateline. The pour was orangey with a thin continous covering of a head. The lacing was weak. The aroma was lots of citrus, floral notes too. Flavor was citrus and floral hops primarily, wanted more from the malt base, finish included a touch of spicey hops. The mouthfeel was a little on the light side with some alcohol burn, perhaps. Overall not a bad brew, would like another shot at this one. The Cowgirls had overcome the Eagles on MNF by the time I was finishing up - talk about a bitter taste in the mouth! Stoopid Donovan, throw that ball away!

Bottle from Capone’s. Pours hazy deep copper with 2-finger off-white creamy head and great lacing. Nose is citric, tangerine, pineapple, caramel malt, black pepper, mango. Very Dreadnaughty aroma. Tastes bready caramel malty, with heavy hops, tangerine, mango, honeydew, . Gets breaider late, with more piney and tangeriney notes, plus heavy hops that never let up. Reminds me a lot of Allagash 4, only with more florals and a bit less malt. Gets a tad hot late, but is very good throughout.

Bottle from Whole Foods (Tampa, FL. Pours a amber copper color with white foamy, creamy head. Aroma is very similar to an American IPA with notes of citrus, flowers, cascade hops. Flavor is much of the same with a malty sweetness and a bitter finish. Nice ale.

Solid beer, It is pretty close to an ESB on steroids as you can get, with the fruitier amber body, you get some strong background to the hops. I liked this one a lot, the only drawback is the alcohol, it is not mellowed in yet, you can feel it on the finish. Other than that, an exceptional pale ale or ESB, whatever... aromas are strong acidic hops with light fermented fruits of melons, apricots and peaches... pours a nice 2 finger head lacing is good all the way down, clear dark amber body looks good, flavors need a little bit more structure, but the fruits, hops stand out a lot, palate is not thin, but not as full as I would have expected... excellent brew, I recommend it despite my quibbling and the price.

This left me a tad let down. It needed to be filtered more or something, to sweet and yeasty. Hazy look to it. Good head though, which is something I dont comment on often. The bottle looks cool, there is probably as much writing as anything on there, except maybe Stone. Its definetly a Double IPA, but not the greatest.

I don’t care what they want to call it, this is a double IPA. Strong hint of pineapple in the aroma combined with a dose of grapefruit. Best part of the beer is the smell. The flavor is fine. Dominated by hops at first with grapefruit being the main flavor. Problem is, and it’s a problem with a lot of Avery stuff, this one burns. Alcohol dominates the finish and is what you think about as you contemplate the aftertaste. Otherwise it would be dangerously chuggable. As it is, it’s tough to finish the last 5 ounces of this 22 ounce bottle.