Avery Anniversary Fourteen

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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From a 22oz Bottle. Pours a mostly transparent dark brown color of brazil nut shells, topped by a layer of fizzy tan head. Aroma of mild floral yeast fruits, roasted malt, and a touch of herbal hops. Medium bodied, firm texture with a soft carbonation. Bitter roasted malts immediately assault the palate, accompanied by a hint of smoke. Not much depth in the middle of the palate malt-wise, just a lot of roast. A hint of yeasty spice seems to crop up toward the end, but it gets pummeled by a massive load of astringent hops in the finish. Dry, bitter, astringent finish. Technically sound, but overall I find it to be too busy and muddled; the roasted malt, one-dimensional hop astringency, and yeasty spice don’t form a pleasant marriage.

bottle. near black pour with huge frothy head that lasts throughout. nice lacing. powerful aroma. spice, yeast, dry hops prominant, dark fruits, candy, some sugar, oak. very rich and complex aroma. Hopped out. At first I thought it threw off the balance a bit but at the end I don’t know. Very rich malts, mild chocolates and dry fruits. some spice and oak. A little dank. A nice alcohol warming. Unlike anything else. You find yourself analyzing every sip. A definite treat.

Floral hoppy aroma, quite estery. Sugary as well. BItter, quite hopbitter in fact, with a bitter chocolate note as well. Molasses and sugary sweet. Flowery hop flavor, orange rind note as well. There’s no lack of things going on here, it just isn’t very interesting or cohesive.

Pours a dark brown, that shows as a clear garnet when held to the light, topped with a dense, pitted, frothy beige head. The aroma is a rich, deep malty blend of dark fruits, pineapple, white pepper and both floral and faint piney hops. Full-bodied and creamy-smooth with a nice bitter hop finish. Sweet yet almost smoky malts up front with an immediate hit of hop bitterness following, some citrus some spruce-like, with notes of dark fruits and a dry, lightly bitter and peppery finish. There’s a lot going on with this one and while I’m not sure that it’s entirely well integrated, it’s definitely interesting and worth a try should you get your hands on a bottle. I’d bet that this one would mellow and blend much better with a little more age on it.

Pours a dark copper color with a light tan head. Aroma is of molasses, citrus hops, caramel, dark fruits, and some alcohol. Very complex aroma. Starts of with sweet malts, molasses, citrus hops and some toasted malts. MIddle flavor is of dark fruits and nuts. Finishes with floral hops and alcohol to give it a delicious ending. I really enjoyed this brew.

Bottle at Butters Big Cellar Blowout! Thanks Butters for letting me choose what I wanted for this 400th rating. Pours a lacing, tan head with a dark brown body. Smells of molasses, dark bread, citrus, spice hops, ginger, and alcohol. Flavors the same but with some vanilla notes. The alcohol, hops, and sweetness are balanced very well.

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

American strong ale??? catagory for beers that have no catagory. Extra points for an alcohol reading to the hundredth decimal point. and extra points for the amazing lacing that followed my drink to the bottom of the glass. real good brew .....give it a try.

Bottled. Pours dark brown with a red glow and a huge, frothy, beige head. Fair lacing. Nose of malt, caramel and light hops. Sweet flavour with malt, dark fruit and molasses. Medium bodied. Slightly bitter finish. A nice brew.

22oz bottle: Pours to a deep brown body with a huge dark tan/mocha colored head that lasts and leaves nice lacing around the glass. When held to the light the body appears clear and a very deep garnet color. The aroma shows some sweet malts, some caramel, plums, prunes, and some fresh hops that show some grassy bitterness as well as hints of spicy floral hops. There’s also a slight sharp and astringent aroma that comes through, though I’m not even sure that "astringent" works to describe a scent. Taste is strange and makes me wonder if there’s a problem with the bottle and/or age, but looking at others ratings, what I’m tasting seems to match up. The first sip gives a very earthy hop, dirt, and an astringent cocoa malt flavor. After the first sip my palate gets past the bitterness and more aromas and flavors of chocolate come out. Flavors of wet moss, light wet spruce, the molasses is there but it’s nowhere near as sweet as molasses - I’d describe the flavor as more of a bitter dried chocolate/oak/bourbon. The alcohol definitely comes through on this one and at times I wonder if they used oak chips soaked in bourbon to brew this one. There’s also plenty of bitterness from the dry-hopping here which is quite noticeable on the palate but there’s only a mild strawberry flavor coming through from the hops. Finishes with an slight alcohol burn and some lingering hop bitterness. Medium bodied, medium-lively carbonation. At first sip I would describe this one as "bad" but after a few sips my palate adjusts and is better able to take the onslaught of bitterness. The best way I can describe this one is 2 parts amber ale, 1 part dry stout, 3 parts double-super-imperial-dry-hopped ipa. Interesting.