Avery Brabant

Formerly brewed at Avery Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Boulder, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

Pours a dark,dark brown with a well formed beige foam. Sour aroma with tones of red wine, chocolate, wood, tobacco, vinegar, leather and floral notes. The initial flavor is of a tannic red wine followed by chocolates. As the beer warms, more chocolate and earthiness come out along with a slight alcohol presence on the throat. This is a tasty sour ale with an agreeable personality.

feb 09 bottle. pours dark brown, beige/mocha head. Aroma, light hints of wood, Zinfandel is present and adds some kind of freshness to the aroma, barrel, brett, hints of chocolate. Flavor, wood barrel, Zinfandel adds a nice sweet red wine mouthfeel. Malt does come through with some chocolate and lingering sourness. Brett is also felt with hints of fruits that add a certain raisin, grape and some wine sweetness leaving an overly sweet palate. An interested Belgian strong ale, sour remains mild and the Zinfandel adds a nice sweet touch to the beer.

Rating #1005, I am getting over the post 1000 lull. Pours dark brown with a small, well-retained khaki head. Nose is malt, balsalmic vinegar, some booze, and yeasty pepper. Flavor is tart vinegar, malt, brett, a bit of funk quickly leveled by the wine barrels and finishing with more funk and some barrel. Drinking this beer produces a physical awareness of the different parts of the tongue that sense different tastes... they all are working at once. There is sweet, sour, and even a bit of funk in this beer. Interesting sour.

12 oz. bottle from Plaza Liquors - Pours a deep brown color with a one and a half finger thick light tan head. Light lacing. Aroma is sweet and sour esters. Flavor is much of the same with the addition of some malt sweetness. Thankfully the brett hasn’t taken over this beer completely. The finish is actually palatable, but the tart esters linger. Medium to full body. A nice beer.

The Avery Brabant is an exceptionally unique beer. It’s not my favorite, I wouldn’t have it with a meal, I wouldn’t invest in it again if there are other untried beers, and in fact, I may never drink it again at all. But it’s worth at least one try. It’s an eminently intense brew, and profiles a lot of unique and rare flavors. I wouldn’t have it again not because I dislike it, but I’m not sure I could ever think of a situation where it would be appropriate. The Avery Brabant’s head occupies a light brown shade of the color spectrum, but there’s little time for observation. The Brabant’s aroma wastes no time in rushing out of the glass and up your nose, almost like a bully rearing somebody’s head up with two fingers in their nostrils. It’s at once sour and spicy. White wine, raisins and fig spearhead the aroma, sharp and pungent, and yet the Brabant retains a steady accent of sophistication, like an expensive cologne or perfume. This might come from the slight hint of chocolate. The taste does not parallel the aroma’s sourness, save for the mild Brettanomyces quality, whose pungency, mixed with the distinct flavor of bourbon and an aftertaste of scotch, makes this one of the most intense beers I’ve ever had. Really, I’ve had little or nothing else quite like it, and I like it for it’s exceptional flavors. I’m just not sure I have the fortitude to drink another beer so heavily laden with the tastes of hard liquors - the very liquors I’ve surrendered in my preference for...well, beer.

12 oz in Chimay Trappist glass. Pour is deep brown with a ruby tinge, and almost opaque. Appears to have a moderate, fine carbonation, creating a thin but lasting tan head. Aromas of grape lollipop (seriously), red wine, and tart fruit. Soft, creamy texture. Fruity flavor, followed by a funky sour aftertaste. Red wine flavors come through in the finish, ending with a tart sweetness. I would have considered this a sour if asked to classify. Really interesting brew that I would encourage any serious beerologist to try.

12oz. foil wrapped. pours a dark brown with a fizzy head that dissipates to nothing. aroma is cider vinegar. mouthful is light with fruit, slightly vinous, and has a very dry finish. plays much better on the pallet then the aroma would suggest. i hope the american craft brewers keep the wild stuff coming!

12 oz. bottle shared by shigadeyo. Pours an extremely dark copper brown with a small beige head. The aroma is a blend of tart fruitiness, dark malts, brett influences, with a slight vinous character. The flavor has dark malts, tart fruits, funk, wood, and what seem to be the Zinfandel influences. There is a moderate level of acidity throughout. Finish is dry. Medium bodied and interesting. I am waiting to see how this develops with time.