Avery Fifteen

22 oz bottle

For some reason I picked this up thinking that maybe Avery had changed their tune. I was fooled. As usual they released something with promise that only partially lived up to expectations. I’m not exactly clear what they were aiming for here. Whatever it was it is time to go back to the drawing board. Don’t waste your money in this one.

Aroma / Appearance - Rose gold in color with no light blocking ability it smelled of honey, white wine and graham crackers. The promised figs were evident after some introspection but not in the way I imagined. The trace of sourness did not seem intentional.

Flavor / Palate - Malty with a rye bread transition the biggest players in this were graham crackers, figs, and a sprinkling of white pepper. Fairly average in many ways this was enjoyable but nothing special. I feel as if Avery could have done something a little better for their fifteen birthday. Maybe in five years time they will get it right.

22oz bottle. Pours clear golden, capped with a moderate sized white head. Musty aroma, with wild yeast, apricot, and citrus. Aroma is very appealing. Dry, musty flavor, with white pepper, wild yeast, and floral notes. Finishes dry, with wild yeast. Pleasant surprise.

5/11/08. Wow this was a real surprise. I loved the fourteenth anniversary and was anticipating Avery’s attempt at a sour. This poured a nice burnt golden color and had a thin white head that faded fast. The smell is pure barnyard funk, but not as good as many other sours. As it warms I can get a little bit of sweet fruit and some of the hibiscus in the nose. The taste was just almost unbearable for me, really musty. Its just a weird sweet and sour taste that is completely unpleasant. I even let it warm from below cellar temp all the way to room temp and it just never worked for me. I had high hopes for this one but it just didn’t perform.

Bottle pour into chilled glass. I’m still a bit new to the sour oriented brett beers. This has some lemon, hay and tart aromas. I’m not sure what is meant by the descriptions of "funk" to me, funk is Tower of Power or Parliment Funkadelic! The flavor started kinda harsh but then I’m growing to like it. I just burped an oak like almost chardonnay wine flavor. Good coating all over my mouth.

Bottle. Clear with an extremely funky nose that actually crosses over the line that marks too far in my generally funk-friendly olfactory system. No putdown intended, but this really smells like someone vomited rancid seal blubber into my worm bin. Serious funk. The taste is actually pretty darn good. Quite dry, heavy on the brett, some oak. Modest acidity, hints of citrus peel. Interesting. I can’t say that I’m enjoying it exactly, but....interesting.

Deep golden color, nice head lasted pretty well. Aroma is very bretty, with the typical funk, faint hints of barnyard, and then hay and spice. The flavor, although still brett dominated, isn’t quite as funky as the nose suggested. The funk is there, but ther is also a nice citric and floral note intertwined with a grainy malt flavor and a somewhat spicy finish. Couldn’t pick out those figs to save my life, but this did reaffirm my desire to try brewing with some freshly picked figs at some point in the future. I really liked this one, and found it to be a very good brett brewed beer.

Bomber. Pours golden color with large off-white head and nice lacing. The aroma is spicy and floral with some apple cider and cellar must notes. The flavor is very herbal and earthy. It has a kind of a fresh green-tea element to it, which I assume is coming from the hibiscus. It gets quite bretty in the middle of the mouth, with lots of earth, must, and apples. The finish is dry and floral with a pleasant, lingering dankness. I’m really digging this, actually, and I’m a little bit surprised at the low ratings. I think it’s a nice twist on the style.

500ml bottle from Ølbutikken, Copenhagen. Decent white head resting for a while on top of a bright amber body. Mild tart fruits to the nose. Oily fruit with figs-accents in flavour, alongside hints of herbs and spices. Alright to drink, but rather unsettled and unsatisfying (hotel room in Valby, 14.09.2008).