Avery Fifteen

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

Date: June 13, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta
Appearance: clear copper, wispy off white head, sudsy bits of lace
Aroma: leathery aroma with musty cobweb character, touch of caramel sweetness, grassyness
Flavor: lightly sweet caramel malt flavor, touch of spicyness, light bret adds complexity with a nice mustyness, light balancing bitterness, funk grows as the bottle warms and balances out the base caramel malt
Overall: the bret is young and will develop over time as it eats through the remaining sweetness

Date: March 15, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Aroma: sweetness in the aroma is fading as the bret grabs control and blooms, no grassy character
Flavor: caramel sweetness is gone from the flavor as well, funk has grown nicely, musty funk is still well restrained and balanced with the base malt
Overall: goes well with cheese

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

too fruity. Poured a light golden hue with a white head that seemed to have decent lacing. Aroma was somewhat grassy but had some weird fruit notes No real flower or pepper notes at all, just fruit. Figs just don’t work with beer.

marjetsquare liquor tallahassee, poured a cloudy light orange. aroma is funky, fruit spices and dirt. taste is yeast, fruit jam, pepper, oranges. best drank cold, as it warmed it became very peppery and even more funky, hiding the fruit.

Pours pale gold with a fizzy white head. Aromas of bread, funky cheese, and more bread. I’m trying to keep an open mind. Wow, interesting flavor: lots of tartness and an assertive yeast flavor. Not getting much of the fig or hibiscus but hints of pepper are apparent as is something that may be hazelnut. A bit of copper toward the end. Medium body and a long dry finish that reminds me of Orval. Hmmm . . .

650 ml, Apr 08 vintage. Clear burnt orange-golden with a small creamy head that leaves thin frosting on the glass. Aroma is citronella, mushroom, peach, apple and orange peel with some slight evergreen. Flavor is white wine, tart apple, citrus oil, and light alcohol. Cheap white wine and citronella finish. Light body is dry and too fizzy.

This is one to try a few times, that’s for sure. I fully enjoyed my first bottle, though I think I did expect the whole thing to be a bit beefier - more a testament to my expectations than anything. Aroma is total bret that makes it feel rather peachy. Flavors are jammy, peachy, and a hint of spice. I expected the fig to show though a bit more, but it still was good. My wife loved it. I think I’ll get a few more, one to try super cold, and a few to let sit for a year or two to see what happens.

Pre-Note: The beer is better at colder temps rather than near cellar temps.
Dirty orange color with a bright white fuzzy-looking head. The nose was very nice though maybe a tad too sweet..but it exhibited nice brett notes, lemon-lime, cardamom, white pepper, and jaimaca. Fizzy intro...Somewhat muddled flavors at the start and noticeably more bitter than is usual for the style. The sour brett characteristics are there in a subtle sort of "Orval" way, though this is no Orval. After a while i find myself wondering if the flavors are muddled or if the bitterness distracts you, making it hard to distringuish the different things going on in the flavors...because I feel as though I should really like what’s going, I just can’t break it down to why i like it., This beer is very similar to 3 of my favorite ales, Orval, Burton Bridge Old Expensive, and Heavyweight Chuck...primarily in the way that these beers use the brett profile..unfortunately, i think i need to put this Avery 15 at the bottom of that list...though the more i drink it, the more i am seeming to like it...it’s the bitterness that throws me..I don’t think it’s compatible with the rest of the beer. In Fact, this beer might be awesome in 9 months to a year, when the brett gets stronger and the hops subside...will be cellaring some for sure. I want to add though that I very rarely find something i really like in an Avery Beer...and I think i finally found something i really like...I am just going to need to be a little patient. Note: Even better on tap, less bitterness and brett notes more pronounced.

Bottle from Sam’s Clybourn. Clear apple juice color with a little foamy head. Nose is strongly of tart apple jiuce, Brett funk, some rotting wood. My problem with this type of beer is the exclusive use of Brett as the fermenting agent. It leaves it without the clean and refeshing acid kick that would put it over the top. Taste is muted and spicy, lots of malt character, though no real tartness. Reminds me of It’s Alive!, in a bad way. Meh.