Avery Fifteen

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

22oz bottle. Served a little too cold in a Duvel tulip. The aroma is fruity, with predominately light fruits (pears/apples) but with a bit of dark fruits (figs/prune) tossed in as well. The aroma is also slightly spicy with some sharp wheat and lightly kilned malt. The brett is light in the aroma and it manifests itself as a sort of musty cellar. The beer is a hazy orange with a one fingered head. The taste is very odd indeed. Light malt and candi sugar give way to a funkiness that is unlike anything I have tasted before, maybe an old dusty basement? There is also a fair amount of fruitiness present with the dark and light fruits both equally represented and an almost harsh spiciness, which I would guess to be the white pepper. The finish is dry and tastes of pears and lingering spiciness. It is interesting? Most certainly. Is it something I would open a second bottle of right after this one? No. I do have a second bottle and I’ll bet a little age will improve this beer a fair amount. The pepper will settle down, the flavors will merge a little more and the brett will come to play and really alter the beers flavor.

ADDITIONAL NOTES. I opened the second bottle about six months after the first one I had. The brett is more prominent, but the beer is not much better. The brett seems to be the same strain as used in De Proef and it gets pretty wild tasting over time, somewhat akin to rotting wood or a musty basement. The spiciness seems to have died down a bit, the white pepper seems to be there, but not overpowering. There are some nice floral and fruity notes to the beer, as well as some herbal and earthy flavors, but the brett aspect of it is so off-putting that I really wonder if it is worth it to finish the beer. Once again, this is a neat beer, but just not something I will ever enjoy. Honestly, I think my score is way too high in relation to my enjoyment of the beer. I dropped this from a 3.3 to a 2.9.

22 oz. bottle, bottled in April 2008, blurb along the right side of the label, sampled in a tulip glass. L: Slightly hazy and sunny orangey copper in color with a fast rising eggshell white head that slowly subsides into a sudsy skim. A minimum amount of splotchy lace winds its way around the brim of the glass. As I consumed this wild ale, lace dots followed the body down the glass, overall, I find this to be a good looking beer. S: Tasty brettanomyces aromas of musty leather, funky earth and mellow tart fruits, green apples and pears with a touch of sweet peaches. The figs have a jam-like smell. Light scents of white pepper, woody herbs and flowers in the background. At the edges is a framing grassy grain, hints of chalky yeast as well. I thought Fifteen had an outstanding wild ale smell, everything was in the right portion and finely balanced, this should age nicely over the next couple of years. F: Dexterous carbonation gives the body a light airy feel in the mouth, softly firm and creamy. Finishes on a spry dry and crisp note with some spicy tingling on the tongue. T: The yeast shines in the taste, an good complexity of flavors. Mildly tart fruitiness, green pears come to forefront, followed by green grapes and a splash of peach juice. The black figs adds a homemade jam sweetness to the fruity yeast flavors. As you arrive in the middle comes the subtle tastes of new leather and spicy, earthy chalk, adding another yeasty dimension to the taste. The white pepper is pretty light, carefully measured against the woody herbs. The end brings out tastes of grassy grains and dry wheat grainy crackers. The alcohol is well concealed, a mix of tart fruits and pepper with a low temperature warmth in the palate. D: The Fifteen is a pleasantly enjoyable sipping wild ale, grows more easy to consume as you make your way down the bottle. Another fantastic anniversary/specialty ale from Avery, I can’t wait to see what they come up with for the Sixteenth.

Pours a light amber color with an off-white head. Aroma is interesting with some lemon, floral aroma, dark fruits, caramel, and a little funk from the yeast but not much. Flavor was a little better then i thought it was going to be. Not amazing but just good. Light, floral flavors dominate at first that give way to the sweeter flavors of lemon, yeast, and caramel. Finish was what I liked about this beer the most. Out of nowhere the spices and a hint of funk come out.

Pours a clear pale golden body with a frothy white head. Aroma is medium sweet, sour grape, light brett, light lemon and light banana. Flavor is moderately sweet, grape, banana, lemon and light horse blanket. Medium body, creamy texture. Finishes with a bit more of a horsey note.

THOUGHTS: Almost like a Christmas in July sorta beer. Lots of Christmas spiciness, but way lighter base. Nice beer, but a little disappointing for an anniversary beer. Maybe if anniversary beers didn’t come out every year they would be more special. Not funky at all. Ever so slight funk when yeast is added. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a clear, light orange (hazy, orange cream after yeast), with a small, frothy, white head that mostly diminished. The aroma was peach, apple juice, spices, I guess the one scent is hibiscus flowers (a little sour orange once yeast is added). The initial flavor was lightly sweet and moderately acidic; while the finish was moderately sweet, lightly acidic and bitter and slightly sour with an average duration. Most of the finish flavor goes quickly but the yeast lingers. There was an almost peach or nectarine-like flavor, then some spiciness. There was a little funk in the last sip, which was full of yeast. The light to medium body started juicy like biting into a fresh peach or nectarine then became dry with very fizzy carbonation and a moderate astringent and light alcoholic finish.

copper pour, fluffy off-white head. Slightly pink hue with a little spotty lace. Overwhelming waxy aroma with subtle hints of hibiscus. Weird, but complex flavor, but in my opinion the flavors just dont blend to well. Overdominated by pepper and hibiscus I feel I missed out on the brett flavor i’ve grown to love.

Congratulations to Avery on 15 years of great beers. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a spicy beer. Maybe I got a bad pour after the "4K on the 4th" race at Avery’s tasting room. But I found this to be pedestrian. It poured a light copper color with aromas of figs and dried fruit. The taste was a bit grassy with floral highlights and lots of spice. Light bodied and bubbly. Just wasn’t my cup of beer.

Dull golden-amber with a head that could not hold. Peachy, woody aroma with a bit of brett and a lot of fruit (mainly fig, but some plum, apricot). Palate has hints of acidity, wood, a strong fig taste, light fruit. Neat beer - it’s going to improve a lot over the next six months as the brett becomes more prominent.