Avery Anniversary Fourteen

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

Brown beer that turns more red when you hold it to the light. Fairly thick off-white head. Imagine my surprise when I take a sniff and come up with some tangerine smelling west coast hops! Beyond that there’s molasses and roasted coffee in there. I was well prepared for the citrus I got from the first taste and rather happy about the raw blackstrap molasses in the middle. The Finish? Maybe a little rough. A tad boozy which I expect from Avery offerings. For some reason, American beers seem to rarely get the carbonation levels right on these Belgian attempts. The carbonation is lively but not in that super spritzy mountain of head way. Forget about the finish then, these suckers are good! Congrats to Avery for Fourteen Years of brewing!

Bottle. Aroma of sweet malt / raisins, caramel, tropical fruit, and citrus. Flavor is similar to the smell, but with some hints of chocolate and a light roasted / toasted finish. Very tasty beer.

Dark chocolate appearance with a large tan head and lots of lacing. Toffeeish, caramel malt aroma, very fruity, with hints of plums, raisins and figs; nor do you have to dig very deep to encounter the sprucy hops. The initial earthy, roasted malt taste is counterbalanced with a big dose of hops exhibiting nuances of pine and citrus, along with a faint spicy note. Full bodied, decently carbonated mouthfeel that wears its abv like a badge of honor. Mildly bitter, long lasting finish.

Took a while for this to grow on me, but think I hadn’t waited near long enough for it to warm up (still not used to my new fridge). As it warmed, the initial blast of alcohol/sweetness/hops diminished, decided to shake hands and come out and play as friends. Still not quite sure I’m in love with it, but does have a quality that seems it might possible do well with a little age. Sure hope so as I’m hanging onto a bottle for that purpose.

UPDATED: AUG 28, 2009 22 oz. bottled in 2007 poured into a Trappist glass has a a black color with red highlight when held to the light. carbonation is fairly steady and there is a nice looking tan layer on the surface that seemed to erupt from the center through the whole glass. aroma consists of tons of dark ripe fruit, brown sugar, malt, spicy yeast, and molasses. I’m thinking at this point that this one is a real treat. flavor is just as the nose with gobs of plumb, raisin, prune, creamy molasses malt, quite chewy with hops and yeast spices mixing very nicely. mouth feel is complementary coating the tongue with a medium body. alcohol is faintly noticeable and there is a light hit of anise finishing with back round dry hops and some malted bitter. this is well balanced and one of the best i have tried from Avery.

22oz - Aroma of chocolate, caramel, raisin, molasses and piney hops. Pours deep dark brown with a think brown head and great lacing. Flavor is rich with chocolate, piney hops, caramel, earthy hops, brown sugar and finishes with raisin and prune. Palate is sticky and sweet but tart. A unique and tasty brew. One of my favorite Anny brews from Avery.

Bottle. Dark mahogany in color, clear with that stable, creamy American ale head. Distinct aroma with smoke, tobacco and caramel. Upfront, this ale is big on US hops, resinous, piney, bold. The flavors move into uncertain terrain with an unharmonious combination of tart, acrid, caramel, fruity and bitter notes. Long hoppy, bitter and tangy finish. Really a pretty interesting ale that could be refined by the brewer and I would like to revisit.

Draught at Avery. Dark brown almost black with medium tan head. Aroma is spicy sweet with hints of molasses and deep caramel malt, nice pungent hop profile. Taste has strong hop presence with rich malty dried fruit at backend. Medium sweetness at start. Hints of chocolate. Medium bodied but hearty. Awesome brew.