Avery Salvation

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Boulder, Colorado USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottled. Charneol colour with creamy white head. Rich aroma from almond paste, sweet cookies and underlying red berries. Hops chime in well too. The nose is reminiscent of St Bernardus Triple. Mouthfeel is big, with almond paste, tinny phenols, sweet malt and cookies. Surely not sweet but there is a solid malt sweetness felt in the finish. Light bitterness, which I assume is bigger than that of a Belgian Golden Ale. Really good beer.

Clear, bit hazy, golden orange color, short head. Aroma of hop, fruity, citrus, bit herbal, floral. Very sweet, bit hoppy taste, honey, bit dusty. I expected some more of this brew. Not better than average.

Appearance: Pours a clear, lightly copper body with a full, foamy, white head. Smell: Aroma smelling lightly of fruits (mainly peaches and pears) shrouded in a layer of nutmeg and allspice. Slight bready malt character, too. Taste: Sweet and malty upfront, with full tastes of simple syrup stirred up with light caramel. Fruit juices enter the picture, giving flavors of peaches and pears and even figs. Floral, spicy hops with a medium bitter; not nearly enough to scrub away all the sweetness unleashed. What has been wrought the hops cannot unwrought. Some solventy alcohol near the end. Floral, spicy-packed finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: A nice, pleasant Belgian Strong Golden, though a bit overtly sweet.

Bottle (bomber) from Systembolaget.Clear deep golden, small white head. Apricot and almond paste aroma, some earthy and spicy notes as well. Medium bodied, medium carbonation. Dry with medium bitterness.

Tripel-like appearace and aroma, with notes of apricot, apple, peach and spice - the flavor doesn’t quite offer up what the aroma promises - this walks a fine line between "delicate" and "weak/thin" and it doesn’t always lean toward the good side of that line - light fruits predominate at first, pear, grape skins - saison spice shows up late, with a gradual swell of hops that don’t seem to meld nearly as well with the spice as they could (or should) - a good, albeit out-of-balance effort.

Bottle. Pours clear gold with a white head. The aroma is sweet fruity with hops and peach. The flavor is sweet and yeasty with light hops and general fruity esters. Lightly dry finish. Pretty good.

UPDATED: JUN 24, 2008 On tap at Brewski’s in Fayetteville AR. Rich deep gold. Thin white head. Very Tripel tasting. Has a candy aroma. Candy apples in fact. This has a rich sweetness for such a surprising quick finish. Medicinal flavor is pronounced. Coats the tongue like melted butter. Tremendous UPDATE: Aged 5 years in the bomber bottle. Hazy orange gold. Thin white head. Tastes a lot like Bro. Davids, except it has a big hop finish instead of smoothness. Big esters, big bananas, some diacetyl. Overall, I’d say this did not age too well.

UPDATED: DEC 17, 2006 2003 bottle sampled July 2004. Pours a sparklingly bright golden yellow with deep orange tinges and a lovely off-white foamy head. Aroma of candi sugar, light nectarines, yeast and a mild spice. Flavor is magnificent. Upon first sip I fell in love with this one. Just the most smooth, remarkably soft and luxurious palate. Not challenging with spice, no acid/alcohol burn or overcarbonation to get around. Wow. The flavor has soft yellow fruit notes, a very present and bold belgian yeast with a moderately sweet malt on the finish. As it warmed and breathed, every sip got better; more fruit, a softer palate and more delectable flavors to pick out (light cinnamon, hints of vanilla and orange). The hops never get in the way and arent very apparent, but keep the malt sweetness in check without you even realizing it. Superb and one of the best beers I’ve tried lately. Give me a bit more going on in the aroma (which suffers from the beer’s easygoing, soft subtle nature), some bottle conditioning and maybe a touch more yeasty funkiness and this would be near or perfect. 8/4/9/4/18
2005 bottle consumed 12/17/06.
Head is still quite full and frothy, slightly off-white. Fades to cover, but retained there, with some small, patchy lacing left behind. Clear, filtered.
Apples are the first thing I smell in the nose. Not green apple, but a sourish sort of cider apple. Perhaps just old hop notes? It doesnt seem to come out of the beer either throuh breathing. Candi sugar, some yellow fruit esters and a bit of alcohol.
The flavor takes some getting used to. There is definitely a lot of candi sugar felt, with alcohol present as well. The filtered body is not overly thin or watery and the carbonation fairly good for being forced. Pretty simple, with some hop flavor and lots of phenols on the end. Score is for this bottle.