Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Boulder, Colorado USA

the first time i tried this beer it was awesome. the best taste taste ive ever had in a beer. sweet but not too sweet not too much of a head and it poured a redish color. high abv wich i enjoy but you you couldn’t taste it. i tried another 1 a few days ago to relive the experience and was dissapointed! it poured kindA tanish-brown not very sweet, like a different beer all together. Avery is one of my favorite brewers now but i cought them slippin on1 of their beers. its still in my top five favs of all time i just want that first time over and over again. no such luck. had i based this rating on my first expeirence it would get a perfect but they let me down some and at $9.00 a 12 oz it should be great every time.

12 oz. bottle from 2005 (batch 1?). Pours a clear copper color with no head at all. The aroma is sweet caramel malt, fruity, port charachteristics, oak, and vanilla. This one smells more like a liquer than a beer (Sam Utopia comes to mind). The flavor is thick chewy SWEET caramel malt, fruity, port, vanilla, and did I mention that it is sweet. The alcohol is present and might be more distracting if this wasn’t so sweet. In small amounts I can drink this and enjoy it somewhat. I ,however, am an idiot and opened this without having anyone to share this demon with. No carbonation, thick and smooth mouthfeel. Definetly the only beer tonight.

Bottle from Keg’s & Barrels in McKinney, TX. Pours a deep clear amber with beige head, retention not all that great. Aroma is strong, lots of dark fruit notes and alcohol. Flavor tripped me....Very sweet, heavy dark fruit, oak, and warming alcohol. Palate is heavy, light-med. carbonation....Overall, pretty powerful beer! I liked this stuff!!! Will by another bottle this weekend...

Poured from a 12oz bottle (Batch 2, bottle in May 2006) and served in a snifter. This barley wine poured a muddy amber with a thin head of beige foam that quickly settled. The aroma of the beer was made up of sugary, perfumey alcohol, dried fruits, toffee, vanilla, and wood. The flavor consisted of raisins, sugar-coated dried fruits, sugary caramel, sugary alcohol, and some oak. Did I mention sugar? Super, super sweet. The mouthfeel was heavy, full-bodied, and sticky. Minimal carbonation. I can usually get some enjoyment out of sugary high alcohol brews, but this really pushed my limits. I’m torn, I liked some aspects of the beer, but 12oz was a bit much to finish. Even age may not tame this beast.

12oz from Total Wine with a honey-oak w/ Dates arome...smells wonderful. Head dissapates quickly but a quick swirl will fix that. Dark Amber in hue w/sediment. Rather smooth on the palate despite the prickle from the carbonation. Taste is full-bodied and very sweet. Sweet to the point that many would have a problem with it. Finish is rediculously oaky. Great, great ale, but hard to justify @ $8.45 a 12’er.

Pours a cloudy, deep copper with a diminishing pale beige head. The aroma is huge in sweet caramel and brown sugar. Tons of woody, oak notes as well. Strong raisin and plums accompanies a more subtle but noticeable warm alcohol aroma. It’s very viscous to the tongue and quite sweet. The caramel that was in the aroma is still quite strong in the flavour. Oak notes are way more noticeable, though, and creates a woody, dryness. Some dark fruit flavours tries to emerge through the intense caramelly sweetness and the woody oak. Alcohol is very, very prevalent in the finish and creates a warming sensation in the chest. The brew becomes lightly dry with the oak notes becoming more intense. It’s still rather sweet, though. That’s really the only downfall of this, in my opinion. It’s just a bit too sweet. Otherwise, it’s quite delicious. It’s like biting into an oak tree.

Pours tepid gold-brown with no head. Aroma is quite sweet and malt-heavy with a large alcohol presence. The flavor follows, toffee malts and alcohol with a huge sugar component. The palate clings, sticky and lifeless. This reminds me of my experience with Thomas Hardy, which was not a great one. Seek out better barley wines that don’t cost as much or leave you as drunk.

12oz bottle, Batch 3, bottles April 2007. Pours hazy amber with a thin offwhite head. The haziness clears as the beer warms up. Ok retention, no lace. Smells a bit like soy sauce. Smells of alcohol and a nice sweet vanilla wood and some malt as well. Tastes potent. Lots of alcohol flavor, some soy sauce sweetness, sweet malts and vanilla wood flavors as well. Full body, good carbonation.