RateBeer
   Home Sign Up or Login Advanced Search
   People Ratings Events Places Forums Shop Magazine
      Top By Category  RateBeer Best  Latest Ratings  Top 50    

Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale - Barley Wine

* picture credits
copyright may apply

 Percentile 
91
overall
Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine

Boulder, Colorado USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
Find this beer

Add Distribution Data
send corrections | shelftag |

 Ratings  Average  Score  Seasonal  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
6293.58/5.03.57/5.0Special15.53%59.9Snifter
View Statistics  P 

Commercial Description:
Samael is the prince of demons, the angel of death, accuser and destroyer. Filled with enmity towards man, he planted the vine, the forbidden tree of paradise. Behold his venom and vengeance, both sweet and tempting, enticing you, his spellbound victim, within his wings.

Samael’s Ale is a super-caramelly, oak aged English-style strong ale. Perhaps the least hoppy (sacrilege here at Avery!!) beer we’ve brewed, to accentuate the malt. The oak is very apparent in this rich and high gravity ale, adding additional depth and complexity with a woody and cask-like nose and a pronounced vanilla flavor on the palate. This potent ale is the second installment, along with The Beast, of our “Demons of Ale Series”.

Brewed with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, turbinado sugar, hops, yeast, and American oak chips.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 alexsdad06 (1056), Ohio, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/56/104/514/20
Jul 10, 2008  
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.


 Swalden28 (1439), McKinney, Texas, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/104/517/20
Jul 10, 2008  
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...


 MoDog (909), Griffith, Indiana, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/56/104/513/20
Jul 8, 2008  
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.


Shaftie (18), , Florida, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/103/58/103/517/20
Jul 8, 2008  
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.


 BossHossBikes (147), Tennessee, USA
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/56/103/514/20
Jul 5, 2008  
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.


 MrChopin (621), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
2.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/102/56/102/512/20
Jul 5, 2008  
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.


 doubleo (1096), San Diego, California, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/103/515/20
Jul 2, 2008  
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.


 dalepryor (172), Paducah, Kentucky, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/57/103/512/20
Jul 1, 2008  
Pours a hazy dark orange with tiny bubbly beige head, aroma is like sweet caramel candy, coconut, vanilla and oak wow i’m picking up big time coconut! Now if this tasted like it smelled it would be the best beer ever, unfortunately it doesn’t come close to it’s aroma and holy shit it burns the back of my throat. This isn’t a horrible beer although i find it very hard to get down and did i mention it burns?



CONSIDER FREE RATEBEER MEMBERSHIP



Join us! RateBeer is made by beer enthusiasts for the craft beer community. Your basic membership is free and allows you to read all beer ratings. Click here to create your account... and give your opinion!

SIGN UP NOW »

View Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63

What's Your Opinion?
Tell us what you think of this beer. Start your free RateBeer account now.
» Click here.

More Barley Wines

Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel) (4.2)

AleSmith Barrel Aged Old Numbskull (4.14)

Lost Abbey The Angels Share (4.11)

Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine (4.09)

Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine (4.06)

Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood (4.06)

Victory Old Horizontal (4.04)

AleSmith Old Numbskull (4.03)

Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-) (4.02)

Marin Old Dipsea Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine Style Ale (3.98)

Barley Johns Barrel-Aged Rosies Ale (Batch 2) (3.98)

Flossmoor Station Wooden Hell (3.98)

Midnight Sun Arctic Devil Barley Wine (3.98)

Three Floyds Bourbon Behemoth (3.97)

Third Coast Old Ale (3.97)


About RateBeer | Add A Beer | Add A Brewer | Edit Personal Info | 100 Beer Club | FAQ | Log out | Feedback? | Copyright 2000-2009, RateBeer LLC