Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

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

Sample from bottle. Really very sweet, a little too sweet. Syrup, vanilla and some oak. Thick.

Bottle from 5 points. Thought I had rated this before. Smells like a huge, ba bw. Wow, tons of alcohol burn, vanilla, sweetness, and oak. Finish is looooong and like maple syrup. Too sweet, but give it five years and it’d be really good.

Pours light brown with a small off-white head. Aroms is wood, oak, whiskey, light malt and light alcohol. Flavour is sweet malt, oak, whiskey, alcohol. Vineous.

16.45% Alcohol. $15 at Flying Saucer, Columbia SC. Strong aged oak, almost whiskey aroma, and of course alcohol. Vanilla and caramel mixed with the spices at times gave it an aroma of a sweet pina colada that was light on coconut...only at times though. Taste was even more woody, syrupy compared to other styles, but has a more pleasing, thinner viscosity than other Barley Wines. More vanilla, brown sugar, and malted barley in the taste. Need to have another bottle, and wish I didn’t let so many other people try a sip, but it is a truly unique beer!

Thick and sweet, definite alcohol content in the flavor. Pretty complex, varied flavors.

Batch 5, 16.45%. I haven’t had a good old barleywine in a while, so I was pleased to find this in my time of need. Pours a clear brown with a medium off-white head that shrinks slowly. Aroma has a lot of sweet caramel, brown sugar, candy sugar, dates, figs, honey, and alcohol. The flavor is dominated by alcohol, but still present are sweet brown sugar, caramel, delicious malts, not-so-delicious nail polish remover. Still pretty complex underneath the alcohol. Total sugar and malt bomb, for those of us who dig that. Mellow mouthfeel, medium viscosity, sticky finish. This will be amazing in 5 years. Right now it’s a little young, but still a fun way to get kicked in the balls. Overall, very good plus.

12 oz. bottle-batch 4 - Harsh, alcohol flavor, even whiskey. Muddy brown look with little head. Malt overpowers hops, not as good as The Beast. This beer does not mellow as it warms, harsh til the end.

Per the label: Bottled in May 2006 - Batch 2. I don’t quite recall the location of purchase, but apparently it was for $8.49. Appearance: Pours out a lightly cloudy, pecan-colored body with a thin, ivory-hued head that settles into a small ring around the inner perimeter of the glass. Smell: A sharp, highly sweet-smelling nose of sugars on top of sugars and, for a brief moment, I’d swear I saw the Spectre of Diabetes in the mirror nearby. The scent of candied goodness, abundant caramel, piquant American oak wood, and macerated dark fruits draws you in closer only to be nasally stabbed by some jutting, jabbing currents of fusel alcohol. Taste: Incredibly sweet! In fact, I’ll admit to outright grimacing like I missed the lottery by just one number. And on the second sip, and the third, and the fourth, and so on. It’s like a good horror flick that can still make you ’jump’ on multiple viewings years later. Caramel candy with pure sugar sweetness that never fully goes away, but merely allows fruity tastes of poached raisins, dried orange peel, and fig juice to arrive. Small pinch of acidity. Faint, long-dead hop character throwing off hints of citrus and spicy, but with no more than a little bitterness remaining at this point -- get real, like anything could really ever cut through this much sweetness. Woody, tannic oak taste with a stingy bit of vanilla, but, just like everything else, you need to get in line behind the sweetness. The only thing that seems to be able to cut through the sugars at all is the alcohol. Finishes sweet with plenty of heat. Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: To call this one a slow sipper is a bit of an understatement. While I’d tout other beers for their keen drinkability, here I’d give myself a pat on the back for the ability to drink and endure the entire twelve ounces. Also, it may or may not have been the initial jaw-seizing grimace, but, either way, all this sweetness has caused one of my teeth to hurt. =(