Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

Amazing!!! Pous a vey dark clear ambe. Massive sweet malt on the nose, with carmel and oak. Silky smooth with a heavy body.Massive cany sugar, sweet malt, oak, fruit, and an under tone of hops. Finish is powerful! Alchol is hidden very well. Very nice. Again, very nice. Once more time, very nice.

Bottled 2005. Poured a dense dark amber with absolutely no head, alcoholic viscousness instead of lace. Big "oaky" aroma with slight prune/raisin notes. Heavy body, very malty and big residual sweetness. Underlying alcohol evident. Complex caramel flavor, slightly sticky mouthfeel and late warming make for a sipping this one.

(on bottle) Punched a whole fight trough my tatebuds, this did. I loved the heavyness of alcohol, barley, dirt, wood and old ochards in the aroma. But the first mouthfull was a blast; so much of it all and then so well balanced. Can´t remember last time I had a heavyweight beer that seemed so overwhelming and still was a delight do drink.

Botlle. Batch 2. Moderate malt aromas of molasses and caramel, hop aromas of perfume and light orange, and yeast aromas of leather and beef broth, with date/raisin, alcohol and brown sugar. Head is creamy white with fair lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is a hazy red/brown. Flavor starts heavily sweet and the long finish is moderately sweet and bitter and lightly acidic with a touch of salt. Palate is medium to full, between creamy and syrupy with soft carbonation and finishes moderately alcoholic and quite chewy. I did like this beer because it was definitely bold in all aspects, but it seemed a bit out of balance. I would pick other barley wines over this though.

Well, another strange brew from Avery that fails to impress me. Pours dark amber with some light sedimentation that settles at the bottom. Pleasant aroma of brown sugar, nutmeg and caramel malt, and plenty of alcohol for that matter. Intensely sweet taste, very sticky with notes of raisin and dark fruits, the oak presence is slightly there. Overall, finishes way too alcoholic and syrupy. Raw and off-balance, like much of Avery’s other beastly beers. Mephistopheles is my favorite of them so far. This one ended up as a drainpour. Bad news.

(bottled May 2006, batch 2): Pours a ruby brown color, lighter edges. Off-white head, frothy but small. Hoppy aroma, grapefruit. Dark woodsy scent, malts and alcohol. Aroma of spices when inhaling deeply, some sweetness and caramel. Caramel and sweetness, dark raisiny taste. Spices, clove. Sickly sweet aftertaste. Warming up...taste of somethng dark might be the oak - a hard flavor. A lot of alcohol. Too alcoholy.

12oz bottle. Pours a dark ruby-red/amber with a thin mocha-colored head. Aroma is extremely strong with hints of caramel, honey, butterscotch, and molasses -- almost overpoweringly sweet. Taste is full and oddly bitter yet sweet with an initial flavor of caramel and honey giving way to a boozy bite, followed by a longer finish reminiscent of a very woody or peaty scotch. Interesting elements to this brew, but they don’t quite come together as well as they could.

A beguilingly sweet and nutty aroma and frothy head with caramel and hazelnut undertones makes this a striking brew, to say the least. The actual flavor shows a remarkable range between malt, coffee, chocolate, caramel, and the smoky peat of scotch with a stable, sweet finish. Would ideally be served as a beer with dessert, it would be nicely paired with poached fruit and ice cream.