Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

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

Bottle. Orange brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is alcohol, licorice, fruit, citrus. Flavour is alcohol, licorice, hop,fruit,caramel. Nice beer.

2006 Bottle. Poured a cloudy burnt orange. Nice airy head dicipates fast and no carbonation thereafter. Aroma very sweet like oak candy with fruit syrup sundae undertones. Taste was very sweet in the beginning, middle and end. When the sugar was gone taste more sugar and some alcohol and dark dried fuits. With a small burp during intermission of this high alcohol prince, mostly the oak comes back up. The sugar must have dissolved into my already sweet veins.

Date: 10/20/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

clear amber, sweet spicy malt aroma, thick body, sweet syrup malt flavor, hot, all sweet
-------- /> Date: 08/16/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2005

hot sweet vanilla and oak aroma, sweet hot buttered caramel flavor, caramel candy sweetness, touch of fleeting alcohol, hint of light oak, just a bitof spicy bitterness in the finish,
-------- /> Date: 11/25/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2007

sweet hot caramel malt aroma, sweet vanilla flavor with more of the oak than before,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **4

2005 bottle. I have had this one for a really long time and just never got around to drinking it. I cannot comment on how this is in the fresh bottles, because I have never had that, but I will say that the two year age on it gave it a very pleasant tasting slightly oxidized fabulous beer. It pours out a hazy brown color with no head at all, there is very light carbonation as well with this one. The smell is full of sweet sugar, some sherry smells, a hint of oak and vanilla, and some alcohol. Taste is smooth and sweet and very thick. The alcohol is not really that prominent either, especially for a beer that is 14.9% abv. Really good stuff, and I noticed the first ratings of this beer were lower, so perhaps the age makes this way better. I will certainly get another bottle or two of this and throw it in the cooler. Very good beer. Seriously underrated. Perhaps they need to quit filtering it and fill it up with sludge so it will get better praise from the Gods.

12oz. red-foil wrapped bottle. Pours a gorgeous shade of amber - deep, almost-opaque, auburn with highlights of reddish-brown and orange. The head pours very thick, soft, tightly-bubbled, and tan in color. It quickly fades into a thin layer of tan, deeply spotted, that leaves no lace. Aroma is tremendous: oak, molasses, vanilla, rum-covered dates, and bourbon. There is also a distinct sting in the nostril from alcohol with a hint of smoke. The flavor starts with a lovely bittersweetness that is full of soft fruit, caramel, and sticky, sweet malts. There is also a distinct taste of bourbon that builds towards the middle of the tongue, and adds a burn to the back of the throat. The intense caramel malt is balanced by a fruity hop bitterness and the big taste of oak barrels. The alcohol is apparent on the tongue throughout, and a buzz comes very quickly. The mouthfeel is thick - like normal gravity beer was mixed with real maple syrup. The carbon dioxide and the alcohol tickle the tongue all over and provide a touch of creamy milkiness. Overall - an intense experience.

12 oz, bottled May 06, batch 2. Cloudy copper-orange with a large creamy and lasting head. Nose is spicy vanilla candle soaked in sweet wine, complete with earthy wax and wick odors. Taste is initially very sweet, but subsequent sips show the balance provided by the warming alcohol and slight presence of some bittering hops (taste a bit like Saaz) on the finish. Ends up like caramel drizzled over toasted pecans with some flambee tastes in there as well. The oak shows up a bit more in the aftertaste. Palate is thick, but drys well on the end. Great sipping winter warmer and/or dessert beer.

April 2007 Batch #3 -- This one was way too sugary for me. aroma of caramel, malt , and wood. syrupy taste. hot with alcohol. like others have said - may need to sit for a while. K - 5

Bottle. (brewed May. 2006, #2) The pour is orange-brown and hazy, with a lively carbonation forming a quite small, beige head. The nose starts off with some alcohol, wood and vanilla the very moment you start to pour. Those aromas follows all the way until the glass is emptied. When taking a deeper sniff, apricot, sugary caramel, beef-stock and a wee note of pine joins in to form a quite complex picture. The sort you can let your nose enjoy for minutes. Slipping the beer into your mouth is a pleasant experience, full-bodied and sweet as this beer is. There’s a good dash of alcohol in it as well, making me note to myself that I should get another bottle or two for cellaring. I guess it will be even better after some years in my basement. There’s fruityness, especially apricot, and some woodyness as well in the mouth, along with caramel and a little bitterness. The bitterness is present in the finish too, and so is both the alcohol, fruityness, sweetness and some notes of wood. Quite oily texture, not exactly palate cleansing. Long after the last swallow, the warming sensation from the alcohol, as well as the sticky feeling from the sugar is felt in your mouth. And then, suddenly, the glass is empty, except for some nice lacings still clinging to the sides of the glass.

This August summer-day was quite chilly, and I wanted something heavy and warming, which Samael provided. Normally it would better suit a cold winter night, or a stormy autumn evening, but today it was nice. And as mentioned before, I want more of this. If it wasn’t for the price of it, I would buy crates of it, to secure warming nights during the dark season. I know of many beers I would like more, but this was one hell of a potent brew. (070814)