Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

12oz. Bottle: Aroma is sour and smells like Stilton cheese. Also smells a bit sweet, with hints of sourdough, caramel, dough, and candy. Very strange scent. Pours copper in color with a big, creamy, frothy, tan head that lasted throughout. Very good lacing. Cloudy. Sparkling. Flavors of alcohol, caramel, malt, vanilla, wood, sugar, and dough. Very complex flavor that changes several times from first sip to swallow. Heavily sweet. Slightly sour. Not bitter at all. Very unbalanced. No hop presence, just balls out malt. Texture is thick and viscous. Full body. Flat carbonation. Long, sweet alcohol & malt finish. Overall, I don’t like barley wines, but at least I could see the craft in this beer, and finish it too.

Nice reddish color. Very strong pungent aroma but in a nice way. Sweet, very lingering flavor and mouthfeel. Whiskey and bourbon are very present. Aftertaste has a presense of an aged whiskey, smooth yet acidic. A very interesting beer to say the least.

very strong beer has a syrupy overall essence. the alcohol is very pronouced. Very sweet Unusual aroma, and nice. This is a beer that is more like a liquore, like an after dinner apertif.

Wow...that’s the first word that comes to my mind. I think I’m drinking a cross between beer, wine, and whiskey. What a strange and unique combination. I’m not really sure if I truly like it, but I have to give it credit on it’s uniqueness. I say give it a try and decide for yourself.

Wow. This is one unique beer. It’s really tough for me to say if I liked it or not. I couldn’t quite finish the whole 12 oz bottle, but I’ve never tasted anything quite like it. has all the characteristics of a barleywine but with some unique twists. Pours a hazy dark orange with minimal carbonation. The nose smelled of gingerbread and prunes; really quite pungant. The thick, chewy and malty body led to an explosion of flavors on the palate... Sweet, malty, hoppy, gingerbread, yeast, raisins, prunes.... Almost reminded me of an Amarone wine. The finish was incredibly long. I was tasting hops 5 minutes later. Worth a try... but REALLY SWEET. A truly unique beer.

Shared with Theis. Pours a clear amber with a small tanned head. Very heavy sweetness. Smells of almond liqueir. Lots of (sweet versions of) fruits: cherries, plums and strawberries... topped off with toffee. Also rather bready with notes of almonds. Extremely heavy bodied. Wine/port like. Lots of alcohol. Soft carbonation. Also oak, cork and honeish sweetness in the finish. Too sweet for me... I wouldn´t be able to finish a whole bottle.

Bottle. Color: Light amber. Aroma: Vanilla, whisky. Flavor: Malty, caramel. Vanilla. Alcohol

Bottle. Nice aroma of vanilla and red wine with some hints of red apple. Clear copper with small white, short lived, head and OK lazing. Flavor is shockingly sweet and dominated by cane sugar with notes of overripe banana. Hot, alcoholic in the finish with a long sweet finish. Viscous mouth feel. Warms the chest after as you swallow. As cloying as a young Thomas Hardy’s ale but more alcoholic. The oakiness helps balance this beer and makes it drinkable in spite of the sugariness. As the rest in the ’Demon’ series it seems under attenuated. I think Avery should consider refermentation in the bottle for their stronger beers to add complexity and ensure full attenuation - but who am I, to question their methods?