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Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

Percentile
91
overall

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
6303.58/5.03.57/5.0Special15.53%59.5Snifter
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?  
 dhlesq (233), Thousand Oaks, California, USA
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/102/56/102/514/20
Nov 7, 2006  
Aroma of raisins, caramel, cabernet-type oak and tannins. Appears a clear red-amber color with no head to speak of. Flavor is cloyingly sweet, vinous, and reminiscent of port wine - good with cheese and salami. Palate is thick and syrupy and a bit excessive. Overall, a very interesting brew that is a bit more than the sum of its parts. The recipe is, however, way out of whack, and could benefit from an attempt at rebalancing. My thanks to SoLan for this interesting brew.


 Schultsc (482), Henderson, Nevada, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/105/518/20
Nov 2, 2006  
Deep copper color with a thin, creamy buff head. Amazing aroma: sweet wildflower honey intermingled with grapey dessert wine-like nectar and some toasty oak. Oak again in th flavor as coconut and vanilla with other tropical fruit flavors as well. All of this above a lot of stron sweetness with light toffee, caramel, turbinado flavors underneath that. Light bitterness throughout with a prominient, yet uncannily well balanced alcohol character (14.5%!--would not have guessed it). Quite nimble and light-bodied considering the flavor intensity and complexity levels present here. Overall, highly unique and quite a surprise.


 antzman (313), Clarksville, Indiana, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/517/20
Oct 29, 2006  
Not really sure how this falls into the barley wine style.... seems very much an English style strong ale. Anyway, 12 oz bottle. Pours a dark brown with a thin tan head. Just a little lacing on the glass. The aroma has hints of oak, vanilla, sweet fruits. The first taste is pretty sweet, but then a swell of alcohol comes through. Whoa, this is pretty complex. The flavor is full of vanilla, oak, dark fruits, and the sweetness of sugar. The finish is pretty sweet to start, but the beer gets better as it warms up. Excellent beer, whatever style this is supposed to be.


jeffdog22 (23), lakeland, Florida, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/104/517/20
Oct 28, 2006  
Very sweet...jolly rancher...became more and more delicious as it warmed up...cranberry, vanilla...certainly like a port wine...little too sweet to be a top notch barleywine though...bottle...redlight redlight...orlando


 tennisjoel (937), Shakopee, Minnesota, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/56/103/515/20
Oct 27, 2006  
Bottle. I’ve always found Avery to be hit and miss. This beer is kind of in the middle. I think the alcohol is well hidden. The flavor is decent; accentuating fruity peach flavors and vanilla attack the palate. There is little to no hops here and because of this lack of balance, the beer comes off as slightly cloying. It’s easier for me to put this down than the beast for sure, but I think the heavy sweetness would make tough for me to handle multiples of this beer (probably a good thing with the strength here).


 moejuck (1165), Ohio, USA
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/56/103/513/20
Oct 20, 2006  
Samaels pours out a red-tinted brown with a medium head. The aroma is of caramel malt and it is sugary and alcohol laden. The taste is bunches of alcohol and mollasses thrown on top of some more sugar. I probably need to lay one of these down for a few years and give it another shot, but for now it is just too overpowering for me.


 ElGaucho (1730), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/103/58/103/515/20
Oct 16, 2006  
Bottle. 2005 Bottling. Rich, alcholic, vinous, wood aged aroma. Caramel notes in the nose, sweet. Murky, honey colored, reddish amber body with a small, slightly off-white head that erodes to a mere ring, which later becomes no ring. Initial mouthfeel is sweet, sweet alcohol. Rich, powerful and caramelly. They had to dump in loads of sugar when they made this brew. You almost have to compare this to a port, yet this is sweeter and less vinous. As an after dinner dessert beverage, I prefer port. As a barleywine, it is too sweet without enough backbone. For sugarheads, it doesn’t get much better.


 BrewDad (2366), Olympia, Washington, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/516/20
Oct 13, 2006  
[Bottle - Johns Market] A great flavor Oak Aged beer. Loved the warm feeling this beer gave off. A strong after tatse and a dry finish. This is a great beer.



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