Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

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

Bottle. Thanks to YourDarkLord for bringing this out for me to sample. Pours translucent copper with a faint off white head. Sweet syrupy aroma, along with some vanilla and strong liquer. Flavor of caramel, dark fruits, alcohol, and a hint of vanilla. Not a lot of oakey wood traits in my sample, perhaps a little light on the hops also. Slighty stickiness on the finish, with a hint of solvent like alcohol bite. Interesting beer. Not sure I would buy again.

Disappointing. Pours brown with floaties suspended in the thick, carbonation-free liquid. No head could be forced from this one. Aroma is very nice, sweet and caramel with a heavy oak quality. The oak is "very apparent" in the taste, just as the description points out. Problem is it only enhances the overly sweet caramel-malt of this brew. The alcohol came out as the beer warmed, making this sticky-sweet syrup that became undrinkable. I will try this again, and pray I just got a bad bottle this time around.

Nice dark amber color,small off white head that faded quickly leaving nothing behind.The aroma was malty sweet with a good fruity side some caramel and mild hops.The flavor was pretty big nicely malty with some nice fruit and a hint of caramel some definate alcohol coming on in the middle and end.Pretty good brew all around but could use a bit of age i think to really bring out the flavors,because the alcohol does sort of get in the way a bit on this one.

Wonderful demonic label...."holy friggin oak aging"-J.F....deep into the night at this point ....such a high alcohol aroma and sweet syrupy taste...very honey like...a sweet sipper...:)

I had this beer 2 other times before this rating, so by now I know to pour this thing QUICKLY into the glass to get some head. Finally, a head, that fades into lacing that sticks around forever. Aroma is sweet and strong, mostly vanilla, with some bready notes and a slightly hot sort of spiciness to it. I can smell this beer a mile away, considering my rather weak nose, which I like. Taste is similar, but even fuller to the point of excess, with lots of vanilla, caramel, and oak notes, plus some very light floral qualities that add character. The beer finishes pretty much as sweet, but the sugar flavors dissolve more quickly, leaving something that tastes more like cake than hops. Thankfully I like cake, and I wouldn’t have known I’d like it in a beer till this one. The feel of this beer is incredibly thick, and it’s fun to watch the bubbles physically struggle to reach the surface. I feel the finish is too light for the mouthfeel though. The cake taste is nice and unique, but the aftertaste is so much more narrow than the mouthfeel would suggest. As a barleywine, I think this beer falls short with the lack of balance. Still, I’ve got quite the sweettooth, and this beer satisfies greatly in that regard. If this beer was in 4-packs, it could really compete with Immort Ale.

Thanks to Steve (chef201atc) I got to try an 08 bottle sooner than otherwise. Pours a little less hazy than the 07, but not as dark as the 05. The OG is lower at 1.130 and the alcohol is up at 15.5%. It tastes pretty similar to the 07 version which is my favorite year for this beer, but it’s a bit boozier, yet more drinkable. I think Avery’s striving to bring out the complexities in this beer by making it a bit less sweet and overall it’s working. Still, I think the 07 was slightly better in that regard. This beer is a bit similar to the 07 Beast than Samael has been in the past.

bottle - Pours copper with a very thin but lingering head. The aroma smells sweet, fruity, and boozy. The taste is very, very sweet. I taste some oak and fruit notes under all that sugar. Moderately full bodied and lightly carbonated. The sweetness continues in the finish. It’s a decent beer, but the syrupy sweetness is overdone. Good, but in my opinion it’s not worth the over 7 bucks per 12oz bottle that they charge.

Orange tinted crimson with a soft, unlasting capping of dulled, light tan foam. Keeps a decent skim and collar always present. Lacing coats softly and drippy leaving deposits of thick stringy fingers and some big blots. Aroma is light and berry-like with a tinge of cognac warmth and some malty fruityness. Not any where near what I partake to be an American style BW. As it warms, it becomes more heated and ethonal linked. Taste is mild and tender with a gripping warmth of alcohol amidst a malty fruityness of berries, dark orange oils, light toffee, white grape, and a well rounded malt loaded oakyness as it glides into the finish. Nice warmth, nothing overbearing, quite big and bold in the regards to its flavor structure from front to back. Just not overly complex and missing a hop profile other then some oilyness and a small spike of bittering bite within its caronation and textured, rounded crispness. Feel is moderately placed within a medium body with alot of solid warming effects and a small snappy texture of carbonation, yet lacking a bit of bigger body. Smooth and malty. The finish is hugely built and warming. By far the best part of the entire beers’ character. Well handled yet dominately forward. A slow sipper for sure. The slippery front is just that. Making for a seemingly innocent session at first, but then it begins to sink its teeth into you and the 14.5% makes its way through for a slower session. It has good character, but somehow lacks the power, complexity, and the beefy hops I tend to like out of a Barleywine. Especially if its to be of the American style.

bottle. Deep amber/copper with a very small off white head and light carbonation. Aroma is huge caramel malts, alcohol, and wood. Taste is the same with an alcohol warming, actually burning finish. Should have laid this one down for some aging.