Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

Even coppery color with minimal head. It’s at room temperature, and the aroma is malty sweet and fantastic. Both oak and alcohol are apparent, and the latter singes my nosehair. Taste is fairly sweet, but light, with a vanilla cherry hint, and the alcohol was only mildly astringent, especially for such a high content. Well worth the cash at $7/12oz

This beer was just too sweet for me. I really couldn’t get over the sweetness to appreciate its other qualities. I did notice some oak and vanilla, and caramel. Almost no hops in this beer. More like an American strong ale rather than a barley wine.

Well done barley wine. Avery does not mess around. It is not easy to make such a big beer drinkable. Predictably sweet, with the focus being on malt and sugar here. I don’t like over-hopped barley wines, and this one delivers. My wife tasted banana at colder temps. Of course you get some hot alcohol, how could you not? It is still very good. Did not find the oak "very apparent."

Bottle sampled with Stegsosaurus. Pours bronze with no head. Aroma of alcohol, caramel, oak, and vanilla. Flavor is smooth, caramel, oak, molasses, and vanilla. Good body, excellent brew.

12 oz bottle: A strong aroma of caramel, malt , and lumber yard wood. Color is a beautiful glowing amber with thin covering of foam. The flavor of this beer is sweet with sugar and character of oak wood of course. A little to sweet for me to truly enjoy but the background of oak wood is a nice reminder of another oak aged strong ale i had few months ago.

12 oz bottled in 2005. Amber and clear. Minimal head with champagne sized carbonation. Sweet aroma. Big fruit (passion fruit and oranges) along with hard and cotton candy. Sticky sweet fruit greats your lips with candy and syrup not far behind. I really did not notice any significant wood (vanilla hints perhaps). Creamy sticky body. I liked this more the first time I had it, but it’s not too bad. Strictly dessert.

Crystal clear copper color with zero head. Fairly strong aroma of sweet malt, cherries, alcohol and then hops. The flavor starts out with sweet cherries and plums then the warm alcohol hits. There’s also some hop flavor and bitterness that slowly build toward the finish. Hops still take a back seat to the sweet malts. I sense a bit of the smoke in the finish.

Clear amber under a medium off-white head that settles quickly, leaving a thin white ring and some fine surface bubbles that last well into the glass. Wonderfully rich aroma with yeast, wood, and dark fruit, almost like a port. Thick, full mouthfeel, very lightly carbonated. Taste is as rich as the aroma with a caramel sweetness and ruity esters of ripe fruit. Very little bittering going on here, and only a hint of some citrus hops. The alcohol is quite evident in the aroma and the flavor - of course at nearly 15%, this is not surprising.The finish is sweet, but there’s just enough bitterness to avoid it being cloying. Considering how sweet and vinous this beer is, I’m surprised at how much I liked it. An "after dinner" type of beer, and very enjoyable.