Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

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

My 666th rating. Pours clear copper color with minimal off white head that dissipates quickly. Aromas of caramel, vanilla, oak and alcohol. Similar flavors with some dark fruits. A good amount of warmth from the alcohol. Medium body, syrupy mouthfeel with minimal carbonation. A good beer but a bit too hot for me.

Tastes like bourbon and vanilla with a little bite on the finish, a warm feeling in the throat gives warning to go slow. Rich on the palate. Way underrated today in the low 90’s, delicious, but not for everyone...

to me this beer is spot on almost fortified like a sherry. and the caramel sugars could pare this nicley with a roasted fruit or caramel paoched fruit dessert. i cant stop thinking about this beer it haunts my dreams. I LOVE IT!

Pours a reddish hazy brown wiith a tan head. Aroma is rasins booze oak spices tannins and sugars. Flavor is boozy rasins fruits figs oak tannins and candi sugar. Finishes boozy sweet and bitter. I like hot barleywines so this is wonderful.

Pours a nice hazy amber with small white head that departs quickly. Nose is of caramel, raisin, and a certain vinous quality. The complexities brought on by the malt sweetness are surprisingly inexhaustible. A slight hint of grapefruit comes near the end, though it is largely overshadowed by the numerous facets of sweetness; caramel, molasses, and brown sugar. Flavor is extremely sweet, reminding me of the quintessential hop lacking English barley wine. This makes for a very complex array of sweet malty facets such as plum, fig, caramel, and brown sugar. A slight dryish hoppy presence makes its way in near the finish again, but pales in comparison to the malt character. Palate is very syrupy, staying rich throughout. Finish is coating and somewhat dry. I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

Pours a clear amber. Taste of roasted caramel, dark fruit. Very boozy, complex beer. Slight maltiness, warm bourbon taste/mouthfeel. Good but not great.

Draft at BEVERIDGE PLACE BODACIOUS BEVERAGES BREWFEST ’09. Pours a bright reddish brown. Very sweet malty aroma hinting of vanilla and caramel, with a touch of oak. Tastes sweet with incredible oak flavor. Full bodied and a thought it was a bit syrupy for an 8-9%, until I realized the ABV. This has a balanced finished that leaves me looking for more. Nice work again, Avery.

poured on tap from papago with a warning... slightly hazy rich amberish copper with a fairly dense light tannish head and a ton of webby lacing. it smells of dates, another odd unidentifiable fruit, booze, bugs from the wood, brown sugar and a touch of sweet smoke. the flavor reminds me of brandy soaked medjoul dates... along with piloncilla sugar, vanilla, earthy wood, oxidized red apples, toasted nuts and a spicy alcoholic finish. sweet throughout but oddly not off putting. a yeasty aftertaste paves the way for the alcohol warming sensation. the body is pretty thick though the booze keeps it thinned a bit. there is a bit of a chalky texture and a coating left on the lips which i don’t usually care for...

initially, i thought i wasn’t going to care for this... even the folks who served it to me, knowing my disposition against sweet beer, warned me about it. i have to say, after it warmed it really started to show some depth and character reminiscent of zaya rum or a nice ice wine (sans the cloying sugar) which i enjoyed. it’s definitely a beer for sipping while engaged in conversation or a few games of scrabble... 6/4/7/3/15/3.5