Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

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

courtesy of fiulijn - pours a hazy reddish-amber colour with a little pale beige foam; robust aroma of port-wine, dried fruits and vanilla, wood and caramel come also to mind; totally excessive sweetness, sticky and syrupy, full-bodied; some bitterness tries painfully to shine but fails due to the huge sweetness; long sugary finish with notes of vanilla and oranges and a solid burning alcohol kick - very similar to a young Samichlaus; I wonder how it could look like after 10 years of ageing

Beautiful clear shining red; a ’head’ for a few seconds, then just a rim. Superb, vinous nose, with winegrape and old Armenian brandy. Sweetish, vinous, brandywine taste; malts, yes, but they are transcendented here. Lots of higher alcohols. Syrupy from a real fruit juice (peach, strawberry,...). Some licorice at the ende and a lot of incense flavour. Sharp MF, velvety, oily, syrupy and rich beyond words. Aftertaste is also brandy-ish, but with an almondy character. A superb one, one of Adam’s best. I wonder about the excess sweetness some raters complain of. Sweet, yes, but not that sweet. Excellent one for my N° 2400. Big thanks to whomever from the Brugge Babblefest crew bestowed it on me. MarkA? Eyedrinkale?

Light hazy amber colour with a small tan head. Malty, caramel and alcohol sweet aroma with dark fruit notes and vague hints of the oak. Malty, sweet flavor with a vague oak note. Heavy alcohol sweet finish.

Bottled. Orange coloured. Unclear. Dense beige head. Sweetness, alcohol, fruits, caramel and spice in the aroma. Flavour is spiced, alcoholdense, fruity and caramelly. Quite balanced and holding the alcohol pretty well. Not overly complex but quite straight forward barley wine. Full bodied. Sweetish and caramelly end with distinct alcohol notes. Very warming on lips and palate.

Bottle. (brewed May. 2006, #2) The pour is orange-brown and hazy, with a lively carbonation forming a quite small, beige head. The nose starts off with some alcohol, wood and vanilla the very moment you start to pour. Those aromas follows all the way until the glass is emptied. When taking a deeper sniff, apricot, sugary caramel, beef-stock and a wee note of pine joins in to form a quite complex picture. The sort you can let your nose enjoy for minutes. Slipping the beer into your mouth is a pleasant experience, full-bodied and sweet as this beer is. There’s a good dash of alcohol in it as well, making me note to myself that I should get another bottle or two for cellaring. I guess it will be even better after some years in my basement. There’s fruityness, especially apricot, and some woodyness as well in the mouth, along with caramel and a little bitterness. The bitterness is present in the finish too, and so is both the alcohol, fruityness, sweetness and some notes of wood. Quite oily texture, not exactly palate cleansing. Long after the last swallow, the warming sensation from the alcohol, as well as the sticky feeling from the sugar is felt in your mouth. And then, suddenly, the glass is empty, except for some nice lacings still clinging to the sides of the glass.

This August summer-day was quite chilly, and I wanted something heavy and warming, which Samael provided. Normally it would better suit a cold winter night, or a stormy autumn evening, but today it was nice. And as mentioned before, I want more of this. If it wasn’t for the price of it, I would buy crates of it, to secure warming nights during the dark season. I know of many beers I would like more, but this was one hell of a potent brew. (070814)

The Lure:
Some lingering head tops this mammoth of a barley wine. Confident oak surfing on sweet fruit waves, tons of peach syrup, maraschino cherries, dried apricots, etc. Sweetness is prominent, but not too bad so far.

The Festivities:
As I swallowed my first sip, my heart and stomach leapt as if they were refusing to ingest this. It’s that sweet. And I’m somewhat of a sweet tooth, don’t forget that. Mouthfeel is uberthick, which is nice for a barley wine, but manages to be a little too much considering its obese sweetness. Tons of maple syrup and caramel segue into torrential alcohol and oak, second and soon primary reason for the initial recoil reaction. Have you ever felt your uvula shrink in disgust? Oh, it’s flavorful, don’t get me wrong! Many cherries, peaches (in syrup form mind you), complex sweetness and a nice coat of oakiness which never topples the sweetness (how could it?). One sip will smack you in the tongue. Ten might make your gut turn. I didn’t want to go further. And like I said, I’m known to be a sweet tooth...

Transcendence:
Drowning in a pit of quicksyrup, whipped by a drunken fatso as you go down.

Clear amber apple juice color with a thin filmy white head. Sweet smell of some amaretto, apple juice, sugary hops, clover honey and a light hint of lavender. Tingly on the lips, a little burning on the back of the throat... reminds me of Utopias - the vanilla, wood and amaretto flavors are not overwhelmed by the alcohol, but I have to admit that they are overwhelmed by the sweetness. Caramelly and chewy, unbelievably too sweet, I don’t really want to drink this again.

Reddish-copper in body, this thick ale had a fizzy white head to begin with, but that soon died away... and, who cares? It has a piercing alcohol nose, sweet caramel, wood, light fruits, vanilla, and some more alcohol. This is very thick and hot in the mouth. The sugary sweetness is quite strong in the flavor- - malty, peppery, fruity, boozey... It finishes on a hot, sticky, fruity, alcohol note. Drink this one slowly.

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