Avery Samaels Oak-Aged Ale

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

Woof, this is one oaky SOB. Attractive deep red color with a medium tan head leaving full sticky lacing. Aroma is big on oak, with the vanilla-phenol type character. There’s also perhaps a citric hop component, and a more noticeable sticky brown sugar note. The flavor starts initially with big oak that dominates through to the finish, which is immensely bitter from both hops and the oak. At first I felt it was overdone, but as I slowly sipped this one (it started around 60 deg and is getting close to room temp halfway through the glass), a brown sugar sweetness became more apparent, and the huge bitterness ebbed some. Warming, dense palate with a lingering lip-smacking sweetness (literally, I can taste the syrupy sweetness on my lips). Obviously strong, mild burning warmth in the chest, but on the well pretty well masked alcohol.

Hugh aroma of alcohol and malt. Clear ripe apricot color with absolutely no head. Full, oily mouthfeel. Smooth malt syrup. Alcohol is big in the middle. There’s stone fruit here, wood too. I’d assign cherry to the fruit. Vanilla is not all that pronounced. Really unique. You could serve this over vanilla or cherry ice cream for a neat parfait. I think there is hop in the finish, but the malt and alcohol are on top. Sensational stuff.

Jacksonville, Fl. Total Wines, 12 oz bottle. Sparkling copper to red pour with a quickly dissipating white head. Sweet, brandy-like aroma with hints of sugar cane and molasses. Flavor has a nice nutty undertone that permeates throughout. Pick up notes of sherry, candied sugar, a bit of caramel, maple syrup and chocolate. Quite complex - almost liquer-like. Mouthfeel is thick and sticky - in the right way. High abv is hidden remarkably well. Solid barley wine.

Bottle...RBSG2005...This beer rocks!... Clear amber ale with a small, fizzy, off-white head. The rich, malty nose is of light molasses, vanilla/oak, caramel, mandarin orange, plum and black cherries. Oak, alcohol and maple syrup make up the flavor. Just enough of a "hop pop" to keep the malt from spinning out of control. Still, red hot and defiantly sweet. Full-bodied with a syrupy mouthfeel. Hardly any carbonation. Finishes warm and sweet. More of a Winter sipper than a Summer offering. World class, though!

12 fl. oz. bottle. Dark amber colour. Slightly hazy from yeast. Small off-white head. Bold aroma with oak and vanilla. Aroma is also very malty with a distinct and dry grainy edge. Reminds me a little of the maltiness in Lindemans Pomme, but this is a very different beer. Alcohol is definitely there, but it well hidden behind the malts. Finish is dominated by sharp bitterness and acetaldehyde. Overall a really complex and malty beer with a bitter grainy and appley finish. I love it.

Thank God I was able to split a small bottle of this with the crowd at the Coastal Wine Connection’s beer tasting. This destroys your olfactory senses with a big sugary caramel "pow" ... Powerfully sweet with a cooked fruit sweetness, just a light bitter or medicinal value, it’s incredibly smooth but with the power of a nuclear power plant. Bronze orange. This is the Eiswein of beer, almost a cognac. For sipping by the fire with a cigar. (#2673, 2/1/07)

12 oz bottle - deep orange color, crystal clear, no head at all. Aroma is full of caramel, honey, orange peel, toasted oak, vanilla. Flavor is very malty, notes of apples, honey, caramel, pear. Finish is very sweet.

Minimal head from a very robust pour. Does not linger long with light carbonation. Wonderful sweet caramel aroma. Liquid caramel in a glass. Very sweet and alcoholic. Toffee, dark fruits and a hint of oak. Tons of malty goodness. Color is a cloudy ruddy brownish amber. WOOHOO, super smooth and alcoholic. Loads of caramel, sweet toffee, butter brickle, raisins and alcohol infused oak. Damn this is some tasty stuff. This stuff will mess you up also. Thick and chewey and super sweet. People who like a less sweet and drier beer will not like this one. Alcohol burns the gums. Finishes creamy smooth and filling. A great brew for those who likes the sweet chewy barleywines. Fantastic!