Avery Anniversary Thirteen

Formerly brewed at Avery Brewing Company
Style: Weizen Bock
Boulder, Colorado USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Stein, Weizen

Draught pint at Sunset Grill on 8/4/06. Not sure why I forgot this one.
Chalk-colored grey/off-white head is small and shows low to moderate retention, eventually receding to a ring/partial-cover. Dark, cola-brown liquid shows soy/tan highlights in the light and has a medium-high clarity with quite a bit of large-bubbled carbonation rushing about. Little/no lacing created.
Chocolate cola notes quickly mix with cotton candy and bubble gum. Seems this is going to be some sugary stuff based on a quick sniff. Some assertive roast always seems to do this style well, but here it seems pushed over by the pale malt sugars or just plain non-existent. Wheat is pretty few and far between and more of that would soften this insipid sweetness oozing from the liquid. Not to mention, there is hardly any bock-like yeastiness on the finish, perhaps just a pinch of light vinousness. Honestly smells more like a simple, amped-up dunkel with some weizen yeast qualities, though very light at that. Some light banana cream notes and too much cola and bubble gum. Where the hell is all of this cola coming from? Aroma strength, furthermore, is not very strong, though nor is it alcoholic/fuselic.
Less bubble gum, thank god, in the flavor. In its place, there is more sticky caramel, light fudgey chocolate and yes, cola. Little/no sourish bockiness, a rather gassy, overcarbonated body which is too sugary/sweet no matter how much CO2 you cut it with and hardly any real wheat dryness/softness. And as it warms, the slight alcohol warmth turns in to a more raw fusel sharpness. Black pepper-like phenol astringency further clouds the finish and some dry, bland breadiness emerges as well.

22 oz bottle. Clear brown color, orange around the edges. Tan head. Smells of spruce trees, cloves, and soy sauce. Roasted malt flavor with plenty of alcohol and esters lingering in the background. Bitter grainy finish with a warm splash of alcohol.

Bottle@Oslo Øljunta Olympen gathering. A low beige head upon a barely translucent, dark brown colored body. Vinous aroma, soft malty with faint caramel and a whiff of dark bread and dried fruits. Mellow and rather bland malt body, soft and vinous fruitiness. Low carbonation level. Feels flat in the mouth. Mild malty finish. Could have been a really nice one, but this beer is obviously oxidized. Hope I’ll get another chance to taste it. Meanwhile, re-rate is pending.

Bomber thanks to dchmela. Pours a dark ruby hue with a medium brown head. The aroma is fruity, lots of fruity German malts. Reminds me a bit of Celebrator Dopple, and that’s a good thing. The flavor is fairly fry, dusty, lots of sweet fruits, prunes, berries, strawberry, a huge malty aspect washes over it all. Bready and yeasty. Very little alcohol warmth. A very nice powerful lager. Very enjoyable.

Clear brown body with a thin off-white head. Sweet caramel aroma, hints of fruit. Sweet fruity flavor, some light caramel in the end.

Mostly, this is almost nothing but alcohol in flavor. It’s very strongly full of alcohol throughout and makes this a very astringent beer. One of the few Avery diappointments for me.

The aroma has chocolate, toffee, dark fruit, caramel, toasted malt, and light hops. The appearance is dark red brown with a two finger head. The flavor is like the aroma but with a lot more hop bitterness than expected not to mention lots of alcohol and a metallic element. The palate is smooth. I was pretty disappointed by the flavor of this beer. The aftertaste is absolutely repulsive.

I understand the mixed reviews for this beer. It looks like a standard bock, black, and lightly carbonated. The hgh ABV is not in the aroma, but there is caramel and some smoke. Flavor is sweet with fruit and sugar; raisins, sweet cherry, fermenting apples. The alcohol is also in the flavor as well, but it is not unpleasant. The wheat presence is clear, and it puts a softer edge on what would otherwise be a poweful doppelbock.