Avery Promiscuus

One of the highlights of our trip to Colorado was going to Avery. It was an awesome brewery with lots of indoor and outdoor spots to hang out in. They also had a lot of rare beers to sample, which was awesome. They had smaller sampler sizes to get, so I could have a bunch of beers while I was there. Let’s see how it was.

ABV: 7.5%

Style: American Wild Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Since 1993 our brewery has been committed to producing eccentric ales and lagers that defy styles ​and​ categories. Our beers are thoroughly American at heart: blending Old World tradition and expertise with ingenuity, creativity and boldness.”

Random: I love the glass that this beer was in. I’ll have to get one.

This beer poured with a quarter finger of pure white head. It dissipated quickly and left some lacing on the glass. The body was slightly cloudy and orange in color. It had some carbonation visible. The nose had a significant sourness to it with lots of vinegar. There was some leather along with a touch of vanilla as well. The taste had a lot of berry fruit, along with vinegar sourness. I picked up limes, white grapes, lemon and currants. There was also an undertone of kumquat as well. I picked up some leather and vanilla to attempt to balance out the sour fruit. The body was on the medium side with generous carbonation. The finish was lengthy and mouth puckering. I liked this beer a lot, but I couldn’t have more than one.

Untappd Rating: 4.5/5.0

Avery The Real Peel IPA

One of the coolest things that we did in Hawaii was a cruise on the Na Pali coast of Kauai. First of all, the scenery is amazing. Second, we saw about 10 humpback whales too, which during all of my trips as a kid to Hawaii, I’ve never seen. The food on the boat was also really good, which definitely helped. I drank cocktails and wine instead of beer, because like most of Hawaii, the only selections are macros and Kona beer and when you’re on Hawaii, it’s all about the Mai Tais. Anyways, let’s get to the beer.

ABV: 6.3%

Style: American IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Inspired by a summer’s day and crafted to crush year-round, our IPA twists real tangerine peel and citrusy hops into this juicy experience. It’s the real deal!”

Random: Avery was an awesome brewery to visit. If you’re in Colorado, it’s worth a stop.

The beer poured with a finger and a half of thick, pure white head. It went away quickly, but left some lacing on the glass. The body was very hazy and bright orange. There was moderate carbonation visible. The nose was filled with orange peel and orange segments along with tangerine juice. The taste was more of the same. It had a lot more tangerine juice than the nose. It quickly went into grass and orange peel with a touch of malt at then end. The body was light with lots of carbonation. The finish was lengthy with tangerine juice. I thought this was a solid beer, but I wish it had more body to it.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Avery Ginger Sour

When Val and I were out in Colorado, we visited Avery, which was awesome. They had a bunch of different bars in the brewery, each serving different things. One of the series of beers they do is Botanicals and Barrels, which this belongs to. Let’s see how it was.

ABV: 6%

Style: American Wild Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Verdant fresh ginger is artfully rooted in radiant tartness, peaking in the unmistakable burst and bite of this bright barrel-aged sour ale.”

Random: This beer is available on tap and in bombers.

The beer poured with less than a full finger of white head. It went away quickly, but a small crown remained, although no lacing was left on the glass. The body was a cloudy, bright orange with lots of carbonation visible. The nose was very tart. It had some fresh ginger along with apple cider vinegar. There was also some toasted oak and light vanilla. The taste was intense. It started with the same apple cider vinegar, but quickly went into a combination of powdered ginger and fresh ginger. It transitioned into toasted oak and vanilla. Then, some white pepper came through along with an unexpected melon note. The body was on the lighter side with lots of carbonation. It had a lengthy finish with the sourness from the vinegar and the oak. A bomber of this set me back $13.49, which came to an expensive $.61 per ounce. I thought this beer brought a lot of interesting flavors to the table, I just wish it wasn’t as pricey.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Avery El Gose

Avery was one of the breweries that we visited while we were in Colorado. The tap-room was really nice and each bar in the brewery had different selections, which was very cool. Given that we went during GABF week, it wasn’t even that crowded. They also had a restaurant that had really good food. I had a chicken sandwich with collard greens while I was there and it was amazing.

ABV: 4.5%

Style: Gose

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “A timeless, traditional tart gose (goes-uh) with its zesty and salty disposition is brightened by a tangy citrus twist. A bier for every día!”

Random: This is a year round offering from Avery.

This beer poured with a three finger, slightly off-white head. It took awhile to dissipated, but only left limited lacing on the glass. The body was cloudy and straw-yellow in color. The smell was relatively mild. I picked up notes of wheat, lemon and orange segments. The taste had a bit more complexity to it. The start of the sip was big notes of citrus. I got lemons, orange segments and freshly squeezed lime juice. The salt did not come out until the end of the sip. There was some wheat as well, but it was muted. The body was on the watery side with plentiful carbonation. It had a quick finish with citrus and salt. The can was $2, which came to $.17 per ounce. I thought this was a decent gose and I wouldn’t refuse one if it was handed to me, but I’ve definitely had better examples of the style.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Avery Hog Heaven: Imperial Red IPA

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a beer from Avery. I picked this one up because I’ve been favoring Jersey beers when I go to the store and I’ve passed this one a bunch of times.

ABV: 9.2%

Style: American Amber/Red Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “This dangerously drinkable garnet beauty is a hop lover’s delight. The intense dry-hop nose and the alcohol content are perfectly balanced for a caramel malt backbone. This is a serious beer for serious beer aficionados. Oink!”

Random: This used to only be available in bombers and on draft, but is now available in cans. I love beer in cans. It also used to be their barleywine.

The brew poured with a one finger, thick, cream-colored head. It took forever to go away and left a lot of lacing on the glass. The body was clear and amber in color with moderate carbonation. The nose was strong. It had some booze with a lot of piney and earthy hops. It had a decent amount of malt with maple and caramel. The taste was surprisingly smooth with grassy and earthy hops and a generous dose of pine. It had a note that was comparable to a woody pine cleaner. Hazelnuts and caramel malt came through next. The alcohol presence was there, but not overwhelming. The body was thick and syrupy with light carbonation. It had a lengthy and sticky hop finish with alcohol. A can of this was $3.25, which came to $.27 per ounce. This beer was good, but the alcohol was bordering on overwhelming. I wouldn’t have more than one.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Avery Vanilla Bean Stout

Tonight’s beer is one that gets rave reviews on all of the beer review blogs that I read. When it first came out, it was difficult to find. They released more of it and I found one bottle hanging out on the shelf and decided to pick it up. I stuck it in the cellar for a few months before I pulled it out to give it a shot.

ABV: 10.8%

Style: American Double/Imperial Stout

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “A double dose of vanilla derived from both fresh Bourbon barrels and the trio of Tongan, Ugandan, and Mexican whole vanilla beans is complemented by essences of chocolate, caramel and molasses to round out this luxuriously silky stout.”

Random: People at Motor Vehicles are generally not happy. I had to go there recently and everyone was so unhappy.

The beer poured with a quarter of a finger of tan head. It went away dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was an inky black color with moderate carbonation visible. The nose had a lot of cocoa powder, dark chocolate and espresso. It had a touch of vanilla bean and some booze. The taste had a decent amount of sweetness up front. It also had some vanilla extract and bitter dark chocolate. Espresso came through next. The booze was present, but not offensive. It had a thick body with light carbonation. The finish was lengthy and sticky with dark chocolate and espresso. A bomber of this was $14.99, which broke down to $.68 per ounce. This was an expensive beer, but quite good. I just wish it had more vanilla.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Avery Raja

One of the first beers that I searched out when I started the blog was Avery Maharaja. At this point in my adventure in craft beer, almost anything could blow my mind flavor-wise, but I was very impressed by that beer. When I heard they were released what appeared to be an updated version in cans, I was curious to see if it matched up to what I remembered about the beer and enjoying so much.

ABV: 8%

Style: American Double/Imperial IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Brazenly bitter. Dashingly dry-hopped. Raja is an audacious addition to our lengthy lineage of intrepid IPAs. Hops for all! All for hops!”

Random: This beer is available in cans and on draft.

This beer poured with a one finger, white head that dissipated quickly and left some lacing on the glass. The body was bright yellow in color and had some chill haze as well. Despite that, I could see a decent amount of carbonation in the beer. The nose started with grass, sweet malt and a touch of alcohol. The taste had a lot more pine, which was quickly backed up by a sweet malt backbone with a lot of caramel. There was also some pine sap and crushed pine needs to tit as well. It had a thick and chewy body with high carbonation. The finish was lengthy with pine. The alcohol wasn’t nearly as pronounced in the taste as the nose. I picked this up for $2.17 a can, which broke down to $.18 per ounce. To get a quality can of a DIPA, that price is quite stellar. I highly recommend this one.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Avery Tweak

This beer really doesn’t need much of an introduction. I’ve been looking for this beer for awhile and found some sitting on a shelf in a beer store in Philly. I was very excited to crack this open.

ABV: 17.81%

Style: American Double/Imperial Stout

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Our very own Parker, of the cartoon and cat loving variety, created this cult classic character back in our 17th season. Appearing in several episodes under another stage name that was deemed inappropriate, our executive producers and editors decided that a name change and further character development — a 4-month hiatus in Bourbon barrels — were necessary to satisfy our most ardent and demanding viewers.”

Random: This is an annual release from Avery in November and December.

This beer poured with a half a finger of light brown head. It dissipated slowly and left very little lacing on the glass. The body was dark brown with no visible carbonation due to the color. The nose was filled with oak, vanilla, bourbon and hazelnuts. There was some roasted malt thrown in for good measure with cold brew coffee. The taste was much like the nose, but had additions of booze, although not nearly as hot as the ABV would imply. There was also with cocoa powder, chocolate syrup and it then went into vanilla and oak. After the beer warmed a bit, some licorice and wood smoke was present as well. This was a thick, chewy beer with light carbonation, making it the perfect winter sipper. It had a lengthy finish with some booze warming and espresso. This beer was expensive at $18.49 a bottle ($1.54 an ounce), but it’s worth the hit to the wallet to try at least once. If I see this on the shelves again, I’ll be picking some up to age.

Untappd Rating: 5.0/5.0

Avery Mephistopheles’ Stout

Tonight’s selection is a big beer. It’s one that I’ve waited for at least 5 years to pull the trigger on. I finally did and I wasn’t disappointed.

ABV: 17.6%

Style: American Double/Imperial Stout

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Mephistopheles is the crafty shapeshifter, the second fallen angel; he who does not love light. Herein he patiently lies, waiting and willing to do your bidding, but for a price. Enter into his darkness, a tangled and intricate labyrinth of bittersweet rapture.”

Random: Val got me new socks for my trip and they are very cushion-ey.

The beer poured with less than a half a finger of tan head. It dissipated slowly, but left no lacing on my glass. Instead, it left a rather thick crown on top of the inky, black body. I couldn’t see anything through it. The nose had a lot of roasted malts and cold press coffee with leather. There was also a slight note of black licorice, but it didn’t overwhelm the beer. The taste started with roasted malts and intense smoke. Espresso came through too. It also had licorice and some sweetness that were like cocoa dusted truffles. The alcohol was present, but not nearly as big as the ABV would suggest. Anise was at the back of the sip. The body was syrupy thick with light carbonation. The finish hung around forever with coffee and truffles. A single bottle of this was expensive at $12 a bottle ($1 per ounce). I was impressed by this beer. It had incredibly depth and was a perfect sipper. I would highly recommend it.

Untappd Rating: 5.0/5.0

Avery Raspberry Sour

I’m really enjoying what Avery is doing lately. I first saw this beer on someone else’s table awhile back in Philly. I found a bottle of this at The Craft Beer Outlet and had to have it. Let’s see how it was.

ABV: 6.5%

Style: American Wild Ale

Trivia: According to beerstreetjournal.com, “Avery Raspberry Sour is joining the brewery’s line of wild and sour ales. A part of Avery’s Barrels & Botanicals series, Avery creates a sour ale with ripe raspberries. Luscious ripe red raspberries are elegantly intertwined with a bountiful amount of lactic acidity and delicate barrel nuances to cultivate this stunning sour ale. Avery Raspberry Sour is now available in 22oz bottles, year round. At least initially, Avery Raspberry Sour will be limited to just a handful of the brewery’s markets.”

Random: Our DVR is down to being 56% full. I think that’s the lowest in recent memory.

This beer poured with a one and a half finger, off white head that dissipated slowly. It left no lacing on my new Tree House Teku glass. The body was a dark mahogany with moderate carbonation visible. The nose had lots of acidic notes and lactobacillus. The raspberries came through with a hint of oak. The taste was assertive and acidic with raspberry juice. Lacto was there as well. At the end of the sip, a touch of vanilla and sweetness came through with the oak. It had a long finish with oak and tart raspberry. The beer was $18.99 for the bomber, which came to $.86 per ounce, which was a bit on the expensive side. Despite this, it was a really nice beer that had a generous amount of tartness and the oak gave it a lot of depth. I would definitely have this beer again.

Untappd Rating: 4.5/5.0