Avery Tasting at Manderes

Like big beers? You may just like Avery. Avery Brewing found itself as the subject of the June tasting at Manderes. At this event, eight Hop Heads attended the tasting to sample some of the biggest beers Colorado had to offer.

When we did finally reach Manderes, it was half-full or half-empty depending on how you hold your stein. Typically, monthly tastings at the Man Bear Pigs are at capacity, with little room left for seating. I can't compliment their events enough: 8-10 samples, plus delicious appetizers for a reasonable price. Paul and I arrived about 30 minutes late thanks to some traffic malfunctions and sat next to our fellow Hop Heads who just received the second pour. Everyone looked happy and the tastings looked excellent. So we signaled a waiter for a menu and some glasses to get down to some noshing and sampling Boulder's finest.

The first beer they brought, was the Karma. This beer is labeled as a belgian ale. However, it resembles more of a Scotch Ale. Smokiness, amber malts, and honey flavors abound from this brew, which mellow and mask typical sugary esters more common in Belgians. Good, but quite a shock to the palate despite the description. That'll teach me to read covers.

The second beer we sampled was the Salvation. This is not to be confused with Vinny's beer at Russian River. The Avery Salvation is a strong golden ale (versus a strong dark) loaded with a heavy coriander perfume, orange zest, toffee, candi sugars, and light smokiness. The hop balance was excellent and I wished I had a fuller glass.

The third beer brought to us was Collaboration, not Litigation Ale. Now this one you can confuse with Vinny's beer. Several years ago, Vinny and Adam Avery became friends and realized they both had beers named Salvation. So put 1 + 1 together, and you have the name of this beer. How would this taste though? I know you don't care, but I'll answer anyhow. Interesting. Interesting how both flavors combined. Dark cherries and light candi sugar with citrusy hops. Wow, this is some good stuff. Can't wait until they decide to increase production on this bad boy!

When we finished the Salvation squared, the fifth sample was brought to our table. Wait, shouldn't we have tried the fourth? Nah, just straight to the fifth. The Hop Heads are a wild bunch. We drink milk after the expiration date, and drink the fifth sample before the fourth. The fourth was The Reverend. A quadrupel style that weighed in at 10% and was chock full of dark candi sugars and smokiness. It almost seems the beer took on characteristics of barrel aging. Fairly comparable to Allagash.

The fourth beer on the list was The Kaiser. This was an imperial Oktoberfest, which had flavors of cherries and currants. It appears that Avery dislikes the apple-sweetness of the ur-Marzen flavor as much as I do. Good job. I have secret plans for the persecution and excommunication of marzen beers. Ask me how you can join the revolution.

The sixth beer was the Avery IPA. It poured light-golden in color, and had notes of grass, citrus, and a light malt finish. Not a bad IPA.

Next up, we sampled The Czar. The Czar is an imperial stout with inspired flavors of grassiness, caramel, and alcohol. Although this beer weighs in at over 11, there should only be a light alcohol presence. This beer was a little too over the top and I felt it missed some key flavors of a stout.

The eighth sample we tried was the Hog Heaven. It poured dark amber, with abundances of citrus, flowers, light malts and caramel. This year's Hog Heaven was much better than last year's. This beer is very similar to Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot, but uses Columbus hops instead of the other 3cs (cascade, centennial, and chinook).

By now my palates had already faced the firing squad, but what the heck, bring out another beer. The penultimate beer was The Maharaja, an imperial IPA. Excellent, excelent imp IPA with flavors of citrus, flowers, and yellow grapefruit.

Last up, was a big boy, Samael's Ale. Although the site reads, 14%, the bottle we received read at over 15. This was my favorite of the night. Oak, wheat, and caramel flavors dominate this beer. Although this beer is more of a true barley wine, it carries the label of an English Strong. I just wanted to plop myself in front of a fire with a cigar. Very well done.

Overall, the beers at Avery Brewing were excellent and I look forward to the next tasting at Manderes.