Avery the Beast Grand Cru (2006)

Here's a beer I haven't had in a while, and the bottle is a gift from a friend, pulled from his cellar. Bottled in 2006, this one. It's a beer that I would pause to consider purchasing, due to the expense. Much thanks to Brad for this. So, here I am, taking on the Beast Grand Cru Ale, brewed and bottled by Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, Colorado. There's gobbledygook on the label, but we'll forget about that for now.
OG 1.147. Alc by Vol 14%.

Appearance: Dark, plummy, burgundy hue, rich tan head that drifts down to nothing in no time.

Aroma: Booze hits first, whiskey, bourbon, vanilla, cherries, oak…but, this isn't barrel-aged, …is it? Rich and boozy, brandy, cognac, you name it….rum, molasses…whoa…

Taste: Sweetness is up front, slick and candy-ish, bountiful caramel, slick toffee, nougat, and massive malt. Alcohol doesn't take long to show itself, and once it's here, it's here to stay. Boom, boom, boom. The bigness of this beer smothers any subtler sensibilities. Richness only starts to tell the story, indulgent is a better word, but I still am left wanting. Boom, boom, boom.

I want to read that label now. Here come the glasses: "The Beast is a seducer, accommodating, powerful, complicated, dark, unfiltered, and created to last the ages. Beyond this, it's futile to try to describe him. He will unveil himself differently to each of his followers. The mark is in his constitution. Brewed with 2-row malted barley, honey malt, and imported Belgian specialty grains, (aromatic, pale wheat, roasted wheat, and Special B)hops (magnum, Galena, Saaz, Hallertau, Tettnang, and Hersbrucker), brewing sugars ( dates, raisins, blackstrap molasses, alfalfa honey, turbinado, and dark Belgian candy sugar), water, Belgian yeast and a hellion of a yeast strain."



It's a monster, all right. Probably best shared with a friend or two on just the right occasion. But, me being me, I had to have one to do this for this. Like when I first tried it, though that time in a bomber, for the love of Zeus and all his minions, back in June of 2004, and here are those notes:


Clear, rosy red color, good pale tannish head that fizzles down to a thin wafer right away.
Aroma, big sweetness, cherries and brandy, and big, fat booze. Medicinal and a tad bit harsh...thick with alky-hol, hot and horribly burnished.
Taste already: BAM! Massive flavor, huge, sweet fruit, and monstrous control of the palate. Tingles and tickles the tastebuds, maintains dominion over the mouth, has a clinging, cloying finish.
Damn, it's like they robbed from the vats of the Christian Brothers, really, or cribbed a few notes off of Ernie and Julie G., nearly cognac, this one, but lacks in drinkability, and the taste isn't delectable enough to make me happy all the way through this bomber.
I'll slowly savor it's sweetness, and abide by it's booziness through the end of the evening, and give thanks to ColoradoBeerMan for delivering it to my door!

june 2004.