Avery The Beast Grand Cru Ale
The Beast is a seducer - accomodating, complicated, powerful, dark and created to last the ages. Beyond this, it’s futile to attempt to describe Him. He will unveil Himself differently to each of His followers. The mark is in His constitution. Brewed with two-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 (raisins, dates, blackstrap molasses, alfalfa honey, turbinado, and dark Belgian candy sugar), water, Belgian yeast and another hellion of a yeast strain.OG: 1.138
Batch 1 (2004): 15.7% ABV
Batch 2 (2004): 18.1% ABV
Batch 3 (2005): 14.9% ABV
Batch 4 (2006): 14.6% ABV
Batch 5 (2007): 16.42% ABV
Batch 6 (2008): 16.31% ABV
Batch 7 (2009): 15.07% ABV
Batch 8 (2010): 16.21% ABV
Batch 9 (2011): 16.83% ABV
Batch 10 (2012): 16.0% ABV
Batch 11 (2013): 18.0% ABV
Batch 12 (2014): 16.1% ABV
Batch 1 (2004): 15.7% ABV
Batch 2 (2004): 18.1% ABV
Batch 3 (2005): 14.9% ABV
Batch 4 (2006): 14.6% ABV
Batch 5 (2007): 16.42% ABV
Batch 6 (2008): 16.31% ABV
Batch 7 (2009): 15.07% ABV
Batch 8 (2010): 16.21% ABV
Batch 9 (2011): 16.83% ABV
Batch 10 (2012): 16.0% ABV
Batch 11 (2013): 18.0% ABV
Batch 12 (2014): 16.1% ABV
3.7
1149 reviews
Boulder, United States
Community reviews
2015 bottle. Pours a orange brown with an off-white head. Nose is very fruity. I pick up date, raisin, fig, molasses, a hint of honey, and a ton of alcohol. Taste hits you with alcohol first and foremost. Underneath the booze there is dark fruit: dates and figs. The molasses comes through but the honey is missing. The mouthfeel is very syrupy. Medium bodied with light, crisp carbonation. Big and bold, but probably the weakest of the Demons of Ale. I'll still miss Mephistopheles; this not so much.
6-3-6-3-11
Bottle, vintage 2016, # 14. Pours mahogany, with a rocky head. Aroma is caramel malts, with candi sugar, muscovado, plums and wooden notes. Medium body, with soft carbonation. Flavour is malts, with grains, caramel and caraway, as well as kandi and perfumey notes.
Bottle; pours cloudy caramel brown with a tan head; aroma dark fruits, caramel, molasses, and a little yeast and spice; taste is sweet caramel with dark fruits, brown sugar, yeast, and hints of honey; dry, finish with some hints of spice
Bottle from Willow’s Market in Menlo Park, CA. Aroma is boozy toffee pudding, creme brulee. Taste is sweet and rich caramel boozy dessert from a fancy restaurant. Very sweet, could have used more beast.
06.06.2017, 12 oz bottle (2007 vintage) shared with a college @ Olutravintola Pikkulintu:
Small bubbly shortlasting head. Aroma is slightly rich and dry mineraly, cocoa, minerals, alcohol, Cocio dark chocolate milk, oak, bark, toast, toffee, nuts, raisins, dusty cellar, prunes. Taste is slightly rich and dry sour-ish mineraly, raisins, minerals, bark, alcohol, toast, cocoa, toffee, fruit stones, oak, grass, prunes, nuts. Medium bitterness, slightly dry sour-ish mineraly mouthfeel. Nice one.
Bottle from 2014. Pours a cloudy/milky brownish color with little off-white head. Dark fruits, raisin, fig, nuts, and plenty of alcohol on the nose; follows onto the palate. Full bodied, thick, and sticky. Finishes very hot, even with age, this still had plenty of alcohol booziness on it, with dark fruits mixed in.
2016 bottling. Fairly low booziness given the ABV. Sweet and sticky in a good way.
16.8 % ABV. Clear red pour. Bone white head. Aroma of dried fruit, oak, port, butterscotch, strawberries. Huge malt body, it starts out sugary sweet. Lots of warming booze, with anise, cinnamon, vanilla, oak, and a bitter - sweet finish. Really good, but so big it could take a bit more time in the barrel.
Draught at Beer Hall SF. Dark copper color, white head. Bittersweet taste with citrus, malts, toffee, caramel, ripe fruits, a bit of hops, alcohol, earthy notes and nuts. Bittersweet finish with citrus, hops, nuts, toffee, caramel, ripe fruits, dried fruits and earthy notes. Excellent brew, albeit too strong.
Draught at Harry’s Hofbrau. Heavy cloying caramel and very boozy. Black with no head.
On the opening track for Leviathan’s Scar Sighted, we hear a manic preacher reading from Revelation 14:11. "And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast..." As both Leviathan and Avery prove, it’s good to be corrupt. Something as boozy as The Beast should not be as drinkable as it is. This huge Belgian Ale drinks smooth, though you’d be wise to drink it slowly. Notes of honey, fig, date, prune, plum, toffee, molasses, and spices. I certainly would not consider having this all the time, but it’s one hell of a wintertime beer.
Bottle.
A- Candy malt, dates, raisins, honey, booze, sweet.
A- Mahogany color, clear liquid, beige head.
T- Honey, dates, booze, sweet.
P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, strong finish.
O- Interesting brew. I expected a lot more from it. Even after 8 months of age it was quite boozy and really really sweet. Lots of honey and some dates but not a lot else. A big beer with not a lot of flavor. Just too much.
Interesting malty beer with notes of wood and fruits in aroma and taste. Bittersweet aftertaste. Warming.
Regardless high ABV, alcohol is almost absent on the tongue.
Honestly, this taste like Mexican cock with a side of roasted molé. Thick and sweet with a light welfare note. Dasilky1’s penus had an influence. Cloying. Couldn’t suck this fast enough.
12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, 2005 vintage. Pours very hazy very dark reddish brown color with a thin spotty lace cap for a head that lingers. Slight spotty lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of huge raisin, prune, fig, date, cherry, caramel, toffee, toast, brown sugar, honey, brown bread, molasses, leather, and tobacco; with lighter notes of cinnamon, pepper, licorice, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of dark/bready malt, fruit/sugars, and fruity/earthy yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of huge raisin, prune, fig, date, cherry, caramel, toffee, toast, brown sugar, honey, brown bread, molasses, leather, and tobacco; with lighter notes of cinnamon, pepper, licorice, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Minimal herbal bitterness and yeast spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark fruit, caramel, toffee, toast, brown sugar, honey, brown bread, molasses, leather, tobacco, light licorice/pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, fruit/sugars, and fruity/earthy yeast flavors; with a nice malt/spiciness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Minimal carbonation and very full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy, slick, and syrupy mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming or boozy alcohol for 14.9%. Overall this is an incredible Belgian strong dark ale. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, fruit/sugars, and fruity/earthy yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Feels more like an old ale or English barleywine at this point, due to the very subdued spicy Belgian yeast character; but this has aged amazingly. A highly enjoyable offering.
12oz bottle 12/6/16 Batch 14 Bottled 7-8-16 (Binny’s Montgomery)-48° in Trappist Glass-Pours amber with a small white head for a covering. Aroma of dried fruit, brown sugar, malt, and figs. Taste of the same with a bit of alcohol and toffee on the back end. this full bodied brew is well balanced and goes down smooth.
R.I.P. Rashaan Salaam
BB backlog, Brownish red color with a medium head. Smell and flavor are heavy booze, figs, plum, toffee, rust, candy sugar and more alcohol heat. You can get some tasting notes at first but the heavy heat takes over in the middle and end. Way too strong for me.
2008 Vintage. Amber. Smells like booze. Up front tastes like buttered popcorn. Caramel.
Hazy, golden brown. Minimal head.
Raisin, honey, wood, banana, and apple aromas.
Sweet with alcohol finish.
Wood, vanilla, and alcohol flavors.
Fairly tasty for such high ABV.
Avery Beast Grand Cru 16.8% tap at Koumin.
A ruby amber orange color of with a few beige bubbles. The aroma is big boozy malty caramel and oranges. Full bodied with a raspy carbonation and a sharply sweet finish. Treacle, caramel and floral/fruity hops make for a potent beer while oak and vanilla are mostly evident in the finish. Nice peppery spice notes as well. Considering the monster ABV the smoothness of it took me by surprise, definitely one of the better beers in the high-ABV series from Avery.
Tap at Koumin. Great fruity nose, caramel, some chocolate, light oxidation, grapes. Rich malt flavor with Belgian yeast spiciness and great complexity. Lovely light fruitiness and a light, airy, ethereal body. Great stuff.
Bottle, 2016, batch no. 14, reddish amber beer, decent white head faded, some lace. Aroma dried fruit, malt, oak. Taste is dried fruit, malt, touch of oak. Palate is thick and chewy, but most likely due to the abv. this is not syrupy, carbonation is subdued. This is a bit sweet, and drinks like a barley wine. The oak helps with this. This is also really warming, but alcohol is subdued.
12 oz bottle. Batch #14. Bottled on 07/07/16. (Chambers Wine & Liquor) Aurora, CO.
Clear deep amber color with a tiny off-white head.
Sweet malt, sugar, berry jam, some alcohol and mild hops in the aroma.
The flavor is booze, sweetness, malt, some hoppy bitterness and more booze.
Really boozy.
Bottle 0.355l at Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Vintage 2007! Thanks for Pikkulintu for this! Colour is cloudy reddish brown with very small white head. Aromas and flavors: Ripe fruits, dry fruits, raisins, plums, some sweetness, some distant hints of alcohol and malts. For 9 years beer this one is in pretty good condition.
2016/10/21 - Pours a hazy amber brown colour with a soapy, off white head that quickly reduces and leaves moderate patchy lacing. Aroma is toffee, woody notes, sweet dough, molasses, raisins, figs, Belgian yeast and rum. Taste is honey, toffee, candy sugar, dough, caramel, dried dark fruits, herbal notes and booze. Mouthfeel medium and syrupy with smooth carbonation and a dry, warming finish. Sweet, boozy and complex. A fine sipper.
On tap in SC with 16.8% ABV.
Clear copper body with a very good head.
Quite sweet up front but good but-sweet balance overall.
Rich aroma and richer more complex flavor; Dark fruits with faint dark rum. I’m not surprised to find this uses Westmalle Belgian Ale yeast.
Overall: Delicious. High ABV is obvious in the aroma and clear in the aroma but still nicely hidden overall.
Overall: exceptional. The flavor profile and partially hidden alcohol lets this go down way too easily given the 16.8% ABV.
’14 bottle. Pours ruddy copper red with a tan head that dissipates quickly. Nose is a bouquet of caramel, toffee malt, fig, and very prevalent molasses and honey, and big boozy notes. Taste takes on those honey components, sweet without being cloying, and masks the outrageous alcohol content very well, except at the swallow, where the heat is rather evident. All in all a very fine example of the grand cru style.
On tap at Sybarite Pig in Boca Raton. A serious beer, sweet and surprisingly the high alcohol doesn’t come forward ahead of the caramel and honey. Toffee and malt add to a complex and satisfying flavor and body. One of t better Crus I’ve had.
Rich and complex and silky smooth for its massive strength. This is a really special beer I wish it was less expensive 😀
Served on tap at Hops and Pies. Hazy Amber color with a white head. Sweet plum floral aroma. Crazy weird resin sweet malt hops. Tastes like a science experiment.