I want to talk very quickly about cellaring/vintage beers. While cellaring and consuming old wines is a well-established tradition, it is something that most people wouldn't think of when they think of beer. The truth is that a great many beers can benefit from some age. Aging tends to mellow out and marry together previously harsh, disparate flavors. It might also affect carbonation and mouthfeel. Beers that are good candidates for aging tend to have high alcohol content and a strong malt profile. One exception to this is sour ales, which will continue developing in the bottle for years to come. Beers that are lighter in style, like pilsner or witbier, would be bad options to age. They will quickly deteriorate, as will very hop forward beers such as IPAs because hops are the first flavor that will begin to fade in a beer, leaving behind an unbalanced, cloying mess. Styles well suited to cellaring include barleywines, imperial stouts, and, in the case of The Beast, Belgian Strong Dark Ales. These styles are also often bottle-conditioned, meaning bottled with live yeast so that the beer will develop in the bottle. The bottled yeast typically increases alcohol slightly and might increase carbonation while also drying the beer out by consuming residual sugars.
Avery Brewing Co. was founded in 1993 and operates out of Boulder, CO. Founder Jason Avery has a wide lineup of beers and produces things to suit every taste, from novice to casual beer drinker to connoisseur. Many of his beers revolve around a theme, such as his Dictators series that includes beers named after Maharaja, Czar, and Kaiser brewed in styles associated with those dictators' respective countries of origin. The Beast hails from the Demons of Ale series and shares this distinction with Mephistopheles, an imperial stout, and Samael, an oak-aged ale that might be called a barleywine or an old ale. These beers are defined by being sold singly in 12oz bottles with forboding all black labels. They are further defined by extreme alcoholic strength that is otherwise uncharacteristic for the style categories they are lumped into.
The Beast carries the designation "Grand Cru," a term borrowed from the wine world to denote a brewery's top offering. This massive Belgian Strong Dark Ale rings in at 14.6% abv, though exact strength varies slightly year to year. While Begian Strong Dark Ales are typically strong and often break into double digits, this is in a whole other league. It would be erroneous to think of this beer as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, in fact. It must be judged on its own merits as it breaks a number of guidelines established for the style. But marking it in this style does give one some indication of flavors to be expected, but those flavors and body will be elevated to stratospheric heights. To learn what defines a typical ale of this style, please see the Beer Judge Certification Program's style guidelines at their website www.bjcp.org. Without any more pretense, let's get to the review, shall we?
The beer is presented in a 12oz bottle wrapped in an ominous black label that features a snarling beast. The neck and cap are wrapped in red foil and I note that the cap features the old cap design that spells out the name Avery. Newer caps simply feature the brewery logo letter "A." After pouring as strongly as I could, I see that the beer itself is a somewhat murky, translucent shade of deep mahogany with shades of ruby, amber, and chestnut at the edges. The core is opaque. The beer is topped by a quarter inch khaki head that quickly fades to a ring. More carbonation than expected for a beer of this strength. I would say this beer, in appearance, is somewhere between a barleywine and a more typical Belgian Strong Dark Ale. Appearance: 14/15
The nose on this beer is extraordinary. It smells like Christmas and a wild weekend in Vegas had a one night stand and this was their demon spawn. Huge sugary booze, rum, molasses, prunes, raisins, enough bready and biscuity sweet malt flavors to choke a very large horse. Hops are, of course, imperceptible. Dark cherries, every dark fruit I can think of wrapped up in sugar, booze, and sweet pound cake. Caramel and a few spices are also present. Maybe they should've called this "The Sweet Beast." Nose: 23/25
Oh my god, this beer just went crazy on my tongue. Gigantic sugary booze and solvent alcohol notes. Cheap, sweet rum. I really taste a burnt flavor across the mid palate that reminds me of the molasses I smelled early on. Of course prunes, raisins, and cherries are dominant forces that twist my taste buds inside out. The beer finishes with a spice that provides a touch of dryness on the swallow, though this meager dryness is difficult to appreciate amid the cacophony of sweet dark fruit and sugar. Alcoholic heat smacks around my mouth the whole time. This is one devilish beer. Palate: 48/50
The mouthfeel is full. No, to say it is full is inadequate. There are no words to say how full this beast is. Additional time in the bottle definitely didn't dry this thing out but it retains a better-than-expected carbonation that keeps the beer from camping out on your tongue like Black Friday shoppers at Best Buy. Mouthfeel: 8/10
OVERALL: 93/100
It is tough to compare vintages of this beer because the alcohol strength varies each year, meaning they are continually tweaking the recipe or perhaps the beer just finishes differently of its own volition. Regardless, I think that later years of this beer hit the mark a little better. But I'm a sucker for boozy, intimidating beers so I might've rated this beer a little higher than others would. If you come across it and don't mind dropping the not insignificant dime, I'd check it out. You'll also want to check out Mephistopheles, which is actually a better beer. Cheers!
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