Apricot Sour - Avery Brewing

The Eleventh Beer of Christmas 2018 is Apricot Sour from Avery Brewing in Boulder, Colorado.

Summary

• Appearance: Hazy apricot color, almost a light burnt orange. Head of pale apricot bubbles.
• Aroma: Tart apricot, amaretto, champagne
• Taste: Apricot, amaretto sour, semi-sweet finish
• Feel: Nice tingle of carbonation, medium body

Stats

• Location: Boulder, Colorado
• Website: https://www.averybrewing.com
• Fruit: Apricot
• Style: Sour Beer
• Alcohol Content: 7.3%

Avery Brewing Company - White Rascal

For the First Beer of Christmas, someone devilishly naughty made it onto Santa's nice list.

Avery Brewing
White Rascal

On their third visit to the Twelve Beers in five years, Avery Brewing's Belgian style white ale is a change of pace from 2013's Old Jubilation, and English Olde Ale, and 2011's Hog Heaven, a barley wine with IPA tendencies.

Pouring fills the glass with a hazy, straw colored beer with a thin cap of foam. There's very little lacing and the head dissipated quickly, leaving small swirls of bubbles on top and around the edge where the beer meets the glass.

The aroma is full of fresh yeast with lemon zest, coriander, and a little bit of freshly cracked peppercorn. The smell reminds me of fresh hay in the barn.

The carbonation is lightly crisp with a zip of small, tight bubbles across the tongue.  There's orange and lemon citrus flavors along with a soft zing of spice - pepper, coriander, and ginger - with a light yeasty finish.

The light body and crisp finish makes it extremely refreshing and sessionable. I'm kind of wishing it was summer right now so I could sit out in the back yard with this. But then I'd have to mow (or, rather, pay the neighbor kid to mow,) so I guess I'll just sit here in the house and drink it with the heater running. This will definitely be on my list for this coming summer.

Stats
Brewer: Avery Brewing Company
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Website: http://www.averybrewing.com
Style: Witbier
Alcohol Content: 5.60% ABV
Interesting Note: White Rascal is an unfiltered beer. So yes, that stuff in the bottom of the can is live yeast. Pour out most of the can, give it a good swirl, and then pour the rest into the glass. Brewer's yeast is a good source of B-complex vitamins but it does not contain B-12 (per the University of Maryland Medical Center: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/brewers-yeast.) There appear to be all kinds of health benefits, but beware of the side effects. Drink too much and you might be a bit gassy. Not that it's ever happened to me. I'm just sayin' ...

Avery Brewing - Old Jubilation Ale

For the Tenth Beer of Christmas, we travel 26 miles to go from Arapahoe to Arapahoe.

Oddly enough, Great Divide Brewing, creator of last night's Hibernation Ale, is located on Arapahoe Street in Denver. Just 26 miles away, Avery Brewing, creator of tonight's Old Jubilation Ale, is on Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder.

The coppery chestnut brew forms a thick head of dense, tan bubbles. The lacing left behind on the glass as I drank was so think that it was more like icing than lacing. A moderate level of carbonation kept feeding the head so that a thin cap remained all the way to the bottom of the glass.

Hazelnuts, toffee, and rich malt dominate the aroma. Subtler tones of bread, vanilla, and alcohol slip in at random intervals.

Sweet malt and molasses comprise the basis of the taste palate. There's a very light touch of licorice that is almost masked out by a highly roasted malt bittering in the end. With the moderate carbonation, the beer comes off with a medium-full body and mouthfeel.  It's a very drinkable beer that would also be sessionable, however the high alcohol content might make that a little bit dangerous.

Aaron found it to be toasty and hoppy while Brandon remarked on the caramel flavor. Wyatt is back from his alien abduction but is still playing catchup on the beers.

Ratings

Aaron: 9
Brandon: 10
Wyatt: 8 (and he's back to reviewing now ...)
Tracy: 10

Stats
Brewer: Avery Brewing Company
Location: Boulder, CO
Website: http://www.AveryBrewing.com/
Style: English Olde Ale
Alcohol Content: 8.3% ABV
Interesting Note: As noted in my previous Avery review for Hog Heaven, Avery was started by a homebrewer turned pro.  Like Deschutes and Stone, Avery has a number of their recipes posted on their website for homebrewers. Among them is the Old Jubilation Ale recipe.  I may have to give this one a try myself.  http://averybrewing.com/brewery/recipes-for-homebrewers/

Avery Brewing – Hog Heaven

For the Third Beer of Christmas, we tried a Barley Wine (see Style below).

I’ve only had two other Barley Wines in my life and didn’t like either.  Although during my days of homebrewing I always wanted to try to make one.  This one came highly recommended from a clerk my daughter knows at World Market.

The Hog Heaven pours out as a dark, golden orange color with a high level of fine carbonation.  The head built quickly and the crispness of the carbonation stayed in the feel of the beer until I was well near the bottom of the glass.  Which, in all honesty, took a while.  And that’s because …

Whoa!  This beer is a handful.  Or mouthful, rather.  You might need to brace yourself for this one.
The lightly fruity citrus aroma is accompanied by a strong whiff of alcohol.  Almost like if someone a couple of feet from you opened up a bottle of Cabo Wabo Anejo Tequila and you caught a light whiff of it.  These two smells can be compared to an old west gunslinger showing you his two six-guns when you meet in the street for a gun fight.  When you taste the beer, he’s just drawn on you and fired.

The intense hop taste followed by an alcohol warming in the throat is nearly overwhelming at first.  But over 5 or 6 drinks, it became more comfortable.  Possibly because it killed my taste buds.
It reminded me of an extra strong Double IPA.  Aubrey was not a fan of this one.  But, she’s not a fan of regular IPAs, much less doubles.

Give it a try, but you might want to be prepared to share the big 22 oz. bottle.  I have a second one in my refrigerator.  Wyatt … I’m bringing this to your house to share on your next Brew Day.

Stats
Brewer: Avery Brewing Company
Location: Boulder, CO
Website: http://www.AveryBrewing.com
Style: Barley Wine
Alcohol Content: 9.2% ABV
Interesting Note: Founder Adam Avery started Avery Brewing Company in 1993 after 7 years of home brewing experience.  To my home brewing friends out there … yes, you can turn your hobby into a career!  Please consider this to be my application to be your official alpha-taster!