The Beast - Avery Brewing Co., Boulder

I've always had nice things to say about Avery. Though admittedly, I haven't had too many of Avery's more "extreme" beers. I visited their brewery in Boulder last year and was about to try a couple of their bigger golden Belgian series beers and I was hooked. This is the first of the darker big beers I've gotten around to reviewing. The Beast is a bit intimidating, it's 15.07% after all... That's twice the alcohol content of Avery's anniversary Saison beers! I've had stronger beers, but there was always something about the Beast... Maybe it was the name, the menacing label or just the price tag. At $8 for 12 oz it isn't cheap, but it's worth every penny.

I usually don't go into review mode until I've started pouring the beer into my glass. It's then that you start getting the first whiff of what you're in for. With the Beast, I was able to smell it coming by the time I'd pried the cap off just enough to break the seal. This great molassesy, brown sugar, brandy aroma came rushing out of the bottle with such pungency that I had to stop and take notice. By the time I'd poured myself a glass of this beer I was already able to well acquainted with the aroma, so was everyone else in the room. I was just as surprised with the body of this beer as I was with the aroma. The color was like that of a dark wheat or even a Tripel. It was a deep orange color with copper highlight and a light tan head. Not the beastly body I was expecting.

The flavor was nearly spot on. I've had Sam Adams' Utopias before and I was told it was similar to Avery's Beast, so that's what I went in to this beer expecting. And that was pretty accurate actually... This beer isn't as strong as the Utopias so it lacks a lot of that harsh alcohol burn and is much more drinkable. That also allows the subtler flavors to come through as well. One of my first impressions of this beer is that is tasted like a dark glazed ham. Not so much the ham, but the glaze itself...

This beer is full of sweet dark sugary flavors like molasses, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, brown sugar and even a little rum and brandy. The flavor combination is great, but very rich. My only real complaint with this beer is that it is 15%, you can have one of these beers and then you're about done for the evening. If you're planning on taming the Beast I'd advise not doing so on a school night.

In the end it seemed the Beast's bark was worse than its bite. Sure, this beer is intimidating at 15% ABV, but if you can commit to the steep price per ounce and dive in to one of these beers you'll find it very rewarding. I wouldn't recommend the Beast to everyone, but it is definitely worth seeking this one out if you're looking for something a bit more extreme.