Perfectly clear amber, aroma of hops, sherry and caramel - malty, sweet butterscotch kind of flavor, but lacking the complexity characteristic of the style - finish is dry, hoppy and crisp, with a marked absence of maltiness - this tastes more like a more malty version of a pale ale than a barleywine, but it's a tasty beer none-the-less.

A light yellow beer with a fine head. The aroma is light and of sweet hops, yeast, coriander, and sour wheat. The flavor is of grass, hops, citrus, and wheat and with a dry end. A rather boring beer.

(draught) Very dark brown, not black; extremely slim dark head. Grapey nose, sweet chocolate, raisins. Sweet, little roast malt, except for immediately on tasting. I find it a bit thin for an Imperial Stout, very little aftertaste. Nose is great, beer is nice, but one would be excused for demanding more from an Imperial.

2003 bomber. Pours a light brown with some darker mahogany colors lurking. Yellowish/burnt brown towards the edges. Tons of lacing as it goes down. Moderately small dark beige/brown head. Lots of carbonation in the bottle (typical of Avery). Slightly cloudy. Smells of rich roast, slight amounts of licorice, lots of alcohol, some burnt walnut, and of course, barley and hops, though it is a more refined, drier barley smell. Opens up restrained and quite balanced, good strong orange flavor. Alcohol present, but it waits until towards the finish to really jump out. Body is quite complex and medium-full, tending more towards medium. Lots of hops, dry, strong toffee and a lively carbonated, salty texture. The finish is alot like the porter, only stronger and more apt for the style: dry hops mix with lots of alcohol and roasted barley. Some problems with astringency, needs aging much like the North Coast Old stock, but dosent have enough malt to show as much potential, just needs to even out a bit in the finish. FINALLY an Avery Beer I get along with!

2003 bottlePours a lighter yellow with some white tinges. Moderately cloudy with not a whole lot of head. Smells of coriander, yeast, a little bit perfumy. Orange and more citrus. Starts out mildly acidic, mildly sweet and VERY WATERY. Yuck this tastes like soggy wheat with some slightly tart but muted lemon and a little bit of dissolved bubble gum/candy flavor. Maybe I got a bad bottle, dont know why this would be so bad. coriander and lots of water dont mix. 5/4/3/1/7
2005 draught at Redbones Phew, was hesitant to try this one after hating the bottle I had last. Much better though. A hoegaarden clone it seems, with a very similar appearance (though this lacked much, if any head formation or retention). Huge amount of haziness though, and who would have thought, when Avery makes unfiltered beers, they are good, hint hint. Lemon, bubble gum and clove all balanced well with soft wheat and light pils malt and belgian base malt. 6/4/7/3/12

Pours a burnt brown head to complement a lighter brownish body with some dark black tinges. Old, dry nutty smell with some alcohol pushing through. Begins with a medium to high acidic musty taste. Too much dry hopping acidity that is not supported by an ample enough body. I did not really care much for the slightly astringent mouth feel. There’s definitely something about this brewery I dont get along with.

Bottle, 2006-01-27, 6-3-7-3-13=32
Brown color. Aroma of malt, paper and roasted chicken. Balanced taste, with some malt, roasted malt, caramel, nuts. Quite pleasant.

Bottle, 2003-09-08, 7-4-8-4-14=37
Brown-amber color, creamy head. Nice aroma, original, changing from the light oatmeal, to the caramel, cardboard, coffee, light hop. Pleasant, with a quite good body, malty, with some roasted barley and hazelnuts, but most of all a very nice hop note. A positive surprise!