The Kaiser - Avery Brewing Company

Jdiddy

Rhode Island

1.1/5  rDev -71.4%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Well, I must say I was very surprised with this beer and not in a good way. While I am a huge fan of Avery, this was just way off IMO. For starters, I expected a nice malty/spice smell. It actually smelled a bit like Strohs to me. The taste was very heavy/syrupy and the alcohol is not hidden well at all. Unfortunately, this went right down the drain as I found it next to impossible to drink. Very sweet as well and sort of tasteless.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2006 20:34:36 | More by Jdiddy

phillipzayas

Texas

1.38/5  rDev -64.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Sheesh this one was a bad one. Some beers shouldn't be imperialized in my honest opinion. This was one of them

A - Dark red, almost brown color. Too far on the SRM for a typical Oktoberfest. It was fair, but not terribly great.

S - Ok, any lagered beer generally doesn't produce a whole heck of a lot of nose character. This one had a very pungent aroma that was like unfermented malts. I could not detect much else after that.

T - BAD!! Just not good at all. All that residual sugars in it came right out on the taste buds. Could not even detect the hops profile or anything else except that unfermented/residual sugar flavor. Not good at all. I picked up a lot of hot alcohol, residual sugar and something else in the flavor profile that was just not good at all. I LOVE OKTOBERFESTS!! Just not this one at all. I don't know what they were going for with the "imperial" title, but they need to go back.

M - Lets see: Mouthfeel. I "feel" like this will never go back in my "mouth". That sums up "mouthfeel."

D - Definitely not drinkable in my opinion. Even my friend who was drinking it said it almost seemed "chewy". I had to agree with him. For a lager beer, this was a fail.

I have never had an Avery product I have ever liked and it continued to this day.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2010 17:21:36 | More by phillipzayas

nickhiller

Texas

1.6/5  rDev -58.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

A: amber, weak head, no lacing

S: Juicy Juice, fruit roll ups, sauerkraut

T: Juicy Juice, that is literally all I taste, you could carbonate Juicy Juice and have me blind taste these and there would be a 50/50 chance I would pick the right one

M: think carbonated juice

D: way too sweet for my tastebuds. It's no secret that I am not a fan of Avery (see previous posts) and this one, sadly, lives up to the low expectations I have for this brewery

Serving type: on-tap

09-18-2010 23:00:40 | More by nickhiller

JLeege

Illinois

1.7/5  rDev -55.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Appearance- pours a deep orange to almost amber in color. crystal clear, one finger white head. Looks and poured very nice.

Smell- bready, dark fruits, caramel, butterscotch

Taste- not as much initial flavor as the armoma would suggest. fairly boozy as well.

Mouthfeel- Thick, yet slick... with low carbonation. A ton of alcohol warming as well.

Overall- I am disapointed in this years offering. This is pretty bad, and being jacked up to around 10% you are going to expect some alcohol to be present. But with this I am getting a lingering aftertaste of cheap vodka. The initial flavor is nice, but as soon as I am getting it down, it tastes like what I remember Skol tasting like.

I have been avoiding saying it this whole time, because I remember liking this beer a year ago...THIS IS A BOOZY MESS

I have never done a drain pour, if I buy a beer, I am going to drink it. But the other half of this bomber doesnt stand a chance, what a sad day!

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2010 03:02:07 | More by JLeege

MiScusi

California

1.78/5  rDev -53.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Had this on tap at an Oktobefest celebration at Lucky Baldwin's Delirium Cafe in Sierra Madre, CA.

A- pours a nicely looking burnt orangish to red. Nice thick head sits up there with great retention. Not lookin too bad to start off.

S- Not sure how to really describe it. It almost smells like you would predict the taste... cloying. Its very sweet, some weird stuff in there too... probably the high alcohol.

T- Very hard to drink. There's alcohol, there's cloying sweetness and a toastiness that's trying to peak though. It doesn't work well at all.

D- too syrupy, doesn't make for a good oktoberfest style beer at all.

I understand that it's all about doing certain styles "Imperial" these days... but seriously, cmon. This is not a style that lends itself to the imperial. This was just flat out bad. The only reason anyone would give this a good score is if they are partial to Avery, or if they wanted to really believe that Avery is on to something new here with an Imperial Oktoberfest. They aren't. I didn't finish more than a few ounces so I gave it to my friend, and he couldn't finish it either.

Serving type: on-tap

10-04-2008 05:34:00 | More by MiScusi

crossovert

Wisconsin

2/5  rDev -48.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I'm not sure what the point of an imperial Oktoberfest is, and if it will even push any type of boundaries. 650ml foiled bomber.

It pours hazier than the style standard, it is a cidre color. Th head is off-white and the lacing is super dirty looking.

The smell has a tangy fruit character, some caramel nut, and alcohol.

The flavor is pretty bad. Super cloying sweetness, rotten fruit, sickly sweet caramel. Huge alcoholic presence.

This beer is not needed.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2010 20:52:44 | More by crossovert

rashbash22

California

2/5  rDev -48.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a tulip glass.

Appearance: Looks like a less watery king cobra

Smell: Malts are overwhelming, not much else

Taste: Extreme malt flavor, It is almost unbearable to even drink.

Mouthfeel: Very carbonated and reminds me of a more refined old english

Drinkability: Very hard to sip.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2011 09:25:04 | More by rashbash22

Erdinger2003

Iowa

2.13/5  rDev -44.7%
look: 5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Vintage 2005, I know it's not quite meant like that, but Zipp's had one we thought was fresh...it wasn't.

The appearance looks very nice, the head is big and frothy and doesn't easily leave. It does however leave behind a very strong lacing. The color is light brown and looks good. The smell however reminds me of a Belgian with sweet tones of candy sugar and a slight hop fruitiness. Taste is a clash of bitter hops and sweet candy sugar and they collide on your tongue with an unpleasantness. The mouthfeel was ok and overall I would like to try this years version before putting this to rest.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2007 08:08:03 | More by Erdinger2003

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

2.3/5  rDev -40.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Crystal clear sunset-red body, topped by a fist of firm bone-china foam. Nice lacing evident early on.

A breeze of bread lurks in the aroma, but there's a licorice factory and a vodka distillery between my nose and the bakery.

An appropriately malty start, but the sweetness increases instead of balances. Classic octoberfests have a wonderous sense of depth to the malt. The baker is making bread, not just cookies. This is all sugar coating before yielding to a finishing burst of alcohol.

Nice body, not watery, not syrupy.

Drinkability: too sweet, too much alcohol. A struggle to get through. Thankfully, there is only one.

Imperial Octoberfest...this is either a bad idea, or a mediocre idea poorly executed. Pass it by.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2004 03:23:31 | More by RonfromJersey

t0rin0

California

2.3/5  rDev -40.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

So I decided to give this another try last saturday at Lucky Baldwins in Pasadena. I tried it out of the bottle last year and it tasted stale so I wanted to make sure I didn't like it.

Pours a orange/copper color. Very clear, some white head, not much retention. CO2 level is good.

Very malty and sweet. I heard honey in one of the other reviews, I could see that. Aroma was moderately pleasant but not to style.

Taste was real sweet and alcoholy. Heavy on the dark malts in the flavor. Moderate bitterness for an Oktoberfest but this was not at all to style. Made me think of a German Barleywine, if there was such a thing.

Very thick and oily for an Oktoberfest. Its a mouthfeel more suited to a Russian Imperial Stout.

Not very drinkable at all. Between my roomate and I we got through about half of it before I dumped it in the bathroom. Don't see what all the hype is about, it's in no way an "Oktoberfest" beer.

Serving type: on-tap

10-08-2008 04:58:40 | More by t0rin0

GatorBeerNerd

Georgia

2.42/5  rDev -37.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A: Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a Bass pint glass. A microscopic amount of head that quickly disappeared. It looks very similar to a glass of tea once the head disappears. Its a clear medium brown color. No lacing at all.

S: Only two things I can smell in this one are malt and alcohol.

T: Very tart taste when it first hits your mouth and it stays until you swallow. The flavor is then replaced with a slight alcohol burn as an aftertaste.

M: It has a very watery consistency that is not that appealing. It has no carbonation in the mouth at all.

D: The alcohol and tartness of this one makes it a definite sipping beer. The taste doesn't lend itself to me wanting to knock it back either.

I was looking forward to trying this one since I had not had a beer from Avery that I did not enjoy up until this point. Personally I rank this one below average for an Oktoberfest. I guess Avery isn't perfect after all. Good thing they have so many fantastic brews to drink instead of this one.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2007 03:12:43 | More by GatorBeerNerd

yelterdow

New Jersey

2.55/5  rDev -33.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Served in an Oktoberfest tall glass at several degrees over fridge temperature.

Appearance- Pours a beautiful, fiery sunset amber that showcases a dramatic four-finger head, expanding right to the top of the glass. Soapy and meaty, the crown leaves behind miles of sticky, persistent lacing. Very nice.

Smell- A big, rich caramel malt backbone can't hide the obvious alcohol inherent in this beer... the nose isn't well balanced with a good hop profile. True enough to style, with an added dimension of dark fruit notes to help with the massive strength.

Taste- Maybe an Imperial Oktoberfest isn't the style to blast off into space with big ABV... the malts are grossly overpowered by a cloying sweetness and mediocre hops, then clobbered with alcohol heat that lingers long after the swallow.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- The texture here is thin and the carbonation, what little there is, dies out completely after two seconds in the mouth. I could never session this at a festival, nor would I care to sip one instead. A throwaway in the Avery line of usually great beers.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2006 05:38:12 | More by yelterdow

BlindPig

Pennsylvania

2.6/5  rDev -32.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A- Thick tan head on a clear copper body.
S- Big sweet caramel malt in the nose with the standard oktoberfest aroma following it. Kind of big in the grass hops for the style and just a hint of alcohol in the nose.
T- Really sweet caramel malts with strong alcohol over it. Big esters come through too. A mix of grass hops and alcohol tingle the tongue and leave a decent size bitterness on mid tongue.
M- Full body with low/medium carbonation.
D- I keep buying Avery beers in hope to find a good one. I think this may be the last one I try from them in a long time, I said that after Avery 14 though too.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2007 07:26:47 | More by BlindPig

Beaver13

Colorado

2.63/5  rDev -31.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

The Kaiser pours a reddish amber with a decent light brown head that goes to a thin film and laces the glass.

Its aroma is toasted malt, some spicy hops and some vinous alcohol.

The flavor is sweet (a little too much so), slightly fruity, caramel malts initially, with some spicy hops. A strong acidic alcohol taste dominates through to the finish. It tastes a little medicinal - it reminds me a little of cherry nyquil. It is pretty full bodied and creamy.

I wanted to like this. I like Avery beers, but this one, like the Beast, disappointed me. Too much alcohol, too over the top.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2004 05:13:04 | More by Beaver13

Vancer

Illinois

2.63/5  rDev -31.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Mark me as one of the thumbs-down folks on this one. The intense, harsh tree root flavor just did not go over well with me. Just not enough malt to balance this bad boy out.

The pour started out good – clear amber with ivory head, nice little sheet laces.

Not much in the aroma either, I barely detected fall spices – and I’ve got a pretty good size snozola.

Oh well, Avery has other offerings that are good.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2006 19:19:25 | More by Vancer

AlexJ

North Carolina

2.65/5  rDev -31.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Shared a 22oz. with a beer buddy of mine in Pa. Pours a crystal clear amber-red with a thin bone-white head. Aroma is very malty and sweet, smells like an octoberfest all the way. Taste is initially malty, bready and sweet followed by a nice dose of german hops. Finished is rough due to the extreme alcohol tatse. Not balanced at all! Thr alcohol is not well integrated into the beer, it just stands out too much. It's strange to here these words come out of my mouth cuz I love strong beers, it's all I drink! Some might really enjoy this brew, alas, I did not!

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2004 16:13:54 | More by AlexJ

sulldaddy

Connecticut

2.65/5  rDev -31.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

I am pouring the beer at room temp into a snifter. The beer pours a clear mahogany hue with fluffy off white head that fades to an edge layer quickly.
Aroma is lite brown sugar and some hot booze. The booziness dominates but does allow for a bit of dark fruit to poke through.
First sip reveals a smooth syrupy body with fine tingly carbonation.
Flavor is lite caramel and brown sugar then moves to some hot booze that overshadows all other flavors. The beer leaves a sweet sticky residue on my lips after each sip. The heat maintains this brew as a sipper.
Not the most well balanced or interesting beer and also not the most enjoyable. I wouldnt buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2006 21:58:09 | More by sulldaddy

Buebie

Minnesota

2.68/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Poured from a 22 oz bomber into an oversized merlot glass. The label on the bottle says bottled in 2008.
Silver tinfoil wrapped neck and cap.

Pours a transparent deep amber with an orange marmalade tinge.
Head is light and fluffy, 2 fingers deep. Medium to mild lace with good retention.

Smell is predominatly a spiced cracked peppercorn hoppieness with sweet malty aromas coming through. Fresh baked bread-sourdough bagget, floral hops, apples, sharp cheddar. Some very mild alcahol fumieness.

Taste upfront is sweet with a spice kick. Carbonation zing, turning mildly bitter all the while releasing a spicy peppercorn flavor that lingers in the background, but does not dominate.
Alcahol in the flavor is a bit undesirable.
Herbal spiced tea like aftertaste, some hoppy bittering with a touch of pine as it finishes. Dry, with a lingering peppery spice.

Mouthfeel is a tad thin, carbonation melds well with this beer and does not overwhelm.

Interesting theme for an oktoberfest style. I cant say it was the best fest beer I've had, but it wasnt the worst either.

Edit: As it has warmed to about 50 degrees it has gotten worse. The alcahol flavor has become pretty dominant and borderline ubearable. Its more peppercorn dominant now. Modifying my score on this as well.
I wont be buying this again. Although some cellar time might really smooth it out. So keep that in mind. I'd really like to try a cellered version of this.
I will keep buying Avery products, they are that damned good.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2008 17:47:43 | More by Buebie

champ103

Texas

2.68/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: Pours a clear reddish/amber color. A tiny white head forms, and leaves little lace.
S: Sweet brown sugar and very malty. Sickly sweet, ethanol solvent like alcohol.
T: Very sweet and sugary and cloying. Just brown sugar and solvent like alcohol.
M/D: Pretty thick and heavy. Almost chewy. sticky adhesive like. Way to hard sipping on this, the sweet sugar and high alcohol makes this to harsh to drink.

Like most Avery high alcohol beers, just sickly sweet and no nuance. I have not had this in years, and not something I am coming back to soon.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2008 01:38:21 | More by champ103

Jules11788

California

2.68/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.5

A: Pours a gorgeous clear red-orange color; one finger-width head, light lacing

S: Grassy, floral, slightly herby, lots of corn and cheap grain smell. Not too appealing

T: Corn, grains, and some grassy herbs. Kind of has that nasty Steel Reserve/Malt Liquor taste. Blegh, this stuff is terrible.

M: Thick, creamy, smooth, lightly carbonated

O: I was expecting a lot from this beer because I love everything Avery does, but this was terrible, just terrible. Would never buy this again

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2011 20:23:58 | More by Jules11788

Phenom

New Jersey

2.7/5  rDev -29.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

The beer pours a clear amber color with a moderate white head that dissipates to a thin film.

The smell and taste of this beer really evoke strawberry jam. Other fruity and vegetal flavors are present. The beer is a little too sweet for my taste. Alcohol becomes a little more apparent as it warms, which actually improves the flavor.

Mouthfeel for this beer is quite good, it is smooth with an almost chewy feel like a good red wine. Drinkability takes a bit of a hit just because I would never another due to the flavor.

To me this beer from Avery misses the mark. I have a hard time getting past the jam-like flavors and therefore cannot recommend this beer, unless you are really looking for something totally unique.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2008 20:42:27 | More by Phenom

jujubeast6000

Texas

2.7/5  rDev -29.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Reviewed 10/23/2008 (bottled 2007):

Pours a clear amber brown colored body, with creamy off-white head, which has good lacing, but is diminishing. An aroma of syrupy sweet maltiness. Also fruitiness, almost pungent. That same fruit in the taste. Malty. Eh, not a fan of oktoberfest style beers, I think.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2008 05:30:29 | More by jujubeast6000

SilentSabre

Georgia

2.73/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This is shocking! This poured much, much lighter than I was expecting. Smelled almost like a sweet BMC, and had a mouthfeel on par with a glass of tap water. Very, very average at BEST. Not quite a drain pour, but close. The pour was a lighter orange bronze colour, like slightly watered down tea. The head was white and fizzy and it faded away rather quickly. Smell was very light and had a definite presence of grain to it. Taste was alcohol, sweet malt, copper coinage, and in that order. Mouthfeel was light. Very light. Thin, weak, empty. Very disappointing, and very average. Perhaps I got a bad bottle. I'll revisit this in a month or so. As it stands, though, this isn't for me.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2006 22:25:22 | More by SilentSabre

HoppyMcStout

Missouri

2.73/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I poured this brew into a standard pint glass. Decent head with very mild lacing toward the very top of the glass. The color was a translucent reddish-brown. The scent was pure sugar, maybe a faint maple syrup? The taste was not pleasing. I suppose there is a reason why there aren't many imperial oktoberfests. This one had virtually no hop bite and was all malt. Not that all malt it necessarily bad, but this brew was just a mush of overly sweet flavors that had no distinctive character at all.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2008 15:16:23 | More by HoppyMcStout

assurbanipaul

Texas

2.78/5  rDev -27.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pours a clear copper with a medium head and lots of tiny bubbles rising within. Nose is caramel malts with a touch of tangy hops. Nice lacing all the way down.

Taste is some sweet caramel malts with a fair amount of spice. Bittering hops, not quite citrus but with a fruity edge, on top of a solid malty backbone. Elements of brown sugar or molasses come through, dark fruits, butter toffee, a lot of brown ale qualities. Alcohol flavor is not detected until later through the bottle, almost pushes to cloying at the end.

Mouthfeel is medium to heavy, chewy, finishes a little muddled. Blurs across styles as a strong brown ale, a doppelbock, an eisbock, or even a sherry. I don't know if this works, as I expect my O'fests to be far more drinkable and less serious than this.

2005 Vintage, 8.9% ABV

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2005 02:15:36 | More by assurbanipaul