The Kaiser - Avery Brewing Company

vladtheimpaler

New Jersey

4.05/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Damn. This tastes rather like a German O’fest, or maybe Spaten Optimator. Big malty aroma and flavor. Munich notes everywhere. Rich. Alcohol comes through a bit so you know you are drinking something big, but overall the palate is smooth and mellow. Clean finish. I am impressed with the drinkability of this at over 9%.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2004 20:23:43 | More by vladtheimpaler

alexgash

Connecticut

3.05/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

I was intrigued by this big scary bottle while I was at Liquormart last month, so I bought it. Pours a shiny yellowish-amber with a medium-sized light khaki head. Smells of biscuits that have been marinating in honey and corn syrup overnight. Lots of sugar. I notice a sharp hop bitterness too. Taste...whew! Now that's sweet. The Kaiser wastes no time in letting me know that he has a heart of pure sugar/cough syrup. Slight biscuit flavors are quickly, and rudely shoved aside by melted pixy stix and alcohol. Luckily, some bitter (almost astringent) hops kick in at about the same time and tame the sweetness a touch. Still, too cloyingly sweet to drink much. Big, cloying mouthfeel. I don't know how I'm gonna finish the entire 22 oz. bottle!

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2004 01:34:01 | More by alexgash

CRJMellor

Arkansas

3.63/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a hyper clear copper with golden highlights and an off-white head. Leaves sheets of lace on the glassware.
Aroma is caramel, malt liquor, some orange peel and a heavy dose of resing and floral hops.
Flavor is sweet caramel, grain, bread and butter with heavy pine hints and some resins. The high alcohol comes through to detract a bit but not too much.
Mouthfeel is sweet and robust to start sliding to a buttery smooth middle and finishing with a mellow slightly gritty hop note. The high octant hides what I think are some pleasant sweet malt notes.
Drinkability is solid. The aroma and flavor start strong but just get overpowered by jet fuel. Tone it down a bit and I bet this is a good beer. I seem to be in the minority but I enjoyed this one for the most part.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2004 19:07:32 | More by CRJMellor

kmpitz2

Tennessee

4.08/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This beer pours a DEEP red amber color with a finger of head that falls to a quarter inch over the beer. The nose is full of sweet, coton candyish malts, alcohol and earthy hops. Wow. The alcohol is up front and in my face. The malts are nice and roasty, staying on my tongue along with just a bit of a hop to balance them out. This is a good tasting lager beer. Mouthfeel is thick, as I would expect from this monster. Drinkability is pretty good for a beer of this magnitude. The aftertaste keeps me wanting more, so I'll go till this is done. Thanks to clvand0 for bringing this one over.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2004 23:40:31 | More by kmpitz2

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

maxpower

Missouri

4/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep clear amber color with a small off-white head that leaves some lacing in my glass. Bready, spicy candy like aroma, Fruity caramel and nutty flavors. Full bodied with a thick almost syrupy mouthfeel, finishes sweet. More like a dopplebock than an oktoberfest, I had no problem finishing the 22 ounce bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2004 21:21:58 | More by maxpower

bnuttz

Wisconsin

3.55/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

appears a nice copper hue, like one would expect a typical octoberfest to look like. Smells quite malty, and that smell translates to taste. This is one malty beer, but dont get me wrong, it is backed up by hops with no problem. This is a nicely balanced beer and a good shot at an octoberfest on steroids. Good job Avery, keep up the good work.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2004 00:51:09 | More by bnuttz

Ahhdball

Ohio

4.65/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Spotted this at a local brew shop and for $6.99 and figured why not, it's Oktoberfest somewhere. Very interesting label, German WW1 flag with a picture of Kaiser Wilhelm on the front and an Iron Cross.
Slick, oily pour with a nice orange/sienna hue holding a two-fingered beige head. The smell of caramel, nuts, hops and some alcohol lingering in the nose. Bitter hops pleasently mixed exceptionally with sweet lingering malts, hiding the big 9.3 ABV. Don't get fooled by it's subtlty. Smooth and creamy with a velevety texture, it leaves a little of itself behind after every drink. Overall this is an exceptional brew from Avery and probably one of my favorites. Unfortunately this is limited so I'll have to grab another very soon.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2004 16:26:53 | More by Ahhdball

Sixpack595

Michigan

4.18/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Deep copper-red color with a huge, yet short lived cap of coarse foam. High ABV surely contributes to the rapidly diminishing head, but it laces a bit and leaves a thin film to soldier on. Aroma is a bit fruity with black cherry and a bit of alcohol sneaking in. Flavor is almost like a Doppelbock with powdery cocoa, toffee, and a bitterness strong enough to cut the sweetness, but not overshadow the subtleties of the malt. Mouthfeel is dead on for a big beer with lots of alcohol. Thick enough to ensure you pace yourself, but not syrupy. This beer speaks softly but carries a big stick. You miss the ABV till it's too late. Great beer, great name.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2004 05:44:31 | More by Sixpack595

filabrazilia

Colorado

3.93/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours a glorious clear light orange witha medium tan head. Lace drapes to the sides of the glass.

I catch a distinctively malty aroma that is balanced with a touch of alcohol.

The beer is a little too strong for an Oktoberfest in that it is overwhelmed by the alcohol component. That being said, it is still very easy to drink. The sharpness of the alcohol is cut nicely by the sweet malt. While not what I'm used to in the style, this is still a very tasty beer. The malt lingers in the aftertaste.

The mouthfeel is spot on for the style--light and smooth in the mouth. This feels like a lager but has way too much complexity for the style.

A nice offering from Avery. Not quite what I expected, but still pretty damn good. These guys make big beers that are very easy to drink. I will definitely have another one of these before the fall is over.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2004 05:01:10 | More by filabrazilia

Gusler

Arizona

4.28/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer after it disemboguing from the 22-ounce brown bottle resides temporarily in my glass a limpid luminous brown with a behemothic creamy light tan head that erodes leaving a thick blanket of lace to obscure the glass. Nose is malt dominated, sweet and fresh to the senses, start is sweet with a delectable malt profile and the top moderate in its feel to the palate. Finish is strikingly acidic, the hops determined in their spicy bite with the aftertaste decidedly dry, another magnificent beer from one of my top ten breweries, and a fantastic label, my kudos to the great people at Avery once again.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2004 17:38:51 | More by Gusler

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