Samael's Ale - Avery Brewing Company

tlazaroff

Virginia

3.69/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Boozy on the nose, beyond that are bunches of summer fruit. Plums, golden raisins, and caramel - all in full force.

It pours with a half-finger tan head which disappears quickly and leaves little to no lacing. All of that is expected because of the high ABV content. The beer itself is a perfectly clear mahogany color, but has floaters in it.. it's not yeast.. maybe proteins? I have no idea, but it really detracts from the appearance.

Big big BIG caramel throughout the taste and long into the finish. The booze is like a punch in the gut.. it's high. Low on carbonation and a viscous almost syrupy body really make the mouthfeel smooth and comfortable. Its not bad overall, would be great with a cigar. I'd probably still buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2012 01:16:08 | More by tlazaroff

beergoot

Colorado

3.78/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

April 2011 Batch 7 12oz bottle 15.31% ABV

Strange floaters bounce throughout the deep copper-red body. The head is fair, sticky, thin, with lacing down the glass. Strong toffee, caramel, and maple syrup aroma. Taste and mouthfeel smacks you with rich, syrupy sugars (similar in nature to the aroma), a very noticeable alcohol presence, and an all-encompassing bitterness. Definitely heavy bodied.

Except for the mystery floaters (yeast sediment?), this is pretty decent, high ABV barley wine. Bold and assertive across the board, yet pretty well-balanced overall. Complexity is almost an understatement with this beer. Worth checking out, but only in small doses...

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 19:58:00 | More by beergoot

Darkmagus82

Montana

4.63/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served on tap in a 10 oz chalice glass - 2012 vintage

Appearance – The beer is served an amber color with a thin-just off white head that fades fast to leave only a small amount of lacing. While leaving little lacing, the beer clings to the side of the glass upon swirling giving it a “thick” look.

Smell – The aroma is heaviest to of sweet smells. Aromas of toffee, caramel, fruit (some dark and tropical) as well as aromas of vanilla and oak. These aroma overall, when mixed with some lighter biscuit, yeasty and boozy aromas make for one nice smelling brew.

Taste – The taste hits sweet and hard. There is a huge taste of caramel and toffee with a lighter bready flavor upfront. Some flavors of vanilla and oak are present at the beginning. As time advances the oak and vanilla get stronger. The caramel and toffee that were huge in the beginning decline some with a up-surgence of some of the fruit flavors. More to toward the end a lighter yeasty flavor with a moderate boozy flavor come to the tongue. While there is a boozy flavor that does warm the tongue, it is less then would be expected for a 15 % abv + brew. Overall a sweet warming feel is left on the tongue. Delicious.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is thick and creamy with the carbonation level being on the lower side. Both are fantastic for accentuating the sweet, oaky and boozy flavors of the brew.

Overall – Overall, it is sweet, flavorful, warming and delicious. This is definitely one to sit back and sip over a long conversation with a friend (or a stranger at a bar that can become a friend). Give it a go if you have the chance.

Serving type: on-tap

08-09-2012 00:40:53 | More by Darkmagus82

cindyjeffsmith

Georgia

4.85/5  rDev +25%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Batch 3. April 2007. Picked this up in late 07' as I recall. Have several samael's in the cellar.
Appearance: murky brown especially close to the end of the bottle.
Smell: huge and awesome! I must be a weirdo cause this brew gets little love on ba, and I consistently am floored every time I open one. Dark and bright fruits. Redolent and buttery with caramel.
Taste: all the promise of the nose delivered in a port like magic.
Overall: a transcendent creation. Avery take a bow.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 22:36:35 | More by cindyjeffsmith

BarryMFBurton

Indiana

3.53/5  rDev -9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Found this one sitting out in a liquor store after Avery had been out of Indiana for over a year. Lucky me, I hope…no idea how this one will turn out.

Batch 2, Bottled in May 2006?! That was over six years ago! It’s 14.5% ABV, so it should age well – one can only hope.

A: Deep amber pour without a lot of head; not surprising. At first, there’s a torrent of fizzy brown bubbles about an inch high, but they disappear pretty quickly.

S: Very boozy, very malty: fusel aromas mix with a big blast of caramel and milky vanilla. Touches of dried cherries, toast, date, and thick toffee, too, under a blanket of abundant oak aromas. Nice, but not outstanding – the alcohol could have been more hidden.

T: Caramel maltiness lays flat across the entire palate, giving each sip an almost cloying sugariness. Tastes of maple syrup, vanilla, and molasses mix in, with lemon tartness joining after for some reason. Odd, and a little off-putting. Tastes of oak and raisin push into the aftertaste, rendering a woody, sugary darkness to the finish. A very syrupy palate.

M: Today’s moving day, so I had no glassware except a single whiskey glass – ended up perfect for this beer. It’s a monster of a beer, warming on the way down and sticking to the sides of the mouth. Still, it has a strange drinkable quality for such a high ABV.

O: Strange beer, indeed: a powerhouse of booze that remains drinkable, all while being a sugary malt-bomb. If it weren’t for that startling lemon taste, I think I might like it more, but for now I’m glad I only got one bottle (for around $9).

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2012 02:13:08 | More by BarryMFBurton

tut2528

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle shared with one other person

A: mahogany in appearance with minimal clarity, moderate carbonation, slight head formation.

S: huge toffee, brown sugar, raisins, plums, oak and vanilla. All seem very well balanced. I think the biggest surprise was the 15.31% ABV. It was noticeable, but at the same time balanced nicely with all the big sweet characters.

T: I get big deep vanilla, oak, toffee, and some butterscotch characters. The alcohol definitely comes out more here than in the nose, but again, a huge amount of sugary sweetness keeps the alcohol much lower than what was expected. Strong beer, but balanced quite nicely.

M: Big, full-bodied, the sugary sweetness allowed me to want to continue to sip away on it. Slightly sticky to the teeth and the alcohol is felt along the upper lips and at the back of the cheeks.

O: This was a surprise because I thought the big alcohol content would be more prominent in the taste. But the massive sweetness really keeps it mellow. It’s a big, strong, sweet beer. As the beer warmed up, I did not find much change from the initial aspects. I can see that this brew might be a bit much for one person, but being shared, this beer is very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2012 15:58:18 | More by tut2528

Aml42000

Washington

3.83/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- Hazy amber color with a thin, off white head.

S- The oak dominates the nose. Vanilla and cigar box aromatics are present and it is enjoyable to sniff in general. It doesn't evolve much as it warms up which was surprising and a bit disappointing.

T- Very rich flavors of caramel, banana and vanilla. Very boozy which isn't surprising with an Abv of 15+%. I actually enjoyed that aspect on this beer more than I normally do as it was a nightcap and had the feel of a nice whiskey or brandy.

M- Surprisingly high carbonation added a good counterpoint to the rich, sweet flavors and the hot finish. It also kept this from showing too thick and flabby.

O- A nice effort. Not something I'd look for every day, but a unique Barleywine- style ale that was a pleasant way to wind down an evening. I would purchase this again.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 21:04:19 | More by Aml42000

DavoleBomb

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a snifter. Batch #8.

4.5 A: Lightly hazed plum color. Two fingers of beige, frothy/creamy head. Retention is very good given the ABV. A decent sized ring of lacing is left. Some small yeasties throughout.

4.0 S: Strong toffee, caramel, and fruits. Banana is the strongest followed by plum, well, sugar plums, followed by figs and candied oranges. Oak and maple syrup. Brown sugar and pickled beets. Spicy yeast. Boozy, but as expected.

3.5 T: Taste encompasses all of the components of the nose. The strongest are banana, caramel, sugar plum and candied orange, spice from the yeast, figs, and brown sugar. Super sweet with a formitable booziness. It's tasty and superbly complex, but it's too damn sweet to enjoy all 12 oz.

3.5 M: Heavy body. Good moderate carbonation. Booze leaves a bit of harshness in the feel and the sweetness is a bit cloying. I'd prefer this to be a bit drier with the booze better hidden.

3.5 D: This is too sweet and boozy for me, but it was worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2012 03:26:45 | More by DavoleBomb

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.53/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours out into my goblet a lightly hazed garnet color with a brief two finger tan head that settles back down to a persistent collar with minimal lacing left behind.
Smells heavily of sweet brown and candi sugars and caramel, has lesser amounts of dark fruits, coconut, oak wood and alcohol booze. I'm having a hard time finding any hopping whatsoever in this nose, I think its been buried underneath the ABV.
Taste is a thick caramel smack in the face (despite a thick body texture, the carbonation is adequately high to keep this from being syrupy) with medium amounts of vanilla and coconut boozy oak wood in the mouth. Gets rather fiery in the mouth, as one might expect from the high ABV, and this (along with the simplicity of the flavor profiles) is the chief flaw of the brew.

However, it is certainly not a terrible beer either. If you want your eyebrows to light on fire and like to be punched in the face with a fist made out of soft caramel candy that has been rolled around in oak chips, than this is the brew for you.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2012 05:45:38 | More by WastingFreetime

emerge077

Illinois

4.35/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2012 batch, draft served in an 8 oz. footed goblet.

Dark auburn color, reddish brown with light tan foam that leaves spindly arcs of lacing in the glass.

Aromas of toasted coconut, fried plantains, melted toffee, cajeta. Intensely rich, decadent and sweet. Similar flavors, lots of creamy toffee, toasted oak, bananas foster, vanilla, big bourbon.

Body is thick and syrupy, creamy and sweet with very intense flavors. So much so, it reminded me strongly of Colorado whiskies Stranahans and High West Double Rye. Wouldn't be surprised if they used Strananhans barrels, this tasted very similar. Anything more than a tiny sip and you feel an alcohol burn, it's certainly potent at 16%. Took quite awhile to finish the small glass, but it was definitely savored.

Serving type: on-tap

06-13-2012 19:37:01 | More by emerge077

RuckusDu

Colorado

3.8/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

April 2007, Batch 3, bottle picked up in Tempe, AZ. The guy said they just got 10 cases of this and sold 9 of them in 4 days. Poured into a Stone Double Bastard tumbler.

A - About a 1/3 finger of rich light caramel colored head that quietly dissipates. Body is moderately cloudy but a deep reddish/orange amber. Almost no lacing.

S - Sweet and a little boozy. A range of fruits from banana and pineapple to currents and prunes. Caramel is strong with this one and light vanilla notes. The complexity really is nice and coherent.

T - Very sweet and slightly oxidized. Probably just starting to fade. Banana on the back-end. Not too boozy but it is present. Caramel and vanilla again with some slight oak flavors.

M - Still has plenty of carbonation and body is thick but not syrupy.

O - Could have been very good but unfortunately this one has started to turn. I will probably try another from my stash to make sure it wasn't just a bad bottle. Great complexity and smooth. The sweetness is a bit over the top.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2012 18:20:06 | More by RuckusDu

mscudder

Georgia

4.38/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a pint. Shared with my BFF.

A- Dark amber hue. Tin head with minimal lacing.

S- High alcohol and a touch of sweetness.

T - Amazing for a a beer of this ABV. Certainly something that will knock you on the floor... But o so enjoyable.

M - Smooth, warm, and delightful. Carbonation is excellent alongside the heavy medium body.

O - Among the best Barleywines I have ever had. Well balanced ABV which makes a fine brew worth seeking.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2012 00:23:21 | More by mscudder

blakelive784

Colorado

2.2/5  rDev -43.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

12 fl oz brown glass bottle served in a pint glass, reviewed live:

A - Pours a nearly transparent copper amber color with no discernible head. The lack of head is excusable given the ABV, though it's pretty mundane overall.

S - Heavy oaky syrup dominates the nose. Maple and ass. Heavily imbalanced. Light floral and spicy hops notes. Imbalanced and uninviting.

T - Off oak dominates the palate. Alcohol is apparent throughout. Caramel is overwhelming. No hops notes are apparent at all. Cloyingly sweet.

M - Thicky and syrupy. Alcohol bite on the finish.

D - Definitely a sipper (if you want to endure it). Bordering undrinkable on account of how sweet and alcoholic it is. I'd never have it again.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2012 03:26:48 | More by blakelive784

kojevergas

California

2.45/5  rDev -36.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Batch #8 15.47%. 12 fl oz brown glass bottle with foiled over pressure cap served into a New Belgium pilsner glass in me friend's gaff in high altitude Fort Collins, Colorado. Reviewed live. Expectations are high, though I fear it'll be too hoppy.

Served refrigerator cold and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a one finger head of beige colour, hardly any cream, okay thickness, and pretty good retention considering the ABV. Colour is a clear copper. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Somewhat vibrant, but not horribly appealing.

Sm: Alcohol, pale hops, heavy caramel, toffee, and clean malts. Heavy oak. A strong aroma.

T: Clean malts with some light indistinct pale hops. Some alcohol heat, but it's rather understated for how high the ABV truly is. Caramelized malts. A muddy oak tone. There's little going on here considering the style and oak aging. It doesn't seem worth the effort to age. Some layering. Not particularly complex or subtle. No yeast comes through. A bit boring - especially for the style.

Mf: Smooth and wet - thankfully, because the flavours would do worse if brought out by the mouthfeel. Adequately carbonated. Far too thick and syrupy (its biggest problem by far). Fairly heavy on the palate.

Dr: Drinkable for the ABV, but you wouldn't want to quaff it. Not quite a sipper. I don't much care for it. I certainly wouldn't get it again. I wouldn't recommend it to friends either. A disappointing brew from Avery. They should free up the aging space for a better beer. A very poor example of a barleywine.

High D+

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2012 03:25:53 | More by kojevergas

Rippeddisc

Hawaii

3.48/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

April 2007
Batch #3

Opened 6/5/12

a - amber/caramel color, no head...after aging 5 years prob expected, lots of sediment floating around

s - caramel, oak, booze, cherry, malty sweetness

t/m - super sweet, syrupy, liquefied candy oak? ha, hangs on palate but not overly thick

o - quite a sweet beer. boozy and unique to have such an old beer (5 years). not overly mind blowing but good. def for desert and worth a try...glad i got this one stored away back then :)

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2012 04:38:54 | More by Rippeddisc

Spider889

Ohio

3.38/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

2011 batch on tap at the brewery on 9/24/11. Served in a mini snifter.

The snifter arrives with a dark barleywine that shows excellent clarity. Awesome head retention going on here with lots of visible high-rising carbonation. Leaves a nice honeycomb of lace on the glass after each sip.

The aroma is built upon layers of toffee, leather, cherry, grape soda, mild caramel, and mineral oil. Generally sweet but wonderfully complex.

Whoa there big fella! The flavor is pure sweetness. Honey and molasses duke things out on the front porch of your palate, and this street fight ain't the kind of brawl that you want to risk being drawn into, so you just hide behind cracked blinds and hope to not get noticed. Boy is this fucker sweet. Fruity yeast and over-abundant malt residuals make it difficult to taste the same layered depth that I found in the aroma.

M - Smooth, I suppose, but boozy like it's going out of style. Has a slight vanilla aftertaste.

O - A fun beer to sip on, but I don't see how anyone could handle more than a mini snifter of this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

06-04-2012 09:25:24 | More by Spider889

billab914

Virginia

3.48/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

2012 vintage poured from a 12oz bottle into my Stone IRS glass. It poured dark amber in color with a thin, frothy, white colored head to it. Nice lacing on the glass as I drank it.

The aroma has a strong oak presence to it that gives it a dry, woody, slight vanilla like flavor. A good amount of citrus hops and sweeter malts are there as well, but the oak seems like the focus. With everything coming together the aroma becomes a lot like a freshly peeled orange strangely enough.

The taste has a bit more of a malty, caramel presence to it at first. It quickly starts to turn more towards the oak and citrus aspects of it with notes of orange, oak, vanilla and bitter citrus rind all lingering into the finish. There are some sweeter, candied like fruits to it as well. It did feel a little harsh at times with the flavors not always being very complimentary of each other.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied for the style with carbonation being above average. Overall, it was a pretty decent beer. The oak and the citrusy flavors came together well enough in it. It definitely made me think fresh peeled oranges on more than one occasion. It did however also feel a little harsh and unrefined at times with the oak and citrus flavors clashing a little.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 01:28:14 | More by billab914

zaphodchak

Virginia

4.43/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Substantial fine head (which subsided), decent lace, and a tawny brown body.

Nose rich with golden raisin, caramel, and oak. Intense and decadent.

Massive boost body dripping with apple, caramel, raisin and oak. Rather port-like, from my limited experience.

Mercifully enough body to support the massive taste.

The oak is barely enough to contain the beast! A truly titanic English barleywine. Drinkable- the 16% is apparent bit not an impediment.

Serving type: on-tap

06-01-2012 03:49:02 | More by zaphodchak

TATURBO

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2005 purchased from Eagle River Liquors in Fulton, IL. 14.5%

A: Mahogany hue. No Head. Plenty of small floaties.

S: Dark Fruit, Oxidation, Slight Soy/Worchester sauce.

T: Sweet Caramel with Dark Fruit. Syrupy. Very very smooth. Flavors have melded together very well over such a long time, but a lot seems to have been lost as well from the aging.

M: Slick, Smooth, Syrupy. Little if any alcohol remains.

O: Maybe a bit past it's prime but still very interesting to try. Definitely a sweet one but great flavor remains.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2012 19:38:35 | More by TATURBO

neenerzig

Ohio

4.85/5  rDev +25%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A bottle of Batch # 3 (2007) at 14.9% ABV. Poured into my snifter. I bought this beer from the Party Source in Bellevue, Kentucky when I was in Cincinnati at Jungle Jim's for The Weekend Of Fire in early August 2010, and my good buddy Passow and I had to make the trip across the river to this fine establishment to get fine beers like this we can't buy here in Ohio due to totally bullshit laws and asshole politicians. I had been storing it in my cellar until earlier tonight. This beer pours a cloudy, hazy medium copper brown color. Has lots of floaties in it, as man does this beer have a shitload of yeast sediment in it! The most I've seen in any beer in awhile, that's for sure. Also has a tan head that is about 1/3 inch thick when poured that quickly settles to a nice thick ring lining the inside of the glass pretty after first being poured. Not much lacing here either, and only a very slight bit of spotty surface foam. Sweet aromas of caramel, dark fruit, oak goodness, brown sugar, maple syrup, and alcohol are fill the nostrils nicely upon taking some nice deep whiffs. Elegantly sweet yet lightly salted caramel, brown sugar, dark fruit (raisins, plums, cherries, bananas), slightly roasted nuttiness, maple syrup, a hint of butterscotch, and it is all rounded out with a slight taste of alcohol. No discernible hop presence here whatsoever, but I guess that comes as no surprise when a beer has been aging for 5 + years, right?! Fairly boozy tasting for a beer with this high ABV. I've had other beers in the same ABV range where the alcohol taste was masked or blended into the beer as a whole better than it is here, but this beer is still absolutely amazing! Has a smooth, creamy, sticky, slightly chewy, medium to full bodied mouthfeel with light carbonation. This one really coats the inside of the mouth and the tongue with a thick layer of syrupy, boozy goodness! Dangerously drinkable for a beer of this caliber. And to quote my good friend Passow "This is a beer that is so good that you can drink it in bed and it will lull you to sleep."

Eric

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 05:20:16 | More by neenerzig

BostonHops

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle served in a snifter.

bottled april '08 (batch 4)
15.53% ABV

pours a murky brown tone with some ruddy hues to it; a half finger of beige/tan head quickly lapses into a collar around the glass - not surprising given how big this beer is. body clears after settling.

aroma is outstanding, probably one of the better barleywines i've smelled in some time. sweet and toasted malts, dark fruits, oak, and booze dominate a fragrant nose. just smells yummy. flavor isn't far behind, from the malts to the oak to the dark fruits. nice buttery quality to it... a touch of molasses in the finish... complex and well-balanced. the alcohol is there but not as overpowering as i assumed it would be.

creamy, medium-full bodied mouth feel with just the right carbonation level; dangerously drinkable for a brew this potent.

originally reviewed: 01-05-2011

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2012 21:29:57 | More by BostonHops

Thickfreakness

New York

4.68/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

2011 15.31%

A- Cherry/Copper color poured into my DFH glass. A two finger tinted head that drags a bunch of decently sticky lacing down with it. Carbonation at first... but settles down to a quiet murmur.

S- Caramel, toffee, fresh mission figs wrapped in proscuitto... tons of brown sugar, oatmeal raisin cereal, vanilla, maple syrup, over-ripe banana's, and some alcohol that brings out, and enhances all the flavors.

T- WOW! Cinnamon buns drowned in vanilla/maple/brown sugar/caramel!!! This tastes just as the nose implies! This is friggin' brilliant! Some notes of marshmallow, salted caramel, macadamia nuts, dried cherries, fresh figs, and a really nice burst of alcohol!

M- Sweet, thick and syrupy!!! A wonderful, warming touch of alcohol that opens up the nose and tastebuds. Sugary sweet and full of dark dried fruit!

O- An amazing blend of vanilla/oatmeal raisin cookies/dried fruit/maple syrup/brown sugar/and booze!!! This is absolutely rediculous! Other than GI KH... this is the best BW I've ever had!

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2012 04:15:54 | More by Thickfreakness

yamar68

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

2011 vintage poured from the 12oz bottle to tulip:

Pours a deep, ruby mahogany with a fizzy, short-lived suggestion of foam. Minimal beading and lacing with lovely legs. Nice looking big beer.

The nose is stuffed with little dark fruits - raisins, figs, plum. Some solid caramel malts, toffee, brown sugar, the booze is pretty balanced for what it is.

Even on the tongue, the 15.31% abv is pretty tame. A lot of the dense fruits are apparent in the flavor. The booze doesn't burn as much as it warms. There's a ton going on here - a great beer to sip and relax on... the body is rather thin and carbonation fades real quick.

Of the demon series, I place this one just behind The Beast. They all take a similar direction, and this one really only suffers in its mouthfeel and appearance. Everything else is pretty well executed. Real good brew.

---

2007 vintage - batch 3:

Swampy copper brown body capped with a surprising amount of light khaki head that leaves loads of sticky lacing and oily booze legs.

No detectable alcohol character... moldy caramel and toffee dominate the nose, just barely resisting oxidation, coffee cake, nutmeg, smells pretty damn syrupy.

Dull, smooth, fruit cake, dry, the finish leaves me asking for more... not enough booze but also not enough complexity... I can't imagine that this one will improve at this point. Certainly smooth but less than impressive.

Drink 'em if you got 'em.

4 / 3.5 / 4 / 4 / 3.5

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2012 04:35:29 | More by yamar68

Badbobx

Indiana

4.05/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Poured a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. There was a faint lacing following a pleasant faint reddish brown pour.

S - the aroma was an inital hit of oak with a following hint of ripe fruity sweetness.

T - the taste is pleasant. This is a very sweet brew requiring a lenghty tasting. Sit back and appreciate the sweetness, the slightly caramel, spicy,raisin, apple flavor. There is a rather raw element to the favor that is rather jolting at first, but mellows as the brew warms.

M - there is a nice mild carbonation to this brew that balances with the carbonation.

O - This is a drinkable beer. This would be enjoyable on a long winter's night by the fire with a good book. The beer has a slightly raw taste that might be bellowed by a bit of aging.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2012 03:57:53 | More by Badbobx

Etan

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a brandy snifter. Batch 3 (2007).

A: Pours a dark reddish brown with a small tan head. Lots of sediment falls out at the end of the pour.

S: Intense dark fruits in the nose. Sweet prune, molasses, brown sugar, raisin.

T: More intensely sweet, slightly-oxidized dark fruit: grape and raisin, plum, mushy prune, noticeable oak, very subtle vanilla, cooked sugar, caramel, mild cocoa, a bit of musty sweet oxidation, hot alcohol underneath.

M: Slight tingle of carbonation, thick body.

O: This is surprisingly drinkable for an almost-15% beer, with the alcohol relatively smoothed out and hidden, so the age has done its job there. Other than that, it's very sweet, cloyingly so.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2012 01:44:30 | More by Etan