Avery Anniversary Ale - Fifteen - Avery Brewing Company

Soonami

Pennsylvania

2.15/5  rDev -39.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

I've had my share of wild ales, but this beer was definitely not what I was looking for. It is definitely spontaneously fermented with lots of horse-stable straw flavor, but it had almost no acidity to balance out the funk. It was like drinking a beer version of Rocqueforte cheese that wasn't salty or tart. Combined with a mineral quality it had a distinctly meaty taste. It looked alright, pale and couldy, with almost no head and smell was fine.

Most disappointing was that I had this at City Tap House in West Philadelphia, at an event termed, "Best of the best," when in fact this was one of the worst wild Ales I've ever tasted

Serving type: on-tap

06-17-2010 02:59:26 | More by Soonami

drummermattie02

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -2%

05-13-2013 14:27:51 | More by drummermattie02

anhigdon

Kentucky

4.25/5  rDev +19%

05-10-2013 19:20:08 | More by anhigdon

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -2%

05-10-2013 19:12:09 | More by twenty5

hopley

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +12%

04-27-2013 17:07:06 | More by hopley

bulldogg915

Wyoming

3/5  rDev -16%

04-03-2013 14:10:21 | More by bulldogg915

BKotch

Texas

3.75/5  rDev +5%

03-30-2013 05:15:00 | More by BKotch

DmanGTR

New York

4.5/5  rDev +26.1%

01-28-2013 17:42:26 | More by DmanGTR

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.05/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle opened on 1.12.13.

A - Pours a clear medium orange with a two inch foamy off-white head with good retention.

S - Strong Belgian yeast, citrus, lots of lemons.

T - Lemony citrus with a touch of peppery spice, Belgian yeast backbone.

D - Good carbonation with a light body.

O - Citrus and spicy. This one aged nicely.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 07:02:52 | More by HuskyinPDX

FreshmanPour77

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -9%

11-20-2012 18:01:05 | More by FreshmanPour77

katan

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz into a pint

A - Pours a dark golden color. Heavy strong bright white formation, bubbly as can be. Breaks down quickly with a little bit of film.

S - heavy fruity, citrus - sour nose. Super strong amount of funky notes.

T - Starts off citrus, fruity. Sour, acidic, funky. Pilsner malts is the base, I think. Comes through with some white pepper and other spicy notes. Finishes off with grapefruit.

M - Very airy mouthfeel from all the stingy strong carbonation. A light sugary sweet cling finishes on the tongue. Alcohol warmth is present but light overall.

O/D - This one had a lot of time to "get funky" in the bottle. Brett yeast seems to have taken over big time. A little bit filling but that fits the still. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2012 23:27:49 | More by katan

harpus

Alabama

3/5  rDev -16%

10-15-2012 17:37:24 | More by harpus

NilocRellim

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -16%

09-29-2012 04:47:22 | More by NilocRellim

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.88/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 750mL bottle into a brandy snifter. Bottled April 2008.

A: Some white head tops a murkily translucent straw-yellow beer. Scattered lacing.

S: Faint Brettanomyces. Some tart, tropical fruit.

T: Jaw-achingly tart initially. This yeast has got some serious funk, but by the latter half of the taste, the hibiscus becomes unmistakably prominent and leads to a smooth, clean finish. A trace of balancing spice is likely the black pepper. I really like what's going on in here. I have no idea what it's like fresh, but it seems to have aged well. The tartness fades with acquaintance, and mellows out into a saisonesque funk-forward yeasty beer with some sweet fruit undertones and spicy topnotes.

M: Middling.

O: I quite liked it, but it's certainly strange. Recommended if you can still find one laying about, as my friend did, languishing unappreciated on some dusty shelf.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 04:59:19 | More by AgentMunky

JohnK17

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +5%

08-30-2012 15:00:37 | More by JohnK17

Caterwaul

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +19%

08-05-2012 17:55:11 | More by Caterwaul

deadonhisfeet

Kentucky

3.83/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

My local bottle shop got an old 2008 keg of this so I took some home. Served in a Dogfish Head snifter. Clear gold color with a thin head. The nose has some apples, light barnyard funk, and a hint of berries (possibly the mission figs used). Other than the light funk, it smells like a nice Chardonnay.

Nice tart acidic flavor. The tartness is balanced by a little bit of sweetness, but not much. Mouth feel is nice and firm, though it could use a bit more carbonation to wake up the palate. The beer is creamy in the front of the mouth with some oak and cedar notes. Tartness arrives at mid-palate with flavors of apple skins and green grapes, but does not destroy your taste buds. Rather, it brings a refreshing acidity.

I was surprised at some of the lukewarm reviews this beer got. Perhaps time has mellowed it out some and improved the flavor. I thought it was a solid, refreshing sour.

Serving type: growler

07-31-2012 20:41:41 | More by deadonhisfeet

siddhartha

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -2%

07-04-2012 18:32:54 | More by siddhartha

hiphopj5

Colorado

2.5/5  rDev -30%

06-19-2012 20:23:36 | More by hiphopj5

Rollzroyce21

California

4/5  rDev +12%

06-01-2012 17:56:21 | More by Rollzroyce21

RuckusDu

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev +5%

05-27-2012 21:29:43 | More by RuckusDu

DenverLogan

Colorado

3.55/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Gold, copper, orange...small lingering head. Giant aroma of a big mix of herbs, lavender, fruits, bread, pepper, funk. Big flavors of herbs but not too medicinally, minerals but in a refreshing manner, melon, and barnyard. Big and rich, complex, but not something I would drink more than a glass.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 20:34:03 | More by DenverLogan

superspak

Michigan

3.58/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 ounce bottle with gold foil into tulip glass, bottled in April 2008. Pours slightly cloudy golden amber color, with a nice 2-3 finger fairly dense white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Some nice and thick soapy lacing on the glass, with a fair amount of carbonation streaming up. Aromas of big tart apple, grape, pear, lemon, hay, grass, fig, bread, pepper, herbal, floral, funk, and yeast spices. Some fairly nice aromas, with good strength and complexity. Taste of big apple, grape, pepper, pear, grass, herbal, fig, clove, lemon, floral, bread, and yeast spices. Fairly dry on the finish; with lingering notes of pepper, lemon, bread, grape, grass, and yeast spices on the finish for a bit. Slight tartness on the finish, but not anywhere near what I was expecting from the aromas. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a fairly crisp and prickly mouthfeel that fits well. Alcohol is extremely well hidden with pretty much no warming present at all. Quite easy to drink, but is still a sipper. Overall this is a nice and quite enjoyable spiced wild ale. Good amount of flavor complexity and balance; and very smooth to drink. It held up well to age as expected.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2012 03:17:21 | More by superspak

Naugros

New Jersey

3.6/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I always look forward to Avery's Anniversary Ales. They always bend the boundaries of the style guide and I love to see what style BA pigeon holes each year's offering into. I was betting they'd put this on in the saison category, but went with wild ale instead. Interesting.

Crystal clear amber with a creamy, white, tall head. Unlike most heads, the sides collapsed first, leaving a dense dollop in the center. The lace makes bands down the sides of the glass.

The smell is strong with the figs, smelling a lot like pears. There's some graham cracker, wet hay with the white pepper showing up on top of it all. The taste is very similar with an additional tang. The white pepper strengthens a little, changing the fruit character and masking it a little. In fact, the astringency from the pepper keeps this from becoming a nice crisp fruit beer with a solid measure of tartness. There's also some ash left behind on the tongue and the white pepper dominates the aftertaste. If the white pepper were toned down a bit I think it would be a much better beer.

A bit disappointed in the outcome, but I still applaud the concept.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 15:14:58 | More by Naugros

zeledonia

Minnesota

3.43/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottled April 2008. Probably the oldest beer I've ever had; not sure where or why I picked this up, but since it's never to be brewed again, here goes.

Cap pops with a nice hiss; still well-carbonated. Pours a clear, medium golden-straw yellow. Head erupts as I pour, but the big bubbles pop quickly, and it fades down to a nice white cap. Some good gobs of lacing. Big streams of bubbles continue to rush up from the bottom of the glass.

Smells like fruity sweet and sour. Crisp sugary apple sweetness comes as the vanguard, followed by a big wave of lemony sour. It's actually quite good, with both that crisp sour, and the hints of sweetness underneath. Biggest complaint is that I'd like it to be more potent.

Taste is where this beer falls off. It starts out slightly sour, but then gets really muddled. A jumble of flavors I can't place - slightly funky, slightly earthy, grassy. But it's a little like chewing on a big gob of peanut butter - too much all at once, without any clear idea where it's going. Much less fruity and sour than it was in the nose, and with a dry bitter finish that's just okay.

What looked good in the glass does not feel so good when it hits my tongue. Carbonation erupts from everywhere, and I want it to stop. Aside from that, it's light-bodied, pretty thin, and so dry that it's gone in a flash.

Still a good beer, but looks and smells better than it tastes and feels. I suspect it's fallen off since brewing, but I found it quite drinkable even at 4 years.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 00:20:52 | More by zeledonia