Fancy Pants Sunday: Avery Brewing Twenty Five

There are two types of beer drinkers. The first want a smooth, easy-going beer — something that they can drink without pushing their palate too much or leaving much of a flavor in their mouths. The later want a beer that’s going to kick their ass by way of their gastrointestinal track; one that pushes boundaries and makes them re-evaluate what they like, and don’t like, about beer.

Yeah, yeah, there are probably other types of beer drinkers in between those two extremes. The point is: there are beers, and entire breweries perhaps, for both of those types of people. And if you fall squarely into category one, you can probably skip our Fancy Pants Column. Go ahead, shoo. Are those people gone yet? Good, they were cramping our style. For the rest of you thrill-seekers, this week’s beer is a brew after your own heart. It’s Avery Brewing’s Twenty Five, a Belgian strong dark ale brewed in celebration of the Boulder, Colorado brewery’s 25th anniversary.

Avery specializes in English and Belgian styles mostly, which is where this year’s anniversary beer comes in. It’s a Belgian strong dark ale, a style of Belgian that are always rich, detailed and strong, but the style is open for interpretation. Trappist versions are generally drier than sweeter, fuller Abbey styles, but similar ingredients and bottle-conditioning set forth some general parameters: Aromas are rife with malty sweetness and floral alcohol with some dried fruit notes, flavors are similar with low bitterness.

That’s all fine and dandy, but this is the latest installment of Fancy Pants Sunday, a column that champions high ABV, complex and delicious craft beers — and Avery’s Twenty Five (14.5%) fits the bill. An ode to 25 years of dynamic, powerful, and odds-defying brews, Twenty Five melds the brewery’s massive, dark, and high-gravity virtues with honey, dates and raisins. Rich caramel dominates the nose, although dark candi sugar, honey, dates, raisins and chocolate crash the anniversary party. The first sip summons rich caramel malt, candi sugar and chocolate flavors as well as having a rich, full body and sticky, sweet mouthfeel. The honey, dates and raisins arrive on the finish, as well as a lovely boozy ending that warms the soul all the way down.

Drop by Peaks and Pints and enjoy in house or in your backyard.