In 1993, Adam Avery launches his Avery Brewing Company in a garage off an alley in Boulder, making him one of the pioneers of Colorado’s craft beer scene. In 1996, Avery was among the first breweries in Colorado to offer an IPA freaking out their local customers with heavy hopping. Pushing the limits in the brewhouse, Avery began experimenting with barrel aging in 2003 freaking out the nation with ABVs equivalent of two touchdowns and a field goal. After 22 years, they moved out of “Avery Alley’” and built a world-class brewing compound in Boulder — a $30 million investment that has created numerous opportunities for the expanding business. Today, Avery is represented in Peaks and Pints to-go beer flight, Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Avery Beer Flight.
Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Avery Beer Flight
Avery Barrel-Aged Raspberry Sour
6.5% ABV
Avery Brewing took luscious ripe red raspberries and intertwined them with a bountiful amount of lactic acidity and delicate barrel nuances to cultivate this stunning sour ale. The nose is bursts with raspberry, sourness, and Brettanomyces character. This sour’s flavor has a similarly prominent raspberry flavor but is squashed by a palate-wrenching sourness from start to finish. Pro tip: When this beer warms, the aroma takes on a boozy, wood-aged character and the finish becomes sharper.
Avery Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest
8% ABV, 24 IBU
The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest is part of Avery’s “Dictator Series” giving nod to Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German emperor (kaiser) and king of Prussia, whose bellicose policies helped to bring about World War One. Avery grabbed all that is good in a traditional Oktoberfest — gorgeous, deep copper sheen, massive malty backbone, and spicy, floral, pungent noble hops — then intensified each into this imperial Märzen or Märzenbier (German: March beer). The lager style originated in Bavaria and traditionally served at the Munich Oktoberfest.
Avery The Reverend
10% ABV
Avery tossed in as many authentic Belgian specialty malts as the brewers could fit in mash tun, plus lots of Belgian dark candy sugar stirred into the brew kettle to create The Reverend. The result is a divinely complex, layered Belgian-style quadrupel with hints of dark cherries, currants, and an underlying sweetness.
Avery The Maharaja
10% ABV, 102 IBU
Avery Brewing’s The Maharaja is derived from the sanskrit words mahat, meaning “great,” and rajan, meaning “king.” Much like its namesake, this imperial IPA is regal, intense and mighty. With hops and malts as his servants, he rules both with a heavy hand. The Maharaja flaunts his authority over a deranged number of hops (Columbus, Centennial, Chinook, Simcoe, and Amarillo): tangy, vibrant, and pungent along with an insane amount of malted barley — fashioning a dark amber hue and exquisite malt essence.
Avery Vanilla Bean Stout
10.8% ABV, 29 IBU
Now a year-round release, this bourbon barrel-aged blend of an imperial stout and a regular American stout flexes its decadent vanilla addition from the get-go, offering a big nose of warm, sticky vanilla, toasted coconut, and a flit of whiskey. Vanilla dominates the front of the sip but gives way to smooth milk chocolate, coconut, caramelized marshmallow, and hints of roast coffee, followed by coffee, dark cherry and dark chocolate lingering at the end. The barrel takes a supporting role, allowing the oak to just dry out the full swallow, leaving pleasant warmth in the throat.
Avery Imperialis
12.7% ABV
Part of Avery’s Barrel-Aged Series, Imperialis is an imperial stout aged in a variety of bourbon barrels for a rich and medium-thick body with a roasty nose and a dark, bitter, licorice-forward flavor tempered by the bourbon barrels.
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