#275: Avery Brewing » Twenty One (Imperial India-Style Brown Ale)

Avery Brewing » Anniversary Ale: Twenty One (Imperial India-Style Brown Ale)
ABV: 8.7% | Rating: 8.5/10

To celebrate Avery's last year at their Arapahoe Ave brewery (new brewery opening Jan 2015), these Boulder mainstays crafted an Imperial Brown, packed with Columbus, Chinook, Amarillo, then dry hopped with Amarillo, Simcoe, Chinook.

Served up in a tulip glass, Twenty One starts off with soft nose of gentle hops and rye bread. It's deep brown, barely translucent body looks inviting and warming on a cooling early fall evening.

The initial flavor is a bit understated. Rich flavors of thick, homemade breads calmly join with mild chocolate notes, all sewn with subtle sweetness.

Lively carbonation help Twenty One from getting too heavy and while the ample list of hops and 'India-Style' might imply a hop-forward beer, it conversely brings to mind more of an amped-up British style brew with mild threads of tropical fruit lending to the aforementioned subtle sweetness.

Overall, I was hoping for a bit more 'wow' factor, but Twenty One is an enjoyable, unique and robust brew that is full of rich character without needing to be overzealous.

#025: Avery - duganA (Double IPA)

Avery's once a year Double IPA...

The Brewery: Avery Brewing (Boulder, CO)
The Brew: duganA (Double IPA)
Availability: Bottles (Ltd. release in Sept.)
ABV:  8.5% | IBUs: 93
Rating: 9/10
Location: Home

The Story? Avery (similar to the Left Hand story) is another Colorado brewery that, for whatever reason, isn't readily available in Upstate NY, despite having distribution to Downstate. For months, I eyed such gems as Samael's, The Beast, Hog Heaven, and Maharaja... only to find my gun-shy had cost me my shot at these wonderful brews. Fast forward and our favorite local beverage center pulled a haul up from the City - glory be! Six packs of White Rascal, IPA, Ellies Brown, and Joe's Pils make it into my basket along with Hog Heaven. On the return home, I couldn't help thinking about the beautiful looking IPA I'd passed up - it wasn't the Maharaja I'd been looking for, but why did I pass?

A bit of reading later, finding the duganA I'd passed by is in fact their September-only release with Chinook, Centennial and Columbus hops and Two-row barley, dark aromatic and caramel malt... next trip I was quite thankful to find a bottle sitting in wait.

I passed on my good fortune to my partner Mel and the one and only Cameron Wisch (drummer extraordinaire and soon-to-be guitarist tourmate).

The Beer? Smooth, sticky, and hoppy right off the bat. A beautiful hop experience of pine and resin. The brew beings relatively smooth, but the IBUs really start to creep up on this one, gradually building to a tongue drying finish while brightening a bit as well. 8.5% feels perfect as it never gets too boozy, but instead gives this IPA some serious heft behind it and a nice sweetness.

Overall an excellent big IPA with a high-medium hop bitterness. Recommended.