Brewery: Avery Brewing
Country: USA
Size: 33cl
ABV: 17.5%
Price: 125kr
Systembolaget: –
A year ago I walked into my local Systembolaget and saw this sitting on the shelf. I was fascinated by it because I thought it sounded lovely. The price though was kind of crazy but that didn’t stop me. I bought a bottle, put it in my fridge and here it laid for about a year. Just as I was planning my beer for the Halloween tasting I found this hidden in my fridge and realised it would be perfect. There were only four bottles left in the whole of Sweden but I managed to get my hands on three of them.
The beer was a deep chestnut colour and had a nice thick body. The head was ivory in colour but retention was low. The smell was immense. Massive aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg sprang from the glass, which was reminiscent of christmas. A nice malt tone back this up along with a gentle sweetness and a good alcoholic hit. As you you expect with a beer that is 17.5%, the taste was intense. The spices came flooding over the tongue with a vengeance. It filled the mouth with a deep warmth that continued down the throat. It felt like liquid christmas. Big sweet malts, pumpkin and cinnamon combined into a delicious cacophony. The aftertaste was warming yet relatively short and pleasant.
This beer was amazing. It’s not every ay you try a beer that is closer in alcohol level to a liqueur rather than most beers. It was very interesting in that it felt balanced even with the high alcohol content. I couldn’t drink this every day but for a special occasion to get me in the holiday spirit, I could absolutely have this again.