Avery Eleven

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Sampled at Noogfest 3. This Imperial IPA pours a golden yellow color from a 22oz bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is grapefruity and citrusy. Medium bodied Imperial IPA. Malts are fruity, caramel and sweet. Hops are citrusy and grapefruity. Smooth tasting, some bottle aging has mellowed the hot alcohol flavors that usually dominate Avery big beers, its still there its not just as hot. Hops are still very evident in this beer that is around 3 years old at sampling. Very nice. The malts are a little more prevalent. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Amber colour, thick white head. Big piney grapefruity aroma, not much elese. Loads of grapefruit, pines and hops in flavour. Dense fruity mouthfeel. No complexity at all. Very hoppy, grapefruity and salty finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This is an excellent IPA, and this comes from someone who wasn’t overly impressed with my early tastes of Avery beers (I wasn’t turned off, I just didn’t understand the hype). Beautiful dark amber body catches the light well and sparkles with cascading bubbles. The head is thick and dense. The aroma is very realistic grapefruit rind hops and there’s a large bit of peach mixed in with that and a slight bit of banana (maybe some pineapple as well). The flavor is nicely malty and the hops become strong collaborators instead of dominators. Not very bitter, but exquisitely hoppy.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

The Eleven pours a clear, well carbonated, golden-orange color. It has a big, fluffy off-white head with great retention and lacing.

It has an almost sweetish, piney hop smell, with bready malts and tangerine underneath. The pine scent was very appealing and dominated at first but quickly went to a cloying tangerine smell. The initial aroma rocked but as it warmed, I liked it less and less.

The taste is strong sweet cookie malts and tangerines initially, with a citrus hop finish and a bitter aftertaste. It has a full, creamy palate that coats the mouth after taking a quaff. The 9% alcohol is hidden quite well. Like the aroma, this was pretty well balanced initially, but as it warmed the sweetness and tangerines came out way too strong. Other than the bitter aftertaste, this was skewed much more heavily towards sweet over bitter than I was expecting.

This was a true tale of two beers. My first couple sips of this were wonderful (but not quite in Hercules territory), but I liked it less and less as I drank more of the 22 oz bottle. The cloying sweetness and tangerine in the aroma and flavor became too much for me.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

22oz bottle sample from Cornboy. Golden clear in color with a nice white head. Fresh hop aroma throughout the whole beer. Not overpowering though with hops, just enough. Nice beer. Enjoyable.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Tap @ Blind Tiger. Right up there with the really good IIPA’s And now my favorite Avery selection. Gold color, nice head & citrus aromas. Sticky hop taste without being too sweet. Thanks.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Dark orange appearance with a moderate head. Aroma is pine, raspberries, oranges, flowers. The flavor is very creamy with a moderate hop presence. It has a very pronounced grapefruit flavor. Goooood Stuuuuuuuf!

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Poured a copper color with a large white head and nice lacing. Aroma of piney hops, vanilla, and grapefruit. Bitter and piney hop taste, light alcohol.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This double IPA pours with an orange-amber body topped by a medium thick off-white head with lots of lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet with some maltiness, a good amount of piney hoppiness and a little grapefruit. The flavor is sweet and malty with some piney notes and a slight touch of grapefruit. I was expecting a lot more bitterness from this brew but it wasn't there. Full bodied and smooth.