REVIEW: Avery Eighteen

Belgian style beers are kind of a bind spot for me in terms of being able to talk intelligently about them. Not that I don't enjoy them, I certainly do, but they're just very different than the ales and lagers that I'm used to. It's just a completely different set of flavors and aromas. Belgian yeast is a whole different animal. There's a set of flavors in most English and American style beers (pale ales, stouts, porters, IPAs) that I'm familiar with, that I can pick out. Belgian ales present a whole new set of flavors and with them, a new set of challenges. Today I'm reviewing Avery's Eighteen. A dry-hopped rye saison. A saison is a belgian style farmhouse ale. But dry-hopped and rye, those are things I'm familiar with, I can wrap my head around that. Maybe I'll be able to figure this beer out after all. To the beer!

From the label:

For this year’s celebratory brew, we decided to focus on the characteristics that certain yeasts bring to the party.Each of the five Belgian yeasts selected adds its own unique aspect to the flavor and aroma of this saison. The hefty addition of rye helps dry this beauty out and lends another spicy component to the flavor. And for added fun, we dry-hopped it, too! Take your time and smell and taste the complexities that Eighteen has to offer.

Eighteen pours a beautiful golden brown color that is lighter toward the edges with a thick bubbly white head.

The aroma has that telltale belgian saison yeasty scent alongside spicy rye and hops.

Eighteen is a medium bodied beer with a crisp tart finish. The rye imparts a creamy spiciness which leads into a nice lingering bitterness. At 40 IBU the hops are definitely there but are not at all overpowering. The hop presence becomes a bit more apparent as it warms. Not surprising that a beer from Avery is no slouch when it comes to hops. Eighteen is a very well balanced beer. There are also subtle but very nice citrus flavors to be found. Hints of grapefruit and tangerine. 

I really enjoyed this beer. Saisons can be a little funky, but this one is absolutely approachable. It has the trademark tartness and crispness with the distinct Belgian yeast. But Avery molds in these rye and IPA like flavors to create a beer that is not quite a saison and not quite a pale ale but a distinct beer with a lot to offer fans of both styles.

HD