Making a name for yourself amongst other fine Colorado breweries is no small feat. Avery has managed to produce consistence craft beer long before the recent amount of unprecedented growth since across the industry. Having them return to Savor for a second year in a row is something I’m personally very excited about.
“Since 1993 our brewery has been committed to producing eccentric ales and lagers that defy styles or categories.” That is literally the first thing you read when visiting the Avery Brewing website. I think I would have to agree given their ridiculously good sour program, steady growth, and award-winning IPA. When brewing operations first began for Avery in Boulder, Colorado, they were producing a mere 700 barrels a year. By 2007, Avery was brewing somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 barrels a year. This massive amount of growth has recently forced Avery to pull out of several states citing an all-too-familiar theme of simply not being able to keep up with demand. Making a name for yourself among the other fine Colorado breweries is no small feat, but Avery has managed to do it because they produced consistent craft beer long before the recent unprecedented growth across the industry. Having them return to SAVOR for a second year in a row is something I’m personally very excited about.
Type: Production brewery
Available in DC Market: Yes
SAVOR Offerings:
Joe’s Premium American Pilsner
Beer Advocate: B+ (63 Reviews)
Rate Beer: 88 Overall, 99 Style
Notes: Think of a classic pilsener style and its clean finish, but with a bit more hops. Those hops can hide the spicy finish I’m usually looking for in a pilsener but all in all it tends to work. This is another one I recommend trying early in the night so your palette stands a fighting chance.
Dihos Dactylion (American Wild Ale)
Beer Advocate: A- (15 Reviews) (It’s new and rare. Consider yourself lucky)
Rate Beer: 97 Overall, 81 Style
Notes: Anyone remember last year ? Avery was pounding through Dépuceleuse like it was going out of style. I firmly remember the Dépuceleuse as an eye opener for me. This was my gateway sour beer and really turned me on to the amazing world of sour beers. It took me one to realize this but I enjoyed ten more just to be sure. I hope Dihos Dactylion will do the same for those new to the style. Describing this style is tough, but think sour cherry notes and tannins similar to those found in a typical red wine. This will start off nice and tart and finish crisp with little carbonation.
What you need to know:
I feel comfortable assessing most breweries based on two beers: their IPA and their pilsener. Avery does both of these well while innovating and elevating the craft with other styles. A great example of this innovation is a recently procured lot of Absinthe barrels that Avery plans to age beer in. Details are limited as to what will come out of this, but it will definitely be something unique. Be sure to thank Avery for bringing out the good stuff and not defaulting to off-the-shelf offerings. Avery only brewed 248 cases of Dihos Dactylion, so making this available for this year’s event is huge.
This profile is a part of the DCBEER.COM SAVOR Brewery Profile series. For more information, follow the link to see profiles of all 2011 SAVOR participants.
Beer Review Disclaimer: The beer reviews found on Beer Advocate and Rate Beer do not represent the opinions of this site. We provide these in the hope that they will serve as a resource showing what some craft beer fans have thought of the beers. These reviews can be a helpful guideline, but are not the be-all end-all about a beer’s strengths or weaknesses.
