Review - Avery Brewing Company's Salvation
"The success of HOG HEAVEN and THE REVEREND clearly demonstrates that beer drinkers are willing to embrace "BIGGER" beers. In the fall of 2001, we decided that a lighter BIG BEER would complement its darker colored predecessors. Salvation has luscious apricot and peach aromas delicately interwoven with spicy suggestions of nutmeg and cinnamon. This heavenly soft, champagne-like elixir is cellarable for 3 years." -- Avery Brewing Company
Pours a luminous orange hue with a bright white fizzy head with short duration. Minimal lacing with some mild rings that quickly dissipate. Body clarity is slightly hazy with very little activity. Initially a delicious fruity presence perked up our nose. The fruitiness was made up of a banana and clove presence, as you would expect with a Belgian golden. The malt body was very light and toasty. Surprisingly, the 9% alcohol was well masked by the fruity yeast. The aroma was so inviting that it made our mouths water. Initial taste is distinctly Belgian with some up front banana and some mild spices that finishes up moderately sweet with some more green banana taste with a slight bitterness. Initially light bodied, slightly water with an activate carbonation. Our palates are left very drying, most likely caused by the hops and the alcohol. The alcohol presence is very warming, creating a very soft alcohol burn - but not overpowering. A dominant banana presence sticks around for a long duration. A Belgian-style golden is an interesting style. Without looking, we would have expected it to be about 5-7% ABV. Well, this is 9%, so without reading the label, we thought that this was a tripple. So - quickly we had two strikes :) A strong golden is one of those styles that we don't taste often. We were impressed by the aroma and the rich flavors, but the alcohol was dominant in the taste and the hops left our palates drying. This is an interesting beer to try, but it would be difficult to drink the whole 22oz bottle. We reviewed this beer at the Beer Bloggers Conference in Boulder Colorado on 11/5.
Reviewed on November 9th, 2010.
