Avery Brewing (Boulder, CO)

7/13/12

Another Friday night stop on our tour of Boulder, Avery should be a list topper for every beer drinker: iconic, widely-distributed Colorado brewery the consistently delivers great beer.

However, if you're expecting a taproom that rivals Stone World Bistro because of the big name, you'll be disappointed.  Instead, Avery is a small, crowded local with an extensive selection of their beers to try, well beyond anything I've been lucky enough to find in stores over the years.

On this stop, we jumped right in with a Lilikoi Kepolo.  Lilikoi is passionfruit and we remembered having a fantastic lilikoi beer at Kona Brewing years ago; I didn't think this one matched up, but Gloria liked it. Excellent drafts of Nineteen and Dry Hopped Salvation followed.  Drinking these on-site-only variations defines the very purpose of drinking local.  We finished with Samael's, a 15.6% ABV beer that could've been a wonderful end to our evening in Boulder (or wouldn've been if not for sharing snifters) if we hadn't hit Avery early on our tour.

Any fan of Avery would do well to plan a little time at the tap room to sample their extensive list, including the regulars that are distributed plus several extra special beers just for showing up.  As warned on the website, the taproom isn't big and most of the seating is outside, so dress accordingly if the plan is to settle in.  Food and smaller draft samples are available so that the excitement of so many options doesn't overwhelm.