When the wife is away, the blogger will…  blog?  Totally doesn’t rhyme, but is more or less accurate.  Today, I decided to try something completely new to me, and I’ve had some interest in doing a vertical tasting of Avery brewing’s Anniversary saison series.  Unfortunately, this beer may have dissuaded me from that pursuit.

I poured it, expecting exactly what I got, a clear effervescent belgian styled ale with very thick, but quickly dissipating head.  The smell was that of a belgian golden ale.  As it stands, all is well with this ale.

So we move on to the first sip.  The mouthfeel is very light and effervescent.  Very close to what I’d expect from a Saison, and very standard belgian.

The taste:  I was expecting to be blown away by sourness here, assuming they would’ve taken the Saison sentiment literally.  Well, it turns out, it’s very plain.  It’s actually quite the golden ale.  It’s very standard golden ale, with a lot of similarities to Duvel.  With regard to Duvel however, this is much better.  There are some interesting characteristics.  There are some flavors that aren’t necessarily striking… more understated…  Turns out, the aftertaste on this is actually very similar to sweet tarts.

So, why do I say this has turned me off of the Avery anniversary series?  Well, I’d be interested to try them.  It would be really fun, but my devout belief is that it wouldn’t be worth the money.  This beer, for 8 bucks, is totally not worth it at all.  If I bought this for 2 dollars, I’d be satisfied.

It’s all I can do to not fail this beer, but really… it’s not a great beer.  It’s not worth the 8 dollar price tag for 22 oz.  It’s a 5/10.

Then again…  if it was free, it’d be much more appealing.