Double Avarice - Barrel-Aged
River North Brewery

 

 

Color is black with very little head and only a trace of tan foam. The nose is molasses, very boozy, a hint of cherries, good and plenty candy, and a great roasted character. Booze and wood jump right out on the taste. Very hot. There is dark chocolate and licorice with a bit of char and more molasses on the finish. The feel is nicely thick and chewy with a small bit of soft carbonation. This is a huge beer both in taste and abv. Very much a sipper. Would drink again...on a winter night in front of a lit fireplace while wearing a smoking jacket. Note: this is the 2021 release.

 

 

A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with just a minuscule collar of off white bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of bourbon are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell, but also has associated flavors of toasted oak and vanilla from the bourbon along with underlying hints of chocolate.
M: It feels full-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation along with a touch of warming from the alcohol.
O: I found this beer to be exceptionally drinkable for something that is 19.5% abv. You can definitely tell that it's stronger from the bourbon but you don't really get any of the alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

 

drink this one slow , share with your friend strong malty stout

 

 

While Double Avarice has tempted me to give a fabulous rating based on its 17.4 ABV, I am going to exhibit one of my few, rare examples of temperance and not fall for this temptation.

Double Avarice is average for the style and below average for the price.
Its Looks are all I can expect from 17%, but its Smells should be fuller of vanilla, chocolate, bourbon. Better, its Tastes are balanced and the ABV is surprisingly well-hidden. If you like licorice, you will like this. But I prefer my dessert to have chocolate themes and they are too sedate in Double Avarice.

Bought from Tavour (the only way to get River North outside of Colorado) and poured into my Westmalle goblet (to keep me from committing one of the 7 Deadly Sins). Nonetheless, this 2020 vintage is River North's second release. I should have let this release meld for a few years... but that is not my pattern on a new brewer.

I scanned River North's BA offerings and see that I made a mistake in starting with this AIS. Double Avarice is based on their Belgian stout and this brewer has had good success in the Belgian tradition and I look forward to trying their wares there. I also went on their website and see that it could be better developed for an eight year old firm... but then, we are in the middle of global pandemic and everyone is scampering on the surface. Below the surface, I want Tavour to offer River North's saisons or wits.

Despite my harsh rating, good luck River North. You are making the new Denver.

2020 Vintage, Release #2, ABV 17.4%, Cases bottled 125

Look is the darkest brown that almost is black with a small mocha colored head that dissipated almost instantly with no lacing.

The smell shines with a lot of oak, char, vanilla, figs, dates, chocolate and bourbon as a background.

The taste follows the nose with a hint of anise in the finish.

Feel is very nice, slight small delicate carbonation with a thick to medium thick body. ABV is evident with a nice warming as you sip but not hot in any way.

Overall a wonderful beer from a brewery I have not had in the past. Wish I had more.

375 ml bottle

Pours opaque black. Very dark tan film of a head dissipates to nothing.

Smells of rich fig, molasses, tobacco, coffee bean, vanilla, cocoa, oak, bourbon, and mesquite.

Flavor is extremely rich. Molasses, raisin, mesquite, honey, pecan, caramel, bourbon, leather, and oak.

Full viscous body, stinging on the tongue from carbonation and alcohol. Warms going down.

Decadent, rich, boozy, and very slow drinking. This is a real treat if you love heavy stouts. One of the best I have had in a while. A glass will last you all night. Hopefully I come across this again.

Pitch black viscous but not oily pour, no head. Smell captured the depth of the barrel beautifully: charred wood, molasses, whiskey, bitter chocolate, leather and licorice, almost dry in an overall sense. Taste also shaped by barrel, more rustic finish with tobacco earth and a touch of vanilla. Body is heavy, very warm with booze, somewhat rustic, but exceptionally smooth. A masterclass on barrel character in a goliath of a stout. You are aware that it is boozy, but not to the extent that it actually is

 

Revisited May 26th, 2022 (2022 bottling)

Dark brown body, opaque; one-finger thick head, dark tan color; splotchy, stringy patches of foam cling to the glass. Huge dark malt flavor with a bold, bourbon overtone; cocoa and bitter chocolate; raisins and figs; a bit of brown sugar. Heavy body; rich and sludgy; plenty of alcohol heat.

This is another edition of this beer that is just as good as early versions. It is an intense beer, malty and boozy yet appropriately balanced for the intended purpose.

Pouring temperature: 43 °F; bottling info: VINTAGE: 2022; barrel type: Straight Bourbon

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Original January 07th, 2019 ratings and scores: 4.0 4.0 4.5 4.25 4.25 (overall: 4.28, rDev -1.8%)

Deep space black body with a thin yet lasting brown head. Heavy charred grain and bread crust aroma; dark roast coffee beans; low-key whiskey. Big cocoa and chocolate flavors; bourbon presence more upfront and intense; a bit of cherry. Thick and vinous body; massive residual sugars; warm.

A wonderfully complex and intensely rich barrel-aged stout

VINTAGE - 2018 RELEASE - 1 CASES BOTTLED - 125