AVERY "SIXTEEN" - THREE IN A ROW?

AVERY BREWING, like a lot of yr better brewers, are pumping out an anniversary ale every year, one named according to the anniversary of incorporation - e.g. AVERY FOURTEEN, AVERY FIFTEEN, etc. It just so happens that those two aforementioned beers were absolutely fantastic, and among the finest beers in creation the years they were created. I scored them a 9.5/10 and a 9/10 respectively, the latter score being an "upgrade" from my second tasting of it on draft at the Spuyten Duyvil in NYC. So it was with great gusto and aplomb that I hunted down a bottle of AVERY SIXTEEN last month. I like how the annual anniversary ale - like STONE, like PORT - is a wholly different style than the one before it. This one's a saison. Let's check it out.

AVERY SIXTEEN was brewed once - one batch, over and done. It is a clear, ultra-light, almost see-through saison. It steps on the scales at 7.7% ABV, which is what you'd expect from AVERY - no pussyfooting allowed. It's got tastes of citrus, honey and of course a very particular Belgian strain of yeast, along with a slight "grassy" aftertaste. Soft malts, a little bit of tartness, yet everything's in balance and quite good. It's not the intense anniversary bomb they've dropped on us in the past, but I'd say it's a good 'un. 7/10.