Avery Brewing Callipygian
The speed with which this bottle of Avery’s Callipygian travelled from the shelf to my cart would have left heads spinning. The quick-trigger action has been ingrained in my subconscious whenever I see that tell-tale label style from the Colorado company. Whether it’s a tongue-buckling sour or a massively large, bourbon-barrel aged imperial stout, there’s no longer a thought process — the body just reacts on its own to make sure a bottle is safely procured for purchase.
Callipygian is defined as “having well-shaped buttocks,” and this brew certainly has that as it weighs in at 17.4% ABV. Brewed with cocoa, cocoa nibs, coffee and vanilla bean, the brew was then aged in bourbon barrels for an undisclosed length of time. All of those flavors come together incredibly well, creating depth as layer after layer swell and ebb in a dynamic presentation. My only complaint with the beer is its body — a beer this decadent needs to be a bit fuller on the tongue.
Avery has simply been crushing it with their barrel series as of late, and specifically with the barrel-aged stouts they’ve been releasing. From the near-perfect Uncle Jacob’s Stout to wonderful Tweak to this latest in Callipygian, the brewery has consistently shown they know how to treat a stout well. This is another outstanding offering that I thoroughly enjoyed — I would have just loved a bit more body.