The Newspaper clipping says it all.

Boulder, CO – “Really? A sour ale with a dose of prickly pears and patiently matured in first-use, small-batch tequila barrels for 9 months? Damn straight. Damn good!”

That’s the simple description Avery Brewing Company offers to describe a complex beer. Opuntia, No. 18 in the Barrel-Aged Series, is a light sour ale (6.65% ABV) that’s Avery’s first release of a beer aged in tequila barrels and unlike anything the brewery has ever produced before.

“It sounds paradoxical to discuss ‘clean’ as a focus when talking about a beer with so much complexity,” said Avery Chief Barrel Herder Andy Parker. “We tailored this beer from the ground up to create a balance of four flavors: prickly pear, tequila barrels…

Parker said he developed the recipe after meeting the crew from Suerte Tequila, which involved a lot of tequila drinking (obviously), an instant friendship and an offer by Suerte to provide some barrels…