There is quite a bit from Avery that is very good. Mephistopheles is excellent, Uncle Jacobs Stout, Maharaja is an excellent IPA.

Avery has some offerings that are WAAYY too much, I agree:  Samael's, The Beast (for example).

But Anax turned me onto The Czar after I recommended The Maharaja to him (he wasn't a fan)...I love both of these beers.

Also out of Colorado, I am an Oskar Blues fan:  Ten Fiddy is insanely great but really hard to get.  Old Chub is like a more delicious Guinness and Old Chub Nitro is just creamy and an even better variation.

Knee Deep Brewery.  Hops Masters.  Just saying this again.  Midnight Hoppiness, Simtra, Hoptologist DIPA, Batch 138, so many great ones from this place.

My more recent discoveries.

Went to Kansas City, and tried a lot of Boulevard Beer.  Their Tank 7 is an absolutely awesome Farmhouse Ale.  Apparently, the Saison-Brett is also fantastic, but I wasn't able to track it down.

Founders finally started sending their stuff to TN.  The Centennial IPA is quite good, but I really love their Porter.  It's described as Dark, Rich, and Sexy.  A pretty apt description if you're a porter fan.

I do not like hoppiness. I do not like bitterness. I love Avery Czar stout and I do not tend to like stouts either for being to bearish on the burnt/roasted coffee notes. I kind of  at the German beer comment. If there is a German Beer made with the fabled "Rheinheitsgebot" nonsense that's better than a typical Belgian Quad or Avery Stout, I haven't had it. Heck, I'd take just about any Czech Pilsner over most Kraut hopp garbage by a mile. Kraut beer is quite hoppy and bitter so I'm not sure how you can put them next to the Belge. What makes them different from most American IPAs is their cheap and unrefined flavor IME. I do not like something hoppy like the Maharaja but I can appreciate the nose, complexity and refinement that it produces. Good luck finding a beer in the Hoffbrau that can match any average American craft beer from a 7-11. My 2 cents. I suppose I can give the Krauts some credit for Hefeweizen.

I'm not a fan of IPAs and hops, but I can appreciate the amazing quality of American brews being put out that aren't IPAs. If it wasn't for all that, we'd still be left with Bud and Pabst.

Belgium is Belgium and nothing more need be said about that. We must all bow down.

granted, there are certainly worse than Avery, but those I don't seek out.  nor do those "worse breweries" seem hell bent on Boulder county domination.

some back drop:

worked for years within walking distance of the Avery tap/brewery in Boulder.  would walk over at the request of co-workers and friends, but tired of every beer having the SAME taste of hops just in varying strengths.
as if their list of grain ingredients was so limited in variety, that underlying flavors were common amongst all.

when the same "hops taste" exists in a Avery stout as in their IPA, I scoff at their "sophistication" or ability to find a yeast, grain or malt recipe that is worthy of praise.

my years long boycott of Avery began once they aggressively jumped into every restaurant possible with their taps (of similar tasting brews).  the result= finding decent european beer on tap in Boulder county is akin to a needle in a haystack.

for as amazing as the amerikan craft beer scene has become-
the Belgians, Germans and other europeans figured out the best eons ago.
If I see one more American craft pumpkin ale or black-bean Stout, it's one too many.

luckily Reuben's in Boulder has continued dealing Belgians on tap.
without 12 Degree Brewing's pure uniqueness with euro ingredients, virtually every brew place is becoming a copy cat of each other.

alas my palate is likely not as wide-ranging as ya'll-  strongly preferring Belgians, full bodied ales, quads, porters, stout.
despising anything close to IPA.  it's a lazy american brewing fad-  hop it up, bitterness rulez.  feh.

There's a lot that I'm going to address here.

1: Expand your palate. Hops are a beautiful plant that provide a huge depth of flavor from the white wine-esque New Zealand hops to the floral noble hops of Germany to the citrus and piney American hops. Sure they are just "bitter" at first, but most breweries now adays are focusing on maximizing the flavor through late hop and dry hop additions which do little in the way of bittering.

2: How can you say that their beers all taste the same? Czar is a big creamy and roasty imperial stout with barely a hint of bitterness, White Rascal is crisp with coriander and orange peel; refreshing and citrusy and Ellie's Brown Ale has flavors ranging from vanilla to chocolate with a firm English malt base. None of those three would be mistaken for each other.

3: The only dark beer that should be hoppy of theirs should be the New World Porter, which is basically a black IPA. I have never seen another one of their beers that's dark with a bitter leaning IBU content.

4: Lazy American fad to hop beers up, or ignorance of appreciation for the depth of flavors of hops? I'll leave that one to you to decide.

5: Speaking of German and Belgian brewers, traditional Belgian triples are decidedly drier and more bitter than American counterparts, same goes for the average Saison. Saison DuPont, the classic saison, when fresh, has a much more firm hop profile than many American versions.

Yeah, Germans and Belgians make great beer. That's true, they also make a lot of shit beer, hello Palm and Becks. Dismissing hops is silly as all heck though since a German Pils should have a firm noble hop presence and they're fine beers. Dismissing American IPA/Pale Ale and the likes as "lazy brewing" is showing ignorance to how to actually brew beer and the intricacies that go into hop schedules and hop choices as well as the flavors th ey contribute.

I find it funny, though, that many people who aren't too much into beer largely ignore the phenomenal British beers. An ESB can be a treat with the firm herbal and citrusy British hops perfectly balanced with the unique British malts. The quality of their low ABV offerings is astounding as well.