Avery Hog Heaven

4th of 5 beers on bottle in a vertical tasting. Tasted 2007, 2006 and 2002 at the brewery. A full bodied and really getting better the older it gets. A very nice beer indead

Excellent late evening brew. Great with chicken dishes or sauteed vegetables as it’s slightly sweet (not bitter) and full of mellow hops. I had heard that Saint Arnold’s Divine Reserve #6 was modeled after this brew. Rumor or legend?

22 oz bottle. I usually like some age on my barleywines but decided to try this one fresh. Clear pink brown with some beige bubbles and a haze. Briefly foams up with a stiff pour. Nose is caramel and minty hops with a touch of orange. Medium body with a slight tingle. Taste is caramel apple and grass. Finishes with pithy bitterness and black pepper.

First impression is that it pours a marvelous mahogony ... a hazy dark orangy hue. Beautiful! And the aroma... HOPS! Citrus hops if drunk at the right temperature (about 50 degrees) The hops won’t come out if it’s too cold. They don’t like the cold. And I smell... I smell.... plums! Plums it is. Wow. This is sensationaly smooth. No alcohol sting at all. That’s impressive in a Barleywine. The head is tan and it likes to linger despite it’s smallness. Caramel wofts well. Lovely lacing is left from the head. Taste is remenicence of a dark fruit I can’t put my finger on. Hmmmm. I want to say pinnapples. It leaves a heavenly bitterness that lingers well. The mouthfeel is outstanding. A great beer indeed. My second favorite Barleywine hands down (next to Saint Arnolds’ Divine #6) I love this great beer. Thanks again Avery! The Lord bless the hop harvest.

22oz from Whole Foods, Raleigh. Ruby colored pour, fairly thick head. Big citrus hops in the nose, promising a fairly aggressive West Coast barleywine. I tend to like this style, especially fresh, and Avery pulls it off. A bit less boozy than some of Avery’s bigger beers, which is nice because it allows the sweet malts to be better integrated. So there’s good depth in the flavor, along with a full mouthfeel and a long silky finish. A decent barleywine but not top shelf, I think.

Pour was a dark amber with a thick off-white head. The aroma is really hoppy for a barley wine (a pleasant surprise for me) and grassy. A tad bit of caramelized malts come through. The tastee is axcellant, but unbalanced for a barleywine. It is as bitter as an IPA. Overall, I really enjoyed it.

the sin here that i am committing is that i’m holding hog heaven to a standard set by other great barleywines i have known, loved, and cherished slowly with a good book in my rocking chair. with that in mind, hog heaven just did not cut it. i had high hopes when the aroma suggested all manner of fruit and spice, not to mention the overly red glowing orb of this barleywine in my brandy sniffer. it smelled and looked like all the fantastic reviews i’ve received so far from trusted friends. and then the first sip - fizzy and popping from too much carbonation. and the second sip - tons of carbonation and a huge alcohol flavor drowned out all the too subtle fruits and expected smoothness. odd thing about the prevalence of alcohol: isn’t this a lower alcohol barleywine? perhaps hog heaven tastes best - smoother and bursting with all the complexity i know is hidden beneath the carbonation and alcohol - after a year or more cellared in my hall closet.

Redish amber, sweet and smooth, alcohol, caramel, citrus, nice floral hoppy finish.