Avery Hog Heaven

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Boulder, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter

Draught. Clear reddish brown, some white head. Aroma is dominated by hops with a hint of spice. Palate is full bodied, oily, almost sticky, with modest carbonation. The flavour is interesting and unusual for the style as it has a surprising amount of hops for a barley wine. This is balanced to some extent by sweet malt, dark caramel, molasses and some spice in the start. It finishes with a hoppy bitterness reminiscent of an IPA. Overall, an interesting take on a barley wine. I often find them challenging in that their flavour is so remote from "normal" beer. This one drags the style towards IPA, but in its own way is quite challenging too.

Bottle. Pours orange, with a medium, diminishing head. Aroma is of spicy hops and booze. Flavor is heavy bitterness, balanced by huge alcoholic finish. If I didn’t have a sense of smell, I would like Avery beers, but there is just too much fusel punch in the finish. This fermented hot!

Pours a deep hazy amber color. Aroma is full of sweeter malts, hops, caramel, citrus, grass, and slight lactic. Flavor is a little different. Lots of sweeter chocolate malts counterbalanced with some floral hops. There is also some vanilla and oak present as well. Leaves a nice coffee/chocolate/malt/hops aftertaste. That is the only way that I can explain that. Great stuff!

After having the Maharaja by Avery and being impressed by it, I returned to The Tap Room in PB for Hog Heaven, which was bomb as well. Nose is a smooth, sweet, nutty sizzurp. Tempting without being gratuitous. Appearance is a deep amber caramel, pretty thick and cloudy, goregous. Smooth, sweet and crisp mouthfeel on the palate. Tastes like a sweet dessert party in my mouth and a little booze, some caramel, toffee and hoppy goodness are all invited. Avery strikes again! Makes me want to re-try their IPA because perhaps I got a bad sixer, but I flat-out disliked it. But now, after having Maharaja and Hog Heaven, I feel like it deserves a second chance. Well done Avery, delicious.

Avery Brewing Hog Heaven Pours medium copper with a medium head and decent retention. Aroma of caramel malt, resin hops and slight alcohol. Flavor is slightly hoppy with a sweet malt backbone. Bittersweet finish with some booziness, but very drinkable. Went down too easy. Needs to be cellared for it to really grow, but a good start to work with.

from the cask at Rustico. intensely hoppy, some alcohol. light carbonation since from the cask. quite the kick to it. definitely a slow sipping brew.

(22oz bottle) Pours clear orange with nice tan oily bubbles. Nose of caramel, sweet bread, bananas foster, citrus hops. Taste of caramel, cream, light oranges. The hops and malt are in very good balance. Oily medium thick body. Delicious.

Bottle. Dark red-brown with a large tan head. Sweet aroma of fruit, citrus, grape, resin and caramel. A lot of malt and hops in the taste. Thick mouthfeel, long aftertaste. Oink!