Avery Hog Heaven

Pours a hazy brownish orange. Very strong floral and citrus hop aroma, as well as some nice citrus fruit sweetness. A very hoppy beer, definately an american barleywine. Great light sweet malt backbone. This si definately a beer that you won;t like if you don;t like hops or if you’re a barleywine purist, but I love it.

22 oz. bottle - Pours a slightly hazy amber color with a one and a half finger thick off white head. Nice lacing. Aroma is floral hops and toasted malt. Flavor is light esters and toasted caramel malt. Nice balance. Palate is a bit thin for a BW. Medium body. A nice BW.

Pours a reddish colour with a tan lightly lacing head. Aroma of caramel, dark fruits, sugary, alchol and citrus hops. Flavours similar to what was going on the aroma with some of the alcohol and dry hops on the finish. Decent beer.

This is anything but a standard Barley Wine. What you notice right away that this beer is strong without knocking your socks off. The aroma has more in common with an IPA than a Barley Wine. Now BW purest will scoff but I am actually a huge IPA fan so this is a welcome change. There is pine like resin hops and some grapefruit to go along with the sweet, caramel malt, yeast, and alcohol. The appearance is great with a three and a half finger head (also not common for the style) and deep amber color. The flavor is just like the aroma, it’s not complex but it’s tasty. The palate is sticky and smooth like one would expect for the style. The aftertaste is astringently bitter with some butterscotch. Overall I think this is an awesome interpretation of a Barley Wine but it’s not a standard of the style.

copper hue with small white head, it has grapefruit aroma. very hoppy but balanced with enough malt profile, a standard barley wine.

I often visit Avery’s tasting room (at least once every two weeks) because I live very close to it and they produce the best beers in the state. Because of this I get to talk to the men who brew it all the time. I was once told by a couple of tem that it is a cardinal sin to age the hog. I understand their point that the hops begin to deteriorate over time but, at the same time other beautiful flavors emerge. I recently drank a bottle of this that had been cellared since 2001. It is true that the hop flavor had virtually disapeared but the malt characters were amazing. I know it is very difficult to buy a bottle of beer this good and wait to drink it, especially when you know its flavor will change so drastically, but it is definitely worth a try. Also, if the bottle is relatively undisturbed before you pour it you will et the hops right at the end.

Pours a reddish brown with a good sized off-white head, nice lacing. Holy hop balls. A lot of citrus, some pine, some caramel, smells like an IIPA. Much too bitter for me.

bottle from Mellow Mushroom in Brandon - amber head - disapating quickly - carmel, hoppy , citrus, bitter, sweet and pretty strong alcohol finish. Pretty decent Barleywine!