Avery Hog Heaven

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

hazy amber/brown color. Aroma is full of hops, and minimal malt with a touch of caramel. Flavour is super hoppy. The alcohol is hidden quite well. Finish is quite bitter. There isnt much malt in here that i can tatse, it’s more of a super hoppy barley wine. This seems to be another beer that blurs the lines between Double IPA, and Barley wine, just like Founders Devil Dancer. Still an excellent beer. For someone who loves hoppy beers, this is a treat. I find it to be very very smooth, and super easy to drink. I’m finding myself take big gulps, something i wouldnt do with a robust barley wine.

Bottle. Copper-orange pour with a nice off white head. Huge aroma of caramel malt, pine, grapefruit, and some booze. The flavor had a nice balance between huge sweet caramel malt and nice piney bitter hops. Big body, very sweet and malty in the front with the booze and hops coming through midway and lasting all the way throuhg the satisfying and warming finish. Really nice stuff.

Pours dark copper (quite bright and clear) with a very thick, uneven off-white head that laces the glass heavily. The aroma is extremely heavily dosed with hops - both loads of fresh hop aroma and loads of bitter citrus. The malts are present in the aroma, but take a backseat. The beer starts off bitter, but in a balanced way. The bubbles tingle the tongue in a way that intensifies the hops, but the malt presence is firm and sweet. Extremely hoppy and decently bitter - but malty enough to be balanced in the end. The finish is long, dry, and bittersweet with lots of orange peel and grapefruit in the after-taste (gotta love citrusy american hops!). The mouthfeel is deceptively light for a beer of this strength. The aroma and flavor of alcohol is also quite well hidden.

Fruity, hop and citrus aroma. Amber brown with frothy head that quickly dissipates. Creamy yeasty cheese flavor balanced with hoppy bitterness and light saltiness. Grapefruit and malt. Well balanced, go’s down smooth and chewy. Good thick mouthfeel. Very good overall.

This was my first barleywine, but it certainly won’t be my last. Very flavorful and heavy. Strong, balanced flavor.

THOUGHTS: A nice hoppy barley wine that hid the alcohol wll. A very nice barley wine. Tried this years ago and thought it was OK, but now that I know how to drink beer, I think it is great. It just got better the warmer it got. An incredible beer and a great barley wine. It warmed me up without a harsh alcohol burn. Even a bad barley wine is still pretty good and this one is a good one to begin with so it’s great. But it did get a little overly hoppy when it got really warm. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a medium to dark red with nice carbonation and a large, off-white head that mostly diminished but hug around for a while and left excellent lacing all over the glass. The aroma was moderate caramel malt and light to moderate citrus hops (grapefurit, orange & lemon), along with apple and maybe some cherry. The initial flavor was lightly bitter, while the finish was heavily sweet and moderately bitter with an average duration. The flavor was caramel malt, lots of citrus hops and some fruitiness that was like apples and cherries. The medium to full body was slightly syrupy with fizzy carbonation and a metallic finish.

all I have to say is HOLY HOPS!!!! For being a barley wine the alcohol taste did not stand out as expected, good hop note, smooth, drinkable, definite buy again. Price is a little steep.

Bottle pours rich amber brown. Frothy head laces nicely. Fantastic aroma that is inviting. Rich malt flavor with a nice amount of sweetness. The finish is nice and dry with some hop kick and alcohol. This is a very good barley wine.