Avery Hog Heaven

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

Bottled: Wow great beer! Pours a dark ruby color with full tan head. Smells of dry hops, citrus, and earth. Tastes very hoppy with a nice caramel citrus flavor. Kind of reminds of a candy apple!

Pours medium copper amber with a tall light tan head that has great retention. Aroma is big on floral and citrus hops, tons of caramel, toffee, pineapple upside-down cake, some pine. Flavor is caramel up front, closely follwed by more pineapple upside-down cake, lemon poppyseed bread, citrus, a little pine and some light floral hops, berry sweetness, a little staw. A little bitter grapefruit comes in toward the finish which turns out to be lots of burnt sugar, citrus a hint of lemon. Body is thick, sweet and sticky as it should be.

Pours a deep copper color with a moderate white head. Aroma and flavor is definitely hoppy by barleywine standards, but not overpowering. Like most Avery beers, the flavor is sweeter than most representatives of the style with sweet maltiness. A little thin but very nice.

Pours a deep red with an off white head that clings to the glass. Big nose of hops, hot alcohol, fruit, dough, molasses, caramel. Taste is very hoppy, sweet malt, some fruit, then more hops in the finish. A surprisingly hoppy barely wine. Pretty awesome for a barley wine.

(Bomber at home on October 31, 2008) Very light-colored for a barley wine... light orange-amber color, and carbonation... big bubbles! Medium to small off-white head. Very clear. Very nice appearance. Great, hoppy aroma, much like an imperial IPA. Very syrupy on the tongue - and you can tell it’s the alcohol as it sloshes around the toungue. Pretty hoppy, and a bit spicy on the tip of the tongue. Goes down easy, relatively thin. A conservative, yet hoppy barley wine. Something’s making me crave more hops... Hmmm... A+

This is a very thick, sweet bitter brew with a heavy bite. Reminds me of a lesser old guardian

Year unknown. Shimmering clear copper with a thin but sticky off white head. Minimal carbonation. No dregs or sediment. Massive resinous pine sap aroma laced with juicy fruit notes. Medium body, creamy feel, slick and nicely hopped. Very fruity as well with that rasberries blended with pine sap flavor. Great hop burps. Good mouthfeel but not heavily malted or balanced at all, except by the full body. Lightly sweet with a spicy edge. Loses any malt oomph as it sits. Hoppy aftertaste with a lightly dry cloying feel. Loses some body as well and finishes unbalanced and hoppy. A middle of the road brew beefed up with hops. Thanks trap.

Rerate 12/2/2005: Aged for two years. The beer has definitely lost its hoppy aroma, but the bitterness is still there, but balanced with a complex dark caramel maltiness. I think this could age for a few years longer. Quite nice though and very drinkable with less aggressiveness than a fresh sample.

1/13/2003: Big time hop aroma filled the room when I opened the bottle. There was also a subtle caramel malty nose as well. Very laid back, smooth and enjoyable. Just sweet and bitter enough to hide its alcohol. Surprisingly not over-bitter, despite the 100 IBUs which I think is an exaggeration. Very drinkable, which makes this somewhat dangerous I suppose.