Hog Heaven Barley Wine - Avery Brewing Company

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.8/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served on tap in a 10 oz chalice glass

Appearance – Served a slightly hazy honey brown color with a little bit of reddish hue. Upon serving there was a one finger cream colored head that faded to leave a decent level of lacing.

Smell – The aroma was heaviest of a caramel and toffee sweetness. Mixed with these sweeter aromas are a lighter bready smell, some citrus hop aromas and a light boozy smell.

Taste – The taste starts out with a strong biscuit and bready base with some of the caramel sweetness that was detected in the nose. As the taste advances further some of the caramel diminishes as hop flavors begin coming to the taste profile. Grapefruit and pine hop flavors begin the hop profile but are soon joined by some earthy hop flavors as well. In the end some alcohol flavors meet up with the lightly sweet and somewhat hoppy flavors of the brew to leave a warming hoppy flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer was just above average in terms of creaminess with a carbonation level that was on the slightly lower side. Pretty nice for the style, the hop flavors, and the light alcohol burn at the end of the taste.

Overall – Not a bad brew. A, not too sweet or too boozy, barleywine. It isn’t a powerhouse of flavor like some barley wines, but has its place as a more subtle but pleasant barleywine.

Serving type: on-tap

11-06-2012 01:08:19 | More by Darkmagus82

RDW

Nebraska

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%

06-19-2013 04:09:16 | More by RDW

pinnser

Colorado

4/5  rDev +0.8%

06-19-2013 02:56:00 | More by pinnser

schwemjw

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A: Dark copper with little head retention.

S: Sweet caramel with a punch of hops. Citrus and earthy hop aromas hitting you on all sides. Cherry and strawberry with pine and resin. Very hoppy aroma but it is delicious!

T: Lots of toffee and melted caramel up front. Sweet. Pine and resin on the end. Very earthy and hoppy. A touch of tobacco and orange. Musky.

M: Like syrup, heavy and no carbonation. full bodied.

O: Very enjoyable. An extremely hoppy American Barleywine. Lots of cool fruity and earthy flavors going on here. Another? Yes please. /88

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2013 20:38:32 | More by schwemjw

srw

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.8%

06-15-2013 17:44:45 | More by srw

Eaglefan344

Missouri

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%

06-14-2013 14:56:55 | More by Eaglefan344

BrewmanCapote

Illinois

4/5  rDev +0.8%

06-14-2013 02:39:02 | More by BrewmanCapote

hopsolutely

Ontario (Canada)

3.84/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Not certain how long this has been cellared - at least a couple of years - but the barley wine character has definitely been maintained. Boozier flavours than I would choose, but appropriate for the style.

Bottle pours a beautiful golden amber colour, albeit with limited head or carbonation. Malt-forward aroma includes definite barrel tannins. Hops have faded in the body despite the decently bitter finish, albeit not as dry as I'd expected with the 104 IBU listing on the bottle. Caramelized malt start transitions to caramelized tropical fruit and that nice bitterness, with a good malt backbone and the alcohol burn in the finish.

Barley wine is not my favourite style, but believe this to be a good example.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2013 01:56:27 | More by hopsolutely

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.94/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a dark orange color, off white head. Leaves plenty of lace down the glass. Aroma of sweet malts, light fruits, citrus, earth, wood. In the flavor, lofty sweetness balanced by a dry earthy bitterness. Too substantially malty to be considered a big double IPA, which is what I first was thinking, It fits the bill of American Barleywine. Full bodied, syrupy feel. Alcohol is present in the taste and feel. Drinkable, though it manages to be rather bitter and quite sweet at the same time, not perfectly balanced. Overall definitely a good hopped up Barleywine.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2013 00:20:01 | More by Stinkypuss

superfriend

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

06-11-2013 19:39:26 | More by superfriend

Matthewpakula

Illinois

4/5  rDev +0.8%

06-11-2013 18:57:03 | More by Matthewpakula

jarrgal

North Dakota

4/5  rDev +0.8%

06-10-2013 12:08:07 | More by jarrgal

timontheroad

Colorado

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

06-09-2013 03:43:39 | More by timontheroad

metter98

New York

3.96/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The beer is hazy reddish brown in color. It poured with a finger and a half high beige head that died down, leaving a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface and a collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Sweet aromas of caramel malts arepresentbin the nose along with notes of pine resin hops.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and also has some notes of toffee.
M: It feels medium-bodied and a little sticky on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. A bit of warming from the alcohol is also noticeable.
O: This barleywine isn't too difficult to drink given its strength and that the alcohol doesn't stand out in the taste.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 22:10:40 | More by metter98

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.86/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: Pours a lightly hazy golden amber in color with some light amounts of visible carbonation and some orange + copper highlights. The beer has a finger tall foamy light beige head that slowly reduces to a medium sized patch of very thin film and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Upfront there are moderate amounts of sweetness likely from candi or brown sugar and the malts. There is a light to moderate aroma of pine hops.

T: Upfront there are moderate to strong flavors of caramel malts with some light toffee and more moderate brown + candi sugar sweetness. Moderate flavors of pine hops which contribute a light to moderate amount of bitterness which fades relatively quickly.

M: Medium to full bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly creamy. Light amounts of alcohol warming and dryness in the finish.

O: Kind of feels somewhere between a very malty DIPA and an American Barleywine - more hoppy flavors than expected for a barleywine and a little too malty for a DIPA. Interesting and complex but maybe not one that I would run out to get again.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 22:10:39 | More by dbrauneis

TheBeerAlmanac

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%

06-08-2013 15:01:10 | More by TheBeerAlmanac

megamass

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +0.8%

06-07-2013 04:56:04 | More by megamass

bilhelm

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%

06-06-2013 20:26:42 | More by bilhelm

KDE

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%

06-03-2013 13:44:46 | More by KDE

maxwelldeux

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

06-03-2013 01:22:33 | More by maxwelldeux

Kuaff

Alaska

4.56/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured at cellar temperature from a bomber into my trusty old snifter.

Hog Heaven's got a frothy, one-finger head (with pretty good retention) and kind of a hazy mahogany body. Looks like a barleywine, all right.

It smells like dank, grassy hops, caramel malts, lemon, and orange. Also a subtle hint of prunes. A fantastic, complex aroma.

The taste delivers lots of what's in the aroma. There's a little bit of the caramel-like sweetness when it first hits my tongue, but then the "zing" of intense, bitter hops and lemon takes over. 104 IBUs. I believe it. I taste it. I love it. Outstanding bitterness permeates a single sip, from beginning to end. It's kind of like a real malty DIPA. Such substantial hops here... it's one of those beers that makes my mouth water between each sip. Succulent.

It's got kinda lazy carbonation and a thick body. I'm diggin' it.

This has to be one of the hoppiest barleywines out there. It goes beyond the bitter hops limit of the average barleywine, and beyond pleasant. This beer is ultra-pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2013 23:52:46 | More by Kuaff

bushbeer75

Michigan

3.96/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

poured from a 1pt. 6 oz. brown bottle into a snifter

Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine Style Ale poured a hazy dark auburn color that formed a nice [3/4 finger] bubbly khaki head that had good staying power while producing nice lacing. The nose was first hit with dry hops and a lot of them - citrus, grapefruit dominates with very little malt detected. The taste, like the nose is dominated by bitter hops that are of pine and grapefruit with a [very] slight caramel malt sweetness in the background. Mouthfeel is to the full and smooth side, a little oily with alcohol lightly tingling the tongue and a lingering hop bitterness.

I purchased Hog Heaven in March 2011 making it an estimated 2-years old. I am surprised at how much hops are still present in the nose and flavor.

I should mention that I am not a big hophead so this lowered the drinkability for me. However, if you are a hop lover, then you will love Hog Heaven - especially if you drink it fresh.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2013 16:37:34 | More by bushbeer75

jl28r1

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

06-02-2013 03:01:48 | More by jl28r1

lonewolfcry

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

06-02-2013 01:47:15 | More by lonewolfcry

DenverBigRed

Colorado

4/5  rDev +0.8%

05-31-2013 23:15:35 | More by DenverBigRed