Hog Heaven Barley Wine - Avery Brewing Company

jampics2

Ohio

4.3/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A 22oz bottle poured into a souvenir glass. Enjoyed with Adam Avery at his Adam Avery Experience at the Buckeye Beer Engine during Cleveland Beer Week 2010.

Hog Heaven is one of Adam's favorite beers. He likes it so much flavor-wise that he started to put on a few pounds from drinking it so often. So, he made a lighter version called 'Piglet's Purgatory' which captured the flavors but could never duplicate the drinking experience. I decided to splurge on the calories and dive into the mud with the hog. The beer is a deep red with some caramel, amber and copper notes. It is cloudy and a touch murky but still appealing - I didn't expect the swine to be squeaky clean. There's some nice white head and excellent retention and lace. This isn't just lipstick on a pig - this is a beautiful looking American Barleywine.

The Columbus hops jump out of the glass with their signature citrus notes. There's a huge hoppiness that is never overbearing, but brings great notes of grapefruit and mandarin orange, complete with sugary sweet syrup. Some malted barley and caramel lurk underneath, giving more sweetness and substance to the whole package. There is absolutely no alcohol, quite a feat for an almost-double digit ABV beer.

We've seen and smelled the hog, now the taste is where the heaven comes in to play. Columbus hops, some dark fruit and sweet caramelized malt make a potent and tantalizing beer with blissful bitterness. The hops give some celestial citrus and some slight pine notes that are balanced and expressive. The malt is sweet and perfectly integrated into the palate, almost omnipotent in the way it doesn't let the hops eclipse its dominance. Some booze is noted in the finish, but it's not enough to bring down the overall beatific experience.

Low carbonation, heavy body and high sugar leads to a lightly syrupy sensation that keeps the mouthfeel from scoring higher and vaulting this into the upper-echelon of American Barleywines. But the feel is good enough to keep me sipping just about every second until my glass is empty. The drinkability approaches the divine, but falls just short. Still a very good beer, when you're ready to consume a pig-load of calories, reach for a hog!

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2010 21:27:43 | More by jampics2

SocalKicks

California

4/5  rDev +0.8%

05-24-2013 06:43:43 | More by SocalKicks

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%

05-22-2013 01:23:00 | More by mikeincharleston

jgbiggs

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%

05-20-2013 22:06:26 | More by jgbiggs

jeffthepony

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%

05-19-2013 02:42:48 | More by jeffthepony

jealmanzar

New York

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

05-17-2013 16:17:39 | More by jealmanzar

ElizabethEleanor

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%

05-17-2013 03:12:53 | More by ElizabethEleanor

MinorThreat

Colorado

4/5  rDev +0.8%

05-16-2013 00:08:24 | More by MinorThreat

DarthGuitarHero

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

05-15-2013 12:54:36 | More by DarthGuitarHero

h0ppster

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +0.8%

05-14-2013 17:49:43 | More by h0ppster

Bonko_the_sane

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

05-13-2013 16:46:47 | More by Bonko_the_sane

drummermattie02

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

05-13-2013 14:23:46 | More by drummermattie02

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -18.1%

05-10-2013 14:37:10 | More by twenty5

DaveAnderson

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +0.8%

05-07-2013 05:13:48 | More by DaveAnderson

Jordantb313

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

05-05-2013 02:46:11 | More by Jordantb313

DeezGunz14

California

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

05-02-2013 04:07:56 | More by DeezGunz14

mcdsports

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

04-28-2013 17:06:34 | More by mcdsports

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

04-27-2013 20:17:30 | More by Kelp

rydev24

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.8%

04-27-2013 17:05:50 | More by rydev24

Jason1337

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

04-26-2013 15:33:36 | More by Jason1337

AmitC

Indiana

4.51/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22 oz bomber.

Color is deep amber with ruby hues. Over three fingers thick off white colored head with excellent retention power. Awesome lacing on the sides. Very beautiful looking. Calm. Translucent.

Aroma is just beyond awesome. Strong hop flavors. Pine and resin hop character. Heavy malts. A lot of warmth and some alcohol is apparent. Strength is strong and powerful. Fills the nose with overwhelming intensity.

Taste is brilliant as well. Very good amount of bitterness provided by intense hops. Malt does a balancing act and provides the old ale flavor. Earthy and ground hop character. Piney and resiny feel is present in abundance as well. Finish is bitter. Bitterness is strong. One of the most bitter Barleywines or any ale for that matter, I have had.

Mouth feel is medium to full bodied. Oily character but with a much fuller body due to heavy malt content. Nice texture. Strong and powerful. A bit astringent.

One hell of a beer. This is a gem. Find it and drink it. You will love it if you like DIPAs, barleywines or hop forward beers.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 15:01:06 | More by AmitC

n00blar

Maryland

4/5  rDev +0.8%

04-22-2013 22:45:53 | More by n00blar

Holmes698

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

04-21-2013 13:10:21 | More by Holmes698

outoffocus

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.8%

04-21-2013 13:09:48 | More by outoffocus

mkennedy119

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

04-21-2013 05:04:04 | More by mkennedy119