Avery Hog Heaven

Hello, all... and welcome once again to the wonderful world of barleywines.

Confused by the name? Well, a barelywine is not a wine at all. The name came about because the beers have a high alcohol content that resembles that of wine. The beer is made from grain,though, not fruit... so it is indeed a beer. The confusion in the name has led to a law in America that requires breweries to put "barleywine-style ales" on the bottle. Barleywines originated in England where they are typically a brewers strongest ale and tend to have a malty sweetness to them with very little hop presence.

Now, what we have here is a barleywine from Avery Brewing Co. This is a wonderful American version of the barleywine, which typically have a lot more hoppy bitterness to them to help counterbalance the natural sweetness given by the malt. This brew is no exception. The beer pours a nice dark amber color with minimal head formation. Flowery hops fill the aroma. There is a slight sweetness at first in the flavor that is quickly followed by the hops that make this a nice, bitter barleywine. The finish stays bitter making this an incredibly well balanced barleywine with a nice bitterness to it.

Avery can tend to be a hit-or-miss brewery. I've had some questionable beers from them, but Hog Heaven is a definite winner. This is one of the best barleywines I've had. One may even be able to argue this as a double IPA as this is one of the hoppiest barleywines out there.