The night after Shane and I shot the interview with Gary from Craft Ale House, I felt like something was missing, so I went back and grabbed a bottle to-go of the Hog Heaven from Avery. I tried this brew a few weeks ago with a group of friends and the general consensus was a fun and sweet Barleywine, at 9.2% ABV.

This beer poured a light amber-red color, something I was not expecting from this brew. The head on this beer had a nice fluffy, frothy two finger off-white appearance and had a slightly hazy appearance to the body.

The aroma was sweet with an earthy pine flair to it. There was a nice balance between the malt and the different flavor of hops infused in the brew. The beer had a sweet syrupy smell as well to it. The overall nose had me preparing mentally for a sweet candy taste. Also present was a strong sense of citrus that tried to come through but was muted by the intense resiny hops.

The taste was not exactly what I expected given the aromas. The profound caramel malt character takes over this brew and quickly mutes out much of the hop flavor. However, a sweetness does come through much like the scent. It’s a nice candy sweetness and accents the malt and hoppy nature very well. There is some citrus (passion fruit, grapefruit and some cherry) that cuts through and provides a nice balance. Surprisingly, it didn’t have any alcohol burn which tends to take away from some of the other flavors.

The Barleywine-style is starting to become a favorite of mine and the Hog Heaven was a nice take on the style. It seemed fresh and different to some of the other Barleywines I have had in the past. This is a great one to introduce and start to ween individuals onto the Barleywine style. It’s a sweet Barleywine and a solid brew from Avery.

Overall: 8/10