For some reason I was in the mood for a barleywine this evening. I'd never had the Avery Brewing Co.'s attempt at the barleywine and to be honest I had heard nothing about this particular beer. I just knew that some of the Avery stuff I've had in the past was amazing (especially the maharaja DIPA; it's in my top 15 or so). So I picked this up at The Anderson's for $8 on a whim.

The Basics:

Hog Heaven is a 9.2% barleywine listed at 100 IBUs. The bottle reads that it's an "explosion of sweet malt" and brewed with Columbus dry hops. W00T!!

Appearance:

Pours an amazing red/orange hue with a MASSIVE three finger sticky caramel head. This head goes nowhere either. I guess that would be a product of 2.5 pounds per barrel of columbus hops. Leaves a nice looking off white lacing too.

Nose:

I hadn't even stuck my nose in it yet and the I could already smell it. Once I finally plunged my nose into the glass I got a blast of sweet malt with that great floral/citrus hops aroma typical of Avery.

Mouth:

Sweet, sweet, sweet deliciousness. Typical barleywine flavor, but with a little more fruit than i'm used to from a BW. Just the slightest hint of alcohol in the mouth but it totally balances the sweet caramel malt. Great balance in fact. Feels a wee bit heavy in the mouth but it's still a great brew. Great finish that leaves your lips bitter and sweet at the same time.

Drinkabiliy:

Like I said it drinks a little on the heavy side. Not a chance I could drink more than one of these in a sitting, but that's to be expected from a 22oz BW at 9.2%. Not really a great session beer, but great to relax with on a monday night with nothing else to do.