Beer O' The Week

PHOTO J.T. WAMPLER Avery Brewing Co. Hog Heaven Barleywine-Style ale.

Hog Heaven

by Wamp and Rico

Beer Style: Barleywine Style Ale
Hop Variety: Columbus
Malt Variety: Two-row barley, caramel 75L
OG: 1.085   ABV: 9.2%   IBUs: 104
Food pairings: This beer could be paired with a rich dessert such as cheesecake, but is best enjoyed by itself, sipped like a cognac, perhaps with a fine cigar.

Wamp’s Wisdom

Hog Heaven Barleywine-Style Ale is a year round offering from Avery Brewing Co. in Boulder, Colo.
A barleywine is indeed a beer, in spite of its incongruous name. Classic examples are malty and high in alcohol. Avery’s Hog Heaven delivers on both points and adds a significant hop presence.
Pours reddish-brown with a dense, beige head that falls back leaving thick lacing on the glass. Aroma is like sweet molasses with a hint of pine cones, raisins and new car. Taste is sweet up front with an overt hoppy flavor, reminiscent of an IPA but with an earthy, licorice finish. The flavors mature and become more complex as the ale warms but leave a lingering bitterness.
Hog Heaven is a big, hoppy mouthful of malt that’s probably not for most people. If you like your brandy neat or salivate when you walk into a cigar store, then Hog Heaven may be for you.

Rico’s Reaction

Curse you, Hog Heaven. Yes, you’re absolutely delicious and full of complex flavor — though your hops are more robust and your bitterness lingers a bit longer than I generally like.
And I’m absolutely enjoying drinking you. That’s the problem, you stupid tasty jerk.
I’m going to pay for it.
Yep, you’re delicious, tasty, unique from any other ale I’ve had. You come in an oversized 1 pint 6 ounce bottle featuring pigs with wings, fueling my visions of a national championship Razorback football team.
But the 9.2 percent alcohol by volume content? Really? C’mon, give a guy a break. I’ve got work to do, and good grammar and spelling don’t mix well with that potent a sting.
OK, one more swig and then back to work. I’ll visit you again later.
Ah …
Maybe, just one more.
Ah …

Beer O’ The Week is a joint production of two beer enthusiasts — J.T. Wampler and Richard Davis. One man holds intimate knowledge in the history and art of crafting such beverages, while the other has only met two beers he couldn’t stomach.