Monday, January 14, 2013

Avery Hog Heaven

 Avery Brewing Co.   Boulder, CO

Notes:
Barleywine Ale
22oz Bottle
9.6% ABV
104 IBUs


From the website:

This dangerously drinkable garnet beauty is a hop lover’s delight. The intense dry-hop nose and the alcohol content are perfectly balanced for a caramel candy-like malt backbone. This is a serious beer for serious beer aficionados.


Appearance:  Pours a dark auburn/ruby/red with a touch of caramel brown…like khaki color head formed, about a pinky thick and stayed…fairly transparent, not a lot of bubbles…nice lacing…(4/5)

Smell:  Hop forward, earthy/piney hops…caramel malts also apparent…very earthy, woodsy, damp forest smell…I get a little bit of pepper spice in the background…it’s nice, but it’s not overly aromatic…(3.75/5)

Taste:  Earthy, mildly citrus, mildly robust hops (Columbus) up front with a bit of peppery spice kick…kick is mild, but noticeable and adds value to overall package…I also appreciate the hops being so bold because it helps me identify that variety in the future, my tongue and brain will remember this for the future…mildly sweet, caramel malts blend effortlessly into the initial flavor, really rounding off everything nicely…some piney, floral hops bitterness in the after taste…(4.75/5)

Mouthfeel:  Medium body, medium carbonation…it carbonates nice, providing a caramel fluff splash across my palate that is sweet and endearing…it’s a little watery, but I think that makes it more drinkable and works well here…it could be syrupy and I’m glad it’s not…plenty of earthy/woodsy/robust hops bitterness all over the palate, not overpowering, just a reminder of what is and was…(4.5/5)

Overall:  I really like the beer…I wasn’t gonna do a review, just sit back and watch some football and enjoy a good beer, but this one brought me to the computer…it’s very flavorful, refreshing and I definitely could have more than one of these in a session, even though it’s 9.2% ABV (which there’s little to no sign of)…it’s not a heavy sipper, it’s a relaxing, watching football in the comfy chair kinda of brew…this style is perfect for cellaring and I’m definitely gonna buy at least 2 of these for later…I can imagine the caramel malts sweetening up and really changing the overall profile flavor of this brew…as it says, it’s a beer for beer aficionados…very good, very drinkable, I couldn’t recommend this more…another winner from Avery! (4.5/5)

P.S.  I had to come back and give the taste score an additional .25 after about an hour of doing this review…the flavor is really good, even as it warms…this thing deserves to be in my top 10…

Score:
(4.35/5)

 

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