Beer of the Week: Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine-Style Ale
Categories: Beer of the Week, Review
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| John Linn |
Barleywine. The word sounds awesome, like something you should be drinking out of a goblet while gnawing on a smoked turkey leg. Just the thought of guzzling a frothy glass of the stuff makes me want to refer to everyone as "my Lord" and "my Lady" and carry around a +2 broadsword. Side note: I wonder if that requires a weapons permit?
As you may have guessed, barleywine is an old-world style of beer. Yes, beer. Despite the name, barleywine is not a wine, even though it shares many traits with the stuff. For example,
Hog Heaven Barleywine-Style Ale from Avery is a great example of the style: extraordinarilly sweet and malty with a huge kick of hop aroma to balance it out. (It's called "barleywine-style" because that's a labeling must in America so as not to confuse people looking for actual wine.) Crack one open and you'll get a thick, cakey brew that's full of exploding fruit flavor and a heavy, heavy dose of honeyed hops. Although some English-style barleywines are so sweet that they become impossible to drink, Hog Heaven strikes a nice bitter balance that keeps it drinkable. It sports a fat, foamy head and a pleasant hum that tickles your throat on the way down.
My favorite food to eat with a big goblet of Hog Heaven is barbecued ribs, the smokier the better. Nothing cuts through the pork fat and barbecue sauce quite like it. Though if I did have a huge smoked turkey leg and maybe a suit of chainmail, I'd enjoy this stuff even more.
Find Hog Heaven at Total Wine, BX Beer Depot, and Whole Foods.
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