Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine

August 11th, 2008 beckel

This one’s been sitting in my fridge since just after my birthday so I suppose it is about time I open up my bottle of Avery Brewing’s Hog Heaven Barleywine from Boulder, Colorado. This beer pours an attractive dark red color, that produces a very deep but bright red color in light. Head is more than plentiful as this beer cascades very nicely and then quickly produces lots of thick foam that fades rather slowly and is light tan. The aroma of this beer is wonderful, initially sweet malt is most notable but there is a beautiful citrus aroma present as well as light bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium not particularly thick. Flavor is quite different than the aroma, bitter hops hit the palate first with only a tiny bit of citrus present, some lightly caramelized malt sweetness helps bring the flavor to a balance but this is certainly a hoppy beer. With a 9.2% ABV you will certainly notice you are consuming a strong beer though the bitter hops do a very nice job of hiding the alcohol flavor. As I continue to drink this beer I notice a bit more of a sweet citrus flavor on the back of the palate that does a very nice job of balancing out this beer’s bitterness. Overall a very interesting barleywine, largely what I expected from reading about it’s hop profile. If you like bitter and hoppy, strong but not overwhelming beers than this is a great choice. Certainly more hoppy than most barleywines that I’ve preferred but still very nice.  Give it a shot and ride your bike.

Avery Hog Heaven

Tyranena Three Beaches Honey Blonde

August 11th, 2008 beckel

Decided to purchase a sampler pack of Tyranena beer recently so you should be seeing many reviews of their fine year round brews in the near future. Looking for the lightest beer to start out tonights tastings we will start with their Three Beaches Honey Blonde, named after Rock Lake’s three beaches in Lake Mills, Wisconsin. This ale pours a nice transparent golden color. Head is very plentiful and relatively solid, but the small bubbles fade quite quickly. Aroma is of pale malts and slightly sour with a sweet honey hint. This is a quite interesting beer, flavors of sour pale malted barley are most prevalent with a nice bit of sweetness sneaking up in the back of the palate and smoothing out the beer decently. Mouthfeel is incredibly light one could easily drink this beer as if it were water. It is different than I expected, far more citrus flavor dominates the palate but this is a decent beer, would be incredibly refreshing on a hot summer day at the beach or while grilling some fish. If you like a light sour citrus beer this one is for you. Give it a shot and ride your bike.

Tyranena Three Beaches