Hog Heaven
Avery Brewing Company

Hog HeavenHog Heaven
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From:
Avery Brewing Company
 
Colorado, United States
Style:
Imperial Red Ale
Ranked #25
ABV:
9.2%
Score:
88
Ranked #12,946
Avg:
3.95 | pDev: 10.89%
Reviews:
939
Ratings:
2,133
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 25, 2023
Added:
Jan 05, 2002
Wants:
  84
Gots:
  266
Formerly Hog Heaven Barley Wine

Or is it hop heaven? This dangerously drinkable garnet beauty was designed to satisfy the most zealous hop devotees. Intense bitterness and the dankest of dry hopped aromas are intertwined with a rich caramel malt backbone. Oink!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by roblund:
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Rated by roblund from California

3.75/5  rDev -5.1%

Feb 22, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.15 by Tcsox from Massachusetts

Dec 25, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by PhineasMcClintock from Massachusetts

Jun 03, 2022
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Reviewed by Pivopijak from Washington

4.31/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
draught
Medium dark orange, caramel and chestnut color. Thick, malty pine aroma, with a slight mixed, sweet spiced tinge to the quite ample medium dark toasted, caramelized malt. Slightly creamy, with a little bite. Nicely balanced flavors and hops to malt. Flavors of floral tinged hops. Nearly sweet, medium dark roasted caramel malts, with touches of citrus peel (tangelo) and pine, way in back. Very good finish.
Apr 25, 2022
Photo of JZH1000
Reviewed by JZH1000 from Colorado

3.96/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Was given a can as a gift out of the hop sampler pack they released this year with the hop freak ipa.
On the pour the head is a beautiful 2 fingers that goes down into a rocky froth and has great retention. Is a lighter red than a few of the red ipas I've seen but definitely a red. Mildly hazy.

The smell is immediately hops, with grapefruit and pine the smell is resinous and almost dripping with the hop profile. Past the hops is a light fruity sweetness backed by some malt backbone but that seems to be in the background of the experience.

The taste is slightly less bitter than I expected it to be based on everything I've seen so far. Definitely strongly bitter, but it has more than that. For what it I would agree it is dangerously drinkable. The grapefruit translates a bit into the flavor as I was expecting. Light malt sweetness, but its largely covered up by the hop body.

The feel is just as big as the flavor thick and creamy it will definitely fill you up but I'm sure you dont need that many of them to get the job done.

Overall an interesting experience. As not a hop head I was a little intimidated to try this one but the flavors come through and the bitterness was much less than I was bracing for. Not necessarily one I would revisit but I'm glad I tried it as it is a legacy release and the quality is there.
Dec 06, 2021
 
Rated: 3.77 by KT3418 from Colorado

Sep 16, 2021
 
Rated: 3.9 by Seal4676 from Michigan

Dec 30, 2019
 
Rated: 3.83 by desint from Belgium

Aug 30, 2019
 
Rated: 3.93 by BarryMFBurton from Indiana

Jul 12, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by Eyedoc27 from Illinois

Jul 04, 2019
 
Rated: 4.02 by Luckydog91 from Texas

Feb 04, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by Karibourgeois from Texas

Jan 27, 2019
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Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.64/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
$ 22.00 (Including tax)/six-pack of 12 oz cans ($ 0.305/oz) from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. Reviewed 11/30/18.
“Canned on 08/14/18” on bottom of can. Stored upside down at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.25.
Body – Amber, hazy.
Head – Large (Maximum six cm, aggressive center pour), off-white, low density froth, good retention, slooowly diminishing to a four mm ring and a heaped partial layer. Multiple pieces of torn lacing remain as the head retracts.
Lacing – Excellent. In addition to the above, as the level drops, a wide, somewhat thick, band of tiny to small bubbles emerges, displaying stalactites and connected to the next band by thin columns.
First pour – Dark gold, clear.
Aroma – 4 - Citrus flowers and pine initially. This morphs into caramel maltiness.
Flavor – 3.5 – No citrus or pine (as suggested by the nose) are present. There is a bit of caramel malt which ends slightly bitter. Several minutes after swallowing, a mild gastric warming occurs. No alcohol (9.2% ABV), no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3.25 – Medium, approaching creamy, almost lively carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 3.5 – When I first had this back in August 2010, it was a barley wine. Now Avery claims that it’s an “Imperial Red IPA”. So, did they added more hops to their barley wine formula or did they tweak their basic formula to try to make it more of an IPA? Either way, IMHO, they lowered the quality and made a brew that’s overpriced and neither fish nor fowl.
Nov 30, 2018
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Reviewed by SLeffler27 from New York

4.2/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
SRM 11-14 rich amber and almost clear. The one-half inch white foam is dense, leaving a thick white lace on a PBGC Aromatic snifter.

The aroma opens with a strong, sweet, caramelized brown sugar. Floral hops give way to a pleasant alcohol while warmth brings out pinesap.

Bitterness is high and contrasted by equally high sweetness. The flavors generally follow the nose with emphasis on the caramelized sugar that is just short of burnt. Warmth reveals dates, while a long finish has modest strength playing to the caramel and alcohol.

The alcohol is as expected and just short of warm. The silky texture and full body allow fine carbonation to transition from prickly to creamy. Residual sugars are less than expected.

This is a sipping beer that reveals progression with warmth. I will finish this while reading and snacking on creamy Bleu cheese. Much thanks to Rodney and Louise.
Oct 20, 2018
 
Rated: 3.93 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

Oct 16, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by mrn1ceguy from Illinois

Sep 06, 2018
 
Rated: 3.83 by JohnTurano from Florida

Sep 04, 2018
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Rated by sunsjammer from Arizona

4.21/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
12 oz'er canned on 1/12/18 from the Craft Beer Hop Shop
Aug 18, 2018
 
Rated: 4.27 by HabaJohn from Illinois

Aug 04, 2018
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Reviewed by puck1225 from Texas

4.04/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a can into a tulip glass.

Brownish orange color with a decent head and lacing. Slightly boozey smell and taste. Flavors of toffee, caramel and vanilla. Thick feel. Good imperial red IPA.
Aug 02, 2018
Hog Heaven from Avery Brewing Company
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 2133 ratings