Height Of Civilization
Wild Heaven Beer

Appearance: Pours a dark amber color with a one finger head that fades to a collar; leggy and spotty

Smell: The agave is strong in the aroma with Tequila barrel tones prominent, blanketing the caramel, cherry and hint of chocolate

Taste: Caramel and cherry forward with a floral aspect from the hibiscus and a hint of chocolate; through the middle, the Tequila takes over assertively, without dominating; a smidge of lemon in the aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation

Overall: Brewed in 2015, this beer has held up well in my cellar; I was very impressed by Wild Heaven's ambitions back in their early days when they started out with a more Belgian focus - they still have some of that but with Belgian styles sadly out of favor they have had to steer toward what sells; while this is an English Barleywine there is a lot of Belgian influence here

 

Appearance - The beer poured the color of dark rust water with a head that was off-white in color.

Smell - A huge wave of tequila dominated the nose with agave meshing into lime.

Taste - Tequila dominated tge initial taste. Notes of lime, oak, dark fruits, and banana. As it warms the barleywine emerged with sweet cherry notes. The aftertaste was pleasantly warm, but not hot.

Mouthfeel - The carbonation was modest, leaving the body with nice staying power.

Overall - Initially, I could not identify the base beer. But as the beer warmed, the barleywine started to shine. This is a sipper.

 

 

 

this kind of thing isnt for everyone, but it sure is the most interesting beer i have had so far this year, or close to it anyway, a big strong ale sort of built like a barleywine with lemons, cherries, cranberries, cocoa, and aged in tequila barrels, its insane. where to begin... it pours a rich mahogany color with a fine off white layer of head and intricate lacing as it drinks, well carbonated for a strong ale like this, and emitting a crazy aroma of concentrated citrus, funky yeast, dried red berries, sweet bready malts, and an absurd amount of tequila, which, even with everything else going on, becomes the defining element of this one, at least for me. the cocoa is the weirdest additive in here, something we almost never see in beer thats not stout or porter, but it adds a cool dark bitterness to this, a neat counterpoint to the fruit, but also standing up enough of in its own, and really neat with the malt, which to me is cakey and sweet at first, and almost savory later on. i get the cranberry and its tartness, which i think brings out a little bit of a wild yeast element, not sour or anything, but funky like a sourdough bread or something, and the cranberry accentuates that. the tequila comes on about midway through the taste and its insanely strong, doing its best to dominate all the other elements, and it comes close, really barrel heavy too, either a long ageing process or an extra anejo type barrel, this is as woody as it is tequila forward, slightly spicy as it finishes, not overly sweet, and a bit boozy as they go. citrus and perfume in the finish, must be the hibiscus with the lemons here, strong enough to cut through the grain and the tequila. this is a wild beer, totally weird mix of bold flavors that on paper just shouldnt work. it took me most of a glass to start to really get it, but i totally appreciate this now as well balanced, well made, and super original. heaps of tequila, but a really fine mix of flavors underneath it, hard to classify, and sort of hard to appreciate at first, but this is killer beer. huge thanks to my friend for schlepping some back from georgia and sharing it with me!

Pours a very dark brown color with hardly a head in sight. Has a very strong smell of the tequila barrel. Also has a small sweet smell as well. Had a sweet honey taste along with caramel. Goes down very smooth.

 

 

 

 

 

I picked this beer up at Maltitude in Columbus GA. It had been sitting there a while so I'm guessing it had some age on it. I cracked the bottle open and immediately you could smell the dark fruit aroma. The taste was much of the same sweet dark dark fruits. Perfectly balanced maybe a little thin but overall this is a real winner.

 

"We brew our Civilization ale with dried Prussian lemons, hibiscus, tart cherries and cranberries and finish it with cocoa nibs. We couldn't resist the idea of taking all that complexity a step further and aged some of it in Dulce Vida tequila barrels. The result may just be the Height of Civilization." Brewed in the style of an English Barleywine aged in Dulce Vida Tequila Barrels. Annual release.

Poured from a 750ml. bottle to a snifter glass.

(Appearance) Pours a crisp foamy head of a light tan tone over a deep ruby-amber body with high clarity and abundant, lively carbonation. Retention is good and lacing is light and patchy. 4

(Smell) Lightly caramelized bread malts with stone fruit undertones, traces of cocoa nibs and citrus, very unusual aroma. Slight warming alcohol of tequila comes through very clearly. Potency is moderate. 3.75

(Taste) Caramelized sugars, bread malts, dark fruit sugars, light molasses, a fairly expected malt build for the style. Many of the subtleties did not carry over as well to this point, notably the Prussian lemons and hibiscus, which bring some slight acidity and bitterness, but not as vividly as in the aroma, and the cherries and cranberries do contribute some tanginess and delicate fruit qualities. The cocoa nibs and tequila offer a slight, smooth finish. It's actually a fairly enjoyable flavor but not defined far from pedestrian expectations. 4

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, silky, lightly chewy, smooth, mildly dry. Carbonation is mild, generating a medium frothiness and a mildly crisp finish. Body is medium+ for the style, shy of heavy overall. Balance is nearly even sweet to earthy bitter, grainy and tart. Alcohol presence is moderate and there are no off characters. 4

(Overall) A fairly enjoyable barleywine, although I wish I had noticed it contained ingredients including hibiscus and dried lemon, as these may have prompted me to enjoy this beer sooner and experience the fuller glory of these fragile additions. What remained was very solid and the tequila barrel aging evident but a nice and unusual compliment to the style. Looking forward to revisiting this Barleywine at a later date, one of the better-brewed Georgia examples and there are not many barrel-aged beers out there to begin with. 4

Wild Heaven Craft Beers'
Height of Civilization
3.94/5.00

 

A: 1/2 head on gentle pour; reddish Amber color.

S: rum sweetness.

T: I got more rum sweetness than tequila; I can't say I got any lemon, cranberries, hibiscus ( although in fairness, not sure what hibiscus would taste like), maybe a little tart cherry, no cocoa nibs.

O: I liked it but didn't love it.

This is an excellent beer that packs a wallop. It's not my favorite simply because if I had too much of this I'd be stumbling in an alley somewhere with no idea of how to make it back home.

Pours amber brown with a thin head. Has a great aroma of tequila mixed with cherries and a hint of chocolate. Tastes much like it smells with a great balance. Has a great feel with appropriate carbonation. Overall a great beer.