Has anyone had this years Hog Heaven from Avery? I personally think it tastes curiously close to a certain Nugget Nectar and not a Barleywine. Anyone else with this experience?
My craft salesman wouldn't let me bring it in my store until i tried it, too hoppy for barleywine lovers, doesn't say DIPA or anything to get the hop heads into it.
Nothing like NN from what I recall, but definitely more like a DIPA, especially when fresh. Probably why it's one of my favorite American Barleywines.
Same reason I like Old Guardian. Not as hoppy as Hog Heavan but still fairly hoppy for a barley wine.
Hog Heaven rocks. Barleywine with a great hop profile when fresh and ages nicely. Not sure I would compare it with Nugget Nectar though.
It's not really a Barleywine, more like a boozy Double IPA. Ask Adam Avery. When they first came up with Hog Heaven there was no term for a Double IPA or an Imperial IPa, etc. So he called it a Barleywine. Check out the video below where he talks about it. http://www.averybrewing.com/our-ales/83
Not sure about Nugget Nectar because it's not available in GA. Barleywines aren't typically my thing but I read on Avery's website that the "imperial red" wasn't really a recognised style when they started making it years ago so I tried it. It's fantastic! Thick, hoppy and delicious.
The couple of bottles I've had clearly state that it is a dry-hopped barleywine. If you're a hop head, you know what dry-hopping is and know that it will be a hoppy barleywine...I got exactly what I expected out of my first bottle. Not to mention, American barleywines are typically more hopped up versions of their English counterparts anyhow.
Hello. Yes that's what Adam talks about in the video. When they came up with the beer they didn't have other terms for it so they called it a Barleywine, and it's been called that ever since, even though it's not really one. There's a new brewery here in Dallas called the Deep Ellum Brewing Company that has a beer called the Double Brown Stout; the brewer said he called it that because that's the name that was given to Baltic Porters back in the day before they called them a Baltic Porter. So even though the beer has one name it's actually a different type of beer. Anyway, I have met Adam Avery and talked to him about Hog Heaven and he said he doesn't consider it a barleywine, but at this point it's called a 'barleywine'. I'll take Adam's word for it.
Tastes more like BIGFOOT (but a tiny bit smoother) than anything else, most esp. NuggetNectar..not even in the same Ballpark w/ that comparison!
Lets see... Nothing in comparison to me. Hog Heaven is hoppy for a barleywine but nothing close to Nugget Nectar
Hog Heaven has always been that way. Back when they first started brewing it, people didn't even use the term "double IPA" much if at all, so they went with the closest thing. It has GABF medals under "imperial red" going back to the mid 2000's, so that's clearly a fair description, too.
