Breweries "Visited"

Friday, December 21, 2012

High on the Hog

Day #377 Hog Heaven / Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO
Previously from this brewery: The Maharaja, White Rascal

It gives me great pleasure to report that I am done working for the year.  Well, technically I'm in the office on New Year's Eve, but that's more of a social call than anything.  Feels nice, as I haven't had time off at year end in a number of years.  I will use some of the down time to keep working through my awards list for the year.  Beer of the year, brewery of the year.... all the heavy hitters still to come.

So far, the Mayans seemed to have missed on the apocalypse thing (although the night is young - they didn't pick an hour), much to no one's surprise.  However, on the odd chance that this was the end of the road, I was preparing myself by getting closer to heaven.  No, not the mythological awesome place in the sky - a bottle of Hog Heaven from Avery Brewing.  This barley wine is a bright, dark amber color (apologies for the bright/dark paradox there), almost like the color of tea.  The picture below doesn't do this beer justice, so I apologize for that.  The aroma is light, with plenty of hops and citrus.  The taste is dry, with pine, tons of caramel, and a honey sweetness.  More hops than your typical barley wine, which is just fine in my book. The beer got better as it warmed a bit in my glass, but regardless of the temperature it was straight up delicious.  I mentioned when I reviewed The Maharaja that I intended to add more Avery to my line-up, and Hog Heaven definitely reinforces that opinion.  Find it and drink it, you won't be disappointed.
Hog wild!
This brewery started brewing in 1993, and their increasing popularity has led to a number of expansions since then.  Of particularly interest to me, Avery has been barrel aging beers since 2003.

Thing to Think About Today:
If I think about Hog Heaven... then clearly I'm thinking about Pigs In Space, an always classic skit on The Muppet Show.  You can never have too much Muppet Show, quite frankly.  And to tie up everything today with a nice, neat bow?  This episode is about.... the end of the universe!  Oh, you silly Mayans.  Better luck next time, fellows.

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