Arrowhead Pride Beer of the Week: Avery Brewing Co Hog Heaven

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of the Beer of the Week! This week, I’m up in the mountains, away from football, radio and cell phones (it’s heaven), so I wasn’t able to make my appearance on Arrowhead Pride Radio on 610 Sports Radio (Thursday evenings from 6-7 p.m. Arrowhead Time).

However, that hasn’t stopped me from presenting you with this week’s Beer of the Week: Avery Brewing Co Hog Heaven!

Coming out of Boulder, Colorado, Avery Brewing Co Hog Heaven is a 9.2% Imperial Red IPA with a complex caramel malt body coupled with strong Columbus bittering hops and a ton of Columbus dry hops. This makes for an aggressive, yet complex beer that has a big hop nose. It’s not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for non-hop lovers.

Not only did I visit Avery this week, I also got in touch with one of their representatives, who gave me even more information on Hog Heaven:

We call Hog Heaven “the beer that saved the brewery”. Back in this late ‘90s, Avery Brewing Co. was struggling to gain traction and Adam Avery was close to closing the brewery. In a last-ditch effort, he decided to brew exactly what he wanted to drink, which was Hog Heaven. The beer made its way out into the world and all of a sudden, everyone was clamoring for more. It turned things around for Avery Brewing Co. and Adam vowed to always make the beer that he wanted to drink vs. catering to what he thought customers wanted. This approach to brewing has shaped the way that decisions are made at Avery and has created some massive and standout beers throughout the years.

When I first discovered Hog Heaven, it wore the “barleywine” moniker, because in 1998 Imperial IPA’s weren’t generally a style yet. As new styles have been added and classifications have shifted, the brewery was able to more accurately re-classify Hog Heaven as an Imperial Red IPA.

Avery is one of my very favorite breweries. They’re constantly pushing the envelope with what they make, trying to push the limits of what’s capable (A 16.9% ABV Rum Barrel Pumpkin Ale), what flavors can be achieved (a mint-julep inspired Bourbon Barrel Ale with Spearmint), and what’s acceptable (an IPA with sodium and potassium to add electrolytes to the beer)! On top of that, they make a number of easy-to-drink beers for those early in their beer journey who may not want to venture into some of the off-the-wall offerings. If you see Avery on the shelf, just know you’re getting a very well made beer.

If you’re a hop-head, swing by and scoop up some Hog Heaven on your way home for the weekend, and I’ll see you back here for next week’s Beer of the Week!