Avery Cans ‘Hog Heaven,’ Announces Collab With Sierra Nevada

This beer was inspired by Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale. In tribute to this inspiration, Avery Brewing will be collaborating with Sierra Nevada this year to create a blend of Hog Heaven and Bigfoot for Sierra Nevada’s 2017 Beer Camp. This collaboration beer will be available in June.

Hog Heaven is the beer that changed everything at Avery. Adam Avery has always been passionate about big beers – not necessarily just in terms of ABV, but also in terms of flavor – so in 1998, he decided to brew a massively hoppy beer that reflected his passion. This beer was ahead of its time with the combination of 9.2% ABV and 102 IBUs. It attracted a lot of attention with its two Silver Medal wins at the Great American Beer Festival in 2004 and 2007, and subsequently set the stage for the bold beers that would follow such as The Maharaja in 2005, Rumpkin in 2011, and Tweak in 2014. After all this time, it is still a beloved beer by Avery employees and is frequently consumed during celebratory times at the brewery.

Hog Heaven was originally classified as a Dry-Hopped Barleywine-Style Ale because, in 1998, there was no other way to classify this mighty, flavorful beer. As a symbol of how times have drastically changed in today’s beer industry, Avery Brewing updated the style name to Imperial Red IPA in 2016 to more accurately reflect the beer’s style.

Also being retired are the 22-ounce bottles of Hog Heaven to better meet the wishes of the new craft beer market. Not only is 12-ounces of a 9.3% ABV beer a little more moderate and enjoyable to consume, cans are also easier to pack for adventures.