Avery Brewing Hog Heaven Dry-Hopped Barleywine

Avery Brewing Hog Heaven Dry-Hopped Barleywine, by Avery Brewing, poured a lightly cloudy amber hue into the glass, with very mild carbonation slowly working through the thick body to a small, short-lived sticky cream head.  Grapefruit and pine stood out over a sweet caramel candy malt.

Avery Brewing Hog Heaven Barleywine opened with a thick and peppery start and followed through with caramel smoothness and a slight rising bitterness.  The ale showed its heat in the belly and ears more than in the mouth, and faded on a clean, earthy note.

Avery Brewing Hog Heaven Dry-Hopped Barleywine is complex and dangerously drinkable.  It manages to avoid the thickness in body, cloying dried-fruit sweetness, and general heaviness associated with a barleywine-style ale and gives the experienced drinker a lot to chew over.

Sierra Nevada Black Hop Rising Lager

Sierra Nevada Black Hop Rising Lager, apparently only available at the Sierra Nevada tap house, poured pitch black out of the growler, topped with an off-white head.  The nose had a medium-bodied aroma of corn and noble hops.

Sierra Nevada Black Hop Rising Lager opened smooth, with light peppery bitterness and some crisp apple notes leading wat to light buttery popcorn and slight hop bitterness.  Despite the dark color, the lager maintained the lager body and yeast overtones through a dry, buttery finish.

Leave it to Sierra Nevada to make a lager this interesting and ale-like. 

Yuengling Original Black & Tan

Yuengling Original Black & Tan, brewed by Pennsylvania-based Yuengling, poured a dark cola hue into the glass, with a crisp and somewhat roasty nose coming from the frothy buff head. 

Yuengling Original Black & Tan opened with a subtle apple crispness and some minerals before the sweet creaminess of the porter came through.  The ale managed to never peak back through again, ending the beer on a somewhat lackluster, is not at least well formed, two-dimensional note.

Yuengling Black and Tan is a surprise in that it captures pretty much everything one could ask of a black and tan (short of the visual separation).  Worth checking out and a surprising repeater on my Nashville trip.

Boscos Brewing Ale Flight

While visiting Boscos Brewing in Nashville, I had the opportunity to run a flight of their standard offerings, their special releases, and their bottle-conditioned American-Style Dry Stout.

Boscos Witbier- A nice, American-style wheat ale.  stands up nicely without the typical citrus addition.

Boscos Original Alt- Thirst quenching, if nondescript.

Boscos English Style IPA- A toasted, biscuit malt profile dominated the hops

Boscos American Style Dry Stout Bottle Conditioned Ale- A standout of the flight, complex and extremely drinkable.

Boscos Famous Flaming Stone Beer- Typical amber ale, a little light on hops

Boscos Bombay IPA- The heavier hopped big broth of the English Style, this one stayed close to the English malting with much more pleasant and pronounced hops.

Hillsboro Brown- Nothing much to see here, folks.

Isle of Skye Scottish Ale- Surprisingly subdued and un-Scotchlike for the style