Avery The Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Boulder, Colorado USA

this has been one of the best IPA ales I have ever tasted. The first thing you notice is the nice color and beautiful head that settles at the top. The aroma hit me with a hint of banana followed by a slight bit of clove. The taste was amazing, and with the alc % being nthat high, I was surprised to find so incredibly smooth. This one is a little more complex and I really had to think about all the complexity over the amazing taste. The taste is so smooth, I forgot about the strength. It goes down very nicely and finishes with a crisp palate that left me wanting another one.

A: It pours a beautiful rusty orange color with a nice large 2 or 3 inch foaming head. The head settles to a nice ring atop the beer and leaves a huge amount of lacing behind as it is consumed. There are several streams of the tiniest bubbles starting about mid glass before rising like perfectly marching soldiers to the top. Did I mention the lacing, I think I did but this is some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. S: Nice and Strong. There is an amazing floral piney hoppy smell permeating from the glass. I can tell this is going to be a nice flavorful beer. If you concentrate and go beyond the hops there is also a sweetness powering thru. I detect a definite smell of dried peaches or apricots along with a nice strong maltiness running thru this one as well. T: Avery has hit a home run here, I don’t know if I hear 4th of July fireworks going off or if it’s my senses going haywire. This beer starts off with a wonderful malty sweetness which quickly gives way to a hint of fruit, Apricots, Peaches, maybe even a little Pear. Just as I am enjoying the fruity sweetness...BOOM... the hops kick in. These must be some finest freshest hops known to man. They have a wonderful grassy, piney taste to them, and they kick hard and the taste seems to linger. Wow, very nice. M: Nice medium to thick in body. It’s a very crisp beer that finishes dry and leaves you yearning for another sip, gulp or guzzle.

This is a solid beer. I delight in its complexity and for me it fulfills well the IIPA label.

22oz bottle, nice cloudy amber with a moderate but persistent head and lacing. Good citrusy hops.

Another lucky find at Mickey Finn’s in Florence SC. Nice floral citus aroma with a malty backbone. Beautiful hazy new copper colour on the pour. Sweet sticky flavour defined with a generous dose of malt and bitter hops. Lingering bitter finish capped with the warmth of alcohol. I wish we had this in Georgia.

Very good Double IPA. Pours a sticky head. Sweet aroma. Initially a caramel flavor dominates then a great hoppy citrus flavor comes through and lingers and beats on your mouth like pop rocks.

Fairly dark amber colour with a small extremely sticky beige head. Aroma is pine and caramell and lots of them both. Mouthfeel is rather fat and sticky but not at all hard to drink. Flavour is simplistic but yummy with piney hops, citric fruits and a fat toffe and caramell base. Ends very bitter with a lingering sweetness.

Poured a hazy amber-orange with a creamy head with excellent retention. Really strong grapefruity hop aroma, balanced nicely by a very sweet maltiness, more evident in the taste. Palate is very smooth with an intense lingering flavor. Alcohol is perfectly hidden, until you get up from your couch and stumble across the room!