Avery The Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale

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

Bottle. Pour was medium dark golden with a nice lasting light tan head. Aroma was very malty with a very nice balance of citrus, grapefruit, light peach, and light pine. Flavor was again balanced with a strong malty character consisting of bread, light toast, and toffee. Hops were citrus, light spice, and low resin. Very nice brew.

Aroma of peach, grapefruit, and almond. Flavor is hoppy with a significant malt character -- some citrus and pine elements as well. A complex taste -- fairy enjoyable.

Traded bottle side-by-side with ST Un*Earthly...surprised by how well I liked this. Massive aroma of grapefruit rind, citrus hops and perfume. Bronze/brown in colour with a foamy white head and sticky lacing. Surprisingly balanced flavour; big hops, big malt (some alcohol) but neither overpowered the next. Good bitterness level too.

At 10.69% ABV and 102 IBUs, this is a beast. The nose is a blast of citrusy, well rounded hops (Simcoe maybe??) with a pronounced sweetness from it’s enormous malt backbone. It pours to a cloudy orange with a quickly dissipating white head. With such a high IBU count, I think I over prepared myself for the hop bitterness. While is certainly is very bitter, I think it’s got more flavor from the hops than bite. The malt profile must be loaded with plenty of carmel and maybe even honey malt, this thing is pretty sweet. The Maharaja is a shining example of a IIPA, whose subtle complexities will make it my new standard for comparisons amongst the style.

(br-btl gn-lbl, 22oz, batch 9 feb 2009 drank june, 1.090 OG 102 IBU 10.27%)

lct-cpr, med-co2, thin-cm-hd.

^hoppy §malty aroma.
good-sweet-malt-backbone, very-resiny-pungeant-citrus-leafy-hops.
pretty easy drinking for style.

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.