Avery duganA

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

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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UPDATED: OCT 29, 2009 Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is dark yellow to light amber. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (caramel, toasted grain), moderately to heavily hoppy (resin, grapefruit), lightly yeasty (dough), with a note of aspirin. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium to full body, velvety/syrupy texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic, moderately astringent. Mehh, not for me at all. A unidimensional resin-bomb with some unattractive notes (vitamin B, aspirin) and an abrasive, citric, astringent mouth experience. Nearly unpleasant.

On tap @ Hamilton’s. Clear orange with a one finger off-white head, good retention.. Citrus hops dominate with some clean caramel behind. Flavor is the same with some added pine and grainy notes, fair caramel sweetness. Bitterness peaked @ a 6-7, alcohol warming my throat and belly. Moderate carbonation with a med-full body. A sheet of lacing covers the back of my glass. Not bad, but overrated @ a 4.

After much anticipation Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, CO has finally released the Dugana IPA after two years of experimentation, many test batches and countless tasting sessions. This beer was created for those who enjoy their Maharajah Imperial IPA but wanted a similar tasting beer that could be drank on a more regular basis. Many craft drinkers believe that the market is currently flooded with quality IPAs, and they are right, however the guys down at Avery say that they are just beer lovers that can’t themselves from making new beers. This IPA has loads and loads of flowery hop aromas just leaping out of the glass. After smelling it I expected it to be a crazy hop bomb, but was pleasantly surprised that the palate was very well balanced with touch of that caramel flavor found on most Imperial IPAs. Finishes bitter, dry and incredibly long.

No. 7 22 oz. bottle Appearance: Pours a clear amber gold with a good amount of rising carbonation. Not quite like a glass of champagne, but pretty close. The beer starts and stays with a decent, sudsy white head. Aroma: A huge blast of all things grapefruit and pine. Most of the times I put my nose into the glass, it comes a crossed as natural essence, sometimes it reminds me of floor cleaner. Either way, I enjoy it. There is a bit of honey and brown sugar sweetness in there as well. Taste: Grapefruit, brown sugar, finishing with big, abrasive earthy bitter hops. Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and very fizzy. The grapefruit and bitterness linger well past the sip. Overall: A really dank, bitter yet fruity beer.

Bomber from release party. Smell is floral and fruity hops with a nice dankness when first poured - as it warms, lots of tropical fruit (pineapple, papaya) and some dark bread and light caramel comes in, too. Really nice. Taste is Taste is the heavy handed, big grapefruit hops with some orange and grass notes. Later, the caramel flavors make an appearance and balance ensues. This was my 3rd bottle, I’ve liked it a little more each time. Really an interesting beer and really a good one. Thanks, Avery - well done again.

Multi-dimensional hop flavors, aromas and bitterness produce a complex hop profile in this beer. It’s rather intense, though, so you really need to like highly hopped beers to truly enjoy it. Malts are just fine as they are, and the hops completely own the stage, but they should. duganA has strong elements of grass, flowers, pine and citrus, with fragrant notes of grapefruit and tangerine lingering well into the aftertaste. Meanwhile, a bold, grassy bitterness with a hint of orange rind loiters on the tongue. It’s a rare feeling, but I actually felt my insatiable hop craving being satiated while drinking this beer. Even after sampling hundreds of IPAs, this one somehow brings something new to the table, and I think it’s great.

Shouldn’t this be listed as a Double IPA? - anyway, I picked this one up at the brewery today - pours lightly hazy, with sticky, soapy lace - the aroma is all earthy, herbal, grassy, piney hops - however, there is kind of an astringent, metallic character to them the deeper you whiff - still, quite a resinous, hophead’s delight in the nose - the flavor is something I should have expected from another Avery DIPA - overly sweet, with copious hop bitterness that, rather than balancing out the sweetness, or drying out the beer at all, just add a citrus flavor to the otherwise characterless malts, eventually becoming astringent in the finish, just in time to "compliment" the alcohol burn - I mean, I like hops, but this world really doesn’t need another beer like this one - Avery, please focus on your new barrel-aged projects, because they are so much better than this - sorry fanboys, but this beer really ain’t that good.

22oz bottle $6.49. Nice golden color, clear, sticky lacing on the glass. It smells dank. Piney, herbal, grass, and dank aromas, nice but then oddly stinky like a cat box. The flavor starts out as more of the same and exactly what was promised on the label, brutally bitter, piney, good at first but then it shows a bit of pepper and garlic, parmesan cheese. I get the same flavor from Green Flash DIPA and I just can’t dig it. This is definitely a hop-bomb but the profile is just not for me. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 10-11-2009 02:33:00
Earlier Rating: 7/30/2009 Total Score: 4
This was on tap at the Avery tap room and it was pretty awesome. It had a great piney smell, citrus flavors and was like a Maharajah junior. Easy to drink with a dry finish, I enjoyed this a lot. Even better was the news that they are going to bottle this beer! Serving type: on-tap Reviewed on: 12-15-2007 21:45:09

Slightly hazy copper pour with a two finger fluffy white head, good lacing. Aroma consists of hops - floral, pine, citrus, resinous, and minimal malty sweetness. This beer starts off with sharp bitterness and carbonation leading to a brief caramel sweetness in the middle ground that finishes dry and bitter. A hop lovers dream! Medium-light body with moderately-high carbonation and low alcohol warmth. This one is not as sessionable as they claim, but I don’t care. I would not be surprised if this one wins a few medals

Draft: Clear straw. Creamy white head. Boring nose of toasted hay, lime, tangerine and pineapple. Soft carbonation deposits an unpleasant fuzzy residue on the palate. Initially resinous with hops, yet sharp with palate-stinging oils lightly cushioned by slick residual sugars, polished citrus, and grainy pale malt. Malt gradually takes on a tasty fresh cookie note along with some doughy sweetness. Finishes deceptively bitter as the acidic hop oils continue to blanket the palate, contributing a minor aspirin-like astringency along the way. Not bad, but unfortunately the poorly placed hop-derived acidity detracts from, rather than enhances, the vibrant hop qualities. The potential is here, but pretty run-of-the-mill, as is.