Avery The Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale

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

Wow. This was recommended by our waiter at Collins Pub in Seattle. I was always partial to the big Simcoe/Amarillo IPAs (Pliny, Racer 5, etc.) but this...this is something better. On top of all the hops comes an incredibly intense malty backbone. There’s so much flavor in this beer and I was said to see the glass empty. Not a beer to be missed.

Half pint draft in a snifter-like goblet, at Coles in Buffalo NY. This was a dark golden amber with a great half inch white head. There is some orange and grapefruit in the aroma, grass, pine. The mouthfeel is medium to full in body and a bit oily. I taste plenty of caramel in the malt with some orange behind it moving to plenty of hop bitterness, some pine, alcohol.

Pours amber with a thick creamy head. Great lacing on the glass. The aromas waft across the room with grapefruit dominating. Now the best part - FLAVOR! Sweet nectar of the Gods! Grapefruit and pine with a slight malt sweetness to provide balance. This is a World Class DIPA!

Bottle, Friar Tuck, Savoy. Finally getting around to rating this beer. Notes of apricot and grass on the nose lead into lemongrass, caramel, pine sol, and gooseberry. The onslaught of hops takes over on the finish. This is good, although I like my IIPAs either more fruit-forward (e.g. the mango/apricot dominance of Dreadnaught) or solid grapefruit/pine (plenty examples here, but West Coast IIPAs come to mind). This caramel notes and the sweetness a the start I find unsettling, although I can appreciate the complexity. This always seemed to me to have the flavor profile of ageing well, but the 4 year old version I had a few months back suggested otherwise. Avery’s beers in general seem like good candidates for ageing on first impression, and yet they don’t seem to stand up to the time in the cellar very well.

bottle 22 oz(batch #9 Feb. 09) - Poured clear copper color with large cream colored head. Aroma - huge grapefruit, mango and citrus scent. Reminds me of Dreadnaught. Flavor - Citrus, mango, grapefruit and pine taste. Perfume flavor on tongue lingers in aftertaste. Palate - Full heavy mouthfeel with average carbonation. Finish is dry and bitter with long piney/perfume aftertaste. Overall - Outstanding DIPA, I prefer this over Hopslam and is close to dreadnaught but Ruination is still best in my book!!

bomber froma trade with xmarcnolanx. pours clear orange with a mid white head. booze and hop resin aroma. caramel amlt structure with huge hopping but mostly resin bitterness. enjoyable but more dryhopping is needed. thanks for the bottle marc!

fresh on tap. copper golden pour with an excellent aroma. Just an awesome beer.

Bottle. Hazy golden pour with a fairly large eggshell head. Great lacing. Strong floral aroma with a hint of pine. Strong flavor of grapefruit with a hint of pine. Sweet malt flavor throughout too. Very full bodied IIPA that I thoroughly enjoyed.