Avery The Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale

Trade with nearbeer. Bottled in Feb. 2008. 1 Pint 6 F. Oz. Appearance: It pours a beautiful slightly hazy amber beer with an average sized, nicely remaining choatic light beige head. Lively carbonation. Good lacework. Aroma: Earthy hops which are accompanied by lytchee, pine needles, alochol, apricot, quinces, clotted cream, resin, lime and caramel. Very strong, hoppy with a plesant peppery characteristic. Extremely fresh and smooth. Wild strawberries sneaking in. Flavor and palate: The taste is mainly of earthy hops, pears and caramel. Strong bitterness. Peppery with hints of wild strawberries (adding a lot to my appreciation of this beer), licorice, quinces, apricot, nuts and hop resin. Salty. No grapefruit or pine needles charactericts showing up in the taste to my surprise. Full bodied. A slight burning sensation appearing with the swallow - in a pleasant balanced way. Complex and powerful. Strong peppery, bitter finish with reminiscent ginger and sage. You can feel the bitterness for a very long time, lingering on your tongue: Lovely. Overall impression: A great beer. I would love to revel on this beer on a Summer’s day. I believe my version had 102 IBU. Thanks a lot nearbeer for this outstanding beer!

22 oz bottle. Second time I have had this, and it is still quite good. Pours a dark-orange/brown color, with a small mostly white head that is about a finger high, and dissapates quickly. Smell is hops, malt, and something I can’t discern (maybe citrus and apricot?). Taste is of strong hops, with hints of something like honey. Not too hard of a palate in terms of finish, but slightly bitter.

22oz bottle, amber-orangeish color, with a big fluffy beige head, nice hoppy, sweet candied fruity orange, lemon, apricot, grapefruit nose from the floral hop leafiness, with a toasted, caramelized malt accent, with some piney, resinous, kind of minty too aromas follow through on a medium-bodied palate with a yeasty, sweet honeyish,toasty malt, nice flowery hop piney character, with a light anise spicy note, some good coniferous, grassy citrusy, lemon grass accents, leading towards a malty, warming, spicy, piney hop bitterness finish.

Bright amber in color with the scent of pinecones and flowers. Balanced taste of hops and spices. Strong bitter finish.

Bottle@Home. Sweet, fruity aroma with hints of cookie dough. Amber color, off-white head, good lace. Sweet, bitter, orange, grapefruit. Full, alcohol well hidden. Flavorful, high drinkability.

Bomber bottle. Pours orange with a scant handful of slo-mo bubbles and an immortal foam rubber head. Fruit-forward aroma screams grapefruit, pineapple, "dank" pine, and peach. Subtle wafts of grape jelly and lemon, as well. Tastes very much like Hawaiian Punch, sugary and fruity. No hop sharpness whatsoever. Against the oversweet background, the timidly bitter finish would go unnoticed if it were not boosted by 10% ethanolic warmth. Full, syrupy palate and ginny aftertaste. So-OMG-predictable... sugary and "C-hoppy", virtually indistinguishable from 3F Dreadnaught or Great Divide Titan. Boring! I’ve had better.

Bright amber with large white head. Aroma of pinecones and flowers. Malty taste with some balance to it from hops and light spices. Good bitter finish. Interesting.

Hazy burnt orange color with a small eggshell head that diminishes quickly. Aroma is sweeter than expected with minimal pine notes and a touch of alcohol. Flavor is honey, citrus, caramel, toffee, and alcohol bite. A bit syrupy. Not at all balanced and the emphasis seems to be on strength rather than flavor.