Avery The Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale

Had on Tap at Hamilton;s tavern. Pours a deep, clear orange with a creamy beige head. The aroma is a big grapefruit front with other citrus notes and a light caramel malt in the background. Medium-bodied and creamy/slick it finishes with a nice bitter end. Round, sweet caramel malts with a solid citric hop backing. Nice lingering bitterness at the back and sides of the tongue. I started drinking this just a bit too cool, but as it warmed, it became much smoother and better balanced than my initial impression. Perhaps it’s not as refined as say a YuleSmith or 90 Minute, but it is very tasty. The aroma is probably the closest that I’ve ever smelled to an actual grapefruit. All and all a very incredible IIPA!

new batch 9 just came out. something about this iipa just doesn’t do it for me. Everyone else around me loves it. A acidic / bitter something gets the mid. Spice / pepper? Just not for me compared to all the other awesome iipa’s out there. Nice aroma though. Great aroma. Reminded me of the recent Ballast Point Sculpin. BIg mid, hops, strong bitter finish kind of throws it off a bit for me. 1st bottle I had was terrible, must of been an off bottle becuase this is a solid brew. Other friends of mine hold this in very high regard, thus I re-tried it and glad I did.

Excellent IPA with bonus ABV included! Color is golden orange with tan head. Very hoppy in the nose with initial citrus flavors. Following taste is quite hoppy as would be expected with an imp IPA.

Bottled in Feb, 2008, Batch 7 Alcohol 10.54% by Vol. Nice amber color. Aroma of grapefruit, alcohol, mango, faint grass, faint floral, and cream. Tastes lightly sweet with strong alcohol, strong grapefruit rind, and bitter flavor. Beer has an oily texture, average carbonation, medium body, and a long bitter finish. I like this better with food (especially spicy food) - the strong bitterness cleanses my palate.

Bottle, batch 7, bottled in Feb 2008. Pours an orange/red with a thick light tan head that leaves nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of hop oils, citrus, pine, grapefruit, and passion fruit. Aroma is very delicious and inviting. Flavor is surprisingly fruity for an IIPA--lots of grapefruit and citrus. As the beer warms, a nice cracker flavor presents itself. Super drinkable for 10.5%. Delicious! One of my favorite IIPAs.

A Mes rate: Bottle drunk at the Wenlock for John’s Birthday.
Rich mid amber colour with a superb beige head and a fantastic snowstorm when swilled. Stunning big resinous hop aroma full of pine and spruce with some cheesy funk and just bitter as hell. Flavour... bloody hell! This is a real show stopper. A typically huge U.S. double IPA but this is pretty much done to perfection. Massive finish with so much fruit it’s almost too much to handle but it’s just oh so good. Monstrous resiny sting that lingers for an age. So grassy but with some incredible background malt that gives it a tiny bit of balance but really, who cares? An epic beer.

Bottle: Pours a clear copper color with a large, creamy beige head. Lots of sticky lacing. Aroma is a strong hop blast with lots of citrus and pine. Still, nice and sweet. Flavor is deep in hoppyland with a nice citrus and caramel sweetness. Strong, intense, yet rather smooth and soothing. Very enjoyable!

Light caramel color with a white head leaving some lacing; looked good but I’ve seen better in IIPA’s. Smell is awesome, citrus is powerful, full of grapefruit and juicy hops. Taste is full of citrus, grapefruit, and pine. It’s like sticky hop juice on the tongue, a little bit of alcohol in the finish, brings down taste just a notch. Low to medium carbonation with a medium body. Really drinkable, I’ll be picking up another bottle next time I see it.