Avery The Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale

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

22oz bottle. Its good, but definitely not worth the $7.49 I paid. Pours a hazy orange color with a somewhat creamy off-white head that fades relatively quick and leaves some lace. Smells caramelly and citrusy. Tastes malty sweet right up front. The hop bitterness starts in the middle, and then a sweet floral hop flavor kicks in towards the finish. Lots of different citrus flavors in there and a little pepper, as someone said earlier. Maybe, just maybe, medium body. Nice carbonation.

Bottle. Slight hazy amber coloured with an off white small head. Aroma is caramel, malty, grapefruit, pineaple with pepper, some pine and some lemons. Flavour is sweet with notes of caramel and nuts but balanced out by a massive use of hops. A big beer in a big bottle.

Gorgeous coloring...deep tones of amber with a slight haze and small white head. Aroma has a very complex hop boquet.....pine, citrus, floral, earthy and tangy....it takes several minutes to take it all in. Flavor is quite powerful......an explosion of hops and malt. The hop presence is very tangy and potent.....citrus (take your pick), piney, floral and a bit of spice wrapped into one. Malt is there, although not in any great capacity, but in this case the beer isn’t overly bitter. Some sweet undertones, but this beer is all about the hops. Definitly one of the best imperial/double IPAs I’ve had. Would certainly get this beer again.

Draught @ Beer Table, Brooklyn. Pours amber, slightly hazy, with moderate white head that sticks around a bit. Aroma is citrus, grapefruit, slightly floral. Taste is sweet up front, with the hops coming on strong in the form of grapefruit and tangy citrus, with a bitter hop finish that sticks around awhile. Doesn’t quite have the malt backbone on the front end to balance out the bitterness, as the sweetness just doesn’t quite hold up to the ibu assault to come. Still, I can see the merit in it -- a great beer for the true hop heads out there, and even for the big beer enthusiasts who want a dose of big hops to mix things up.

Amber colored with a big white head. Citrus and floral hops are strong in the aroma. Strong in the smell, taste, and alcohol. Clear. Sweet and bitter a good beer.

22 oz. bottle. Listed on the bottle at 10.54% ABV. Bottled in February 2008. Batch 7. Consumed on 3-21-2008. <P>Very strong aroma features pine, quinine, watermelon, cotton candy, citrus, curry, spice, and red apple scents. The smell is lightly bitter and quite complex and appetizing. Pours a hazy dark gold to light amber. Large amount of long-lasting, off-white to cream-colored head that forms rolling hills of foam in the glass. Produces nice, thick lacing. Not surprisingly, hops dominate the sharp flavor, especially on the early sips. Apple juice, grape juice, lemon, orange, and apricot elements are present in this fruity ale. Yeasty taste, giving the beer a sweet bread flavor. Candy sugar; reminiscent in some ways of a Belgian ale. Maharaja is quite sweet underneath all the hops, as Avery brews are known to be. The beer also is spicy, with paprika in particular being noticeable. Alcohol taste present but not overpowering. Light bitterness in the finish. Long, dry aftertaste. Full body. Lively and oily in the palate. The hops almost burn the throat, and I mean that as a compliment. This fresh example of Avery Maharaja was delicious and really hit the spot! It’s very close to my favorite double IPA, which is one of my favorite styles. Consider this a rave!

Batch 7, Feb 2008 - Pours a dark orange/amber with a creamy off-white head that dissolved into a very fine blanket of bubbles on the surface. Each time the glass was tipped, the surface would erupt with fine bubbles. Aroma is grassy hops, citrus fruit, light bready yeast and plenty of sweet malt. Flavor is very interesting for an IIPA as it’s not especially bitter but more floral and citrusy focused hop flavors like a fresh/wet hop beer. Sweet toffee/caramel and light warm bread notes in the malt side of the flavor. Very smooth with a substantial palate. Almost no hint to the 10.5% abv in the flavor or finish.

Typical dark IPA color with virtually no head. The aroma is very citrusy with a ton of lemon, grapefruit, orange and the cascade hops are big. The hops come on the front and the back with citrus notes of grapefruit and lemon.