Avery Maharaja

 Avery Brewing Co.   Boulder, CO

Notes:

Imperial I.P.A.

22oz Bottle

10.4% ABV

102 IBUs

From their site:

Maharaja is derived from the sanskrit words mahat, meaning “great”, and rajan, meaning “king”. Much like its namesake, this imperial IPA is regal, intense and mighty. With hops and malts as his servants, he rules both with a heavy hand. The Maharaja flaunts his authority over a deranged amount of hops: tangy, vibrant and pungent along with an insane amount of malted barley – fashioning a dark amber hue and exquisite malt essence. Welcome to his kingdom!

 

Appearance:  Pours a deep caramel brown and orange color…transparent, it looks filtered, I don’t see any sediment floating about…a thin layer of off white, mix of big bubble and small bubble head…it dies down a little to quickly, but swirling it around brings it back to life…(3.85/5)

Smell:  Pineapple right off the bat, I could smell it while I was pouring…tons of light, zesty tropical fruit, orange, tangerine, mango…of course it’s back with mildly sweet caramel malts…tons of pineapple…it has a fresh and zesty aroma, very much hop forward…(4.25/5)

Taste:  Hmm…sweet caramel malt beginning, comes in very smooth and creamy…the hops seemingly sneak up, first attacking the outside of my tongue with lemony citrus bitterness…real hops flavor and bitterness come very late, almost exclusively after I swallow…there’s a piney resinous taste that I definitely feel now, but can’t say I get when the brew is on my palate…I do get a touch of alcohol heat, but it does work well with the flavor…the mildly sweet, caramel malt last throughout the majority of the sip and really only fade in the after taste…as it warms, the malts do fade back a bit and the pineapple citrus/piney resinous hops flavor take more control bringing more fresh, citrus bitterness to the fore…a very malty I.I.P.A., but outstanding…(4.75/5)

Mouthfeel:  Medium body, with medium to full carbonation…it does fluff up bring lemony citrus bitterness to the palate…chewy, smooth and zesty…tons of piney resinous bitterness in the after taste…(4.5/5)

Overall:  This is an outstanding beer, one of the best brews I’ve had in a while…a great thing about living in Chicago is that we get great beer fresh…it’s really an underrated beer town, people around here love their craft brews…anyways, this is a fantastic brew that I was able to pick up in one of Chicagoland’s many Binny’s outlets…I knew it was fresh and wasn’t passing up the opportunity to try this renowned brew…in fact, I bought two and I’m glad I did, for the bottle says it’s “Extremely Limited”…I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I was willing to take my chances…turns out, I made the right call and will enjoy my second bottle with a friend…I couldn’t recommend this more, this brew is strong and flavorful and certainly lives up to the hype…get this beer fresh, drink cold and relax…(5/5)

Score:

(4.5/5)