Avery The Maharaja Imperial IPA Review

Brewery: Avery Brewing Co. | Beer: The Maharaja Imperial IPA
Style: American Double India Pale Ale | ABV: 10.3% | IBUs: 102
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

One of the more popular Double IPAs on the market today, Avery's The Maharaja was a major score when it landed in the Texas market a few years back. Produced from March through August, The Maharaja is part of Avery's Dictator Series of imperial-style brews, along with The Kaiser and The Czar.

The Maharaja is no fey dictator, as it hits the magic 10%+ alcohol content and 100+ IBU numbers. The substantial hop bill consists of Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial, and Chinook varieties. As for the malt base, Two-row barley, Caramel 120L, and Victory are employed. Here's how Avery describe the resulting despot:

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.

Sounds good to me, let's venture into this kingdom, shall we?

Appearance: A nearly clear orange-amber body with lots of sediment in solution. On top, a generous ivory-colored head that endures until the end of the glass, leaving excellent lacing (especially given the high alcohol content).

Aroma: There's certainly no mistaking this for anything but a Double IPA. Up front, a massive wave of potent Northwestern hops with the classic floral, piney, and citrusy characteristics. Underneath, a solid caramel malt base and plenty of booze.

Taste: Wow, this is big. Once again, the hops lead the charge and exhibit brilliant piney, resiny, and citrusy (mostly grapefruit) flavors. It's not a total hop-bomb blowout though, as the biscuity caramel malt backbone and brawny alcohol content are able to keep everything relatively balanced. While it's certainly a bitter beer, and I don't doubt the over 100 IBU rating for a second, the bitterness can be deceptively mellow at times. The aftertaste is strong and dominated by bitter, grapefruity hop flavors.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation and a dry finish. You can certainly feel the booze in the mouth and throat, but they are pleasant sensations. The resiny hops tend to coat the mouth, giving the bitter aftertaste lots of life.

Drinkability: With a massive flavor profile, over ten percent alcohol content, and a full body, this is certainly a "sip-and-contemplate" beer. That being said, I had no trouble whatsoever devouring all 22 ounces in one sitting.

Verdict: As I had expected, with over 100 IBUs and 10% alcohol content, Maharaja is a massive beer. This is your typical big, untamed, unleashed Double IPA with a massive hop character, but a solid enough malt backbone to keep everything in check. This is only the second Avery beer I've tried, but I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed so far.

Grade: A

Avery Sixteen Review

Brewery: Avery Brewing Co. | Beer: Sixteen
Style: Saison | ABV: 7.7% | IBUs: 14
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

Okay, so as I've already tried their 17th Anniversary brew, I get a major late pass on posting this review. But, better late than never, eh?

Anyway, like most breweries, Avery brews up a special one-off beer each year to celebrate their birthday. Last year for their sixteenth anniversary, they created a special Saison to celebrate.

It used Sterling hops exclusively and had a backbone built from Pale Two-Row barley and Pale malted Wheat. Stepping out of the box a little, the brewers also threw in some peaches, jasmine, and honey.

Here's how Avery described the finished product:

A harmonious combination of jasmine, peaches and honey fermented with an unmistakable Belgian yeast strain, all weaving a marvelously spicy and fruity, massively estery and dry, saison ale

Sounds good; let's pretend it's still 2009 and dive in.

Appearance: A lemony-golden, and ever so slightly hazy body capped by two fingers of bright white and bubbly head that fizzes out quickly and leaves minimal lacing.

Aroma: Golden fruit, citrus, mild spice, and some yeasty funkiness over a pale wheat base.

Taste: Similar to the aroma, the flavor profile is a mix of golden fruit, light earthy bitterness, mild honey, floral spiciness, Belgian yeast, and a nice touch of tartness all over a smooth wheat backbone. Easily identifiable as a Belgian-inspired beer. The aftertaste is cereal grains and apples and lingers nicely.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied with sharp carbonation and a dry finish.

Drinkability: A nicely quaffable brew, though you need to watch out for the deceptive alcohol content.

Verdict: Avery's sixteenth anniversary brew is tasty and interesting enough, though I probably won't be losing much sleep over the fact that this is a one-off brew. Worth a try for sure, this is a solid American Saison.

Grade: B+

Note: While the review above is being posted in 2010, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh in 2009.

Avery Ale To The Chief Review

Brewery: Avery Brewing Co. | Beer: Ale To The Chief
Style: American Double India Pale Ale | ABV: 8.8%
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

Despite your political views, one can not deny that today is indeed an historic day for our nation. The election of an African-American as our country's leader marks a significant change in our society, and is something I will one day be proud to tell my children about.

To mark today's inauguration, Avery Brewing Company has brewed up a very special limited release beer in order to "bid a fond farewell to our current Commander in Chief and welcome a new administration."

While Avery list the style as Presidential Pale Ale, the best I can tell, the actual style is American Double India Pale Ale. The malt backbone is composed of Two-Row Pale, C-150, Dark Munich, Honey Malt varieties; while hoppiness is provided by both Magnum and Cascade varieties. They even went as far as to use the American Ale yeast strain, something they've never done at Avery.

While I usually shy from typing up the entire contents of a bottle's label, the mock preamble to the Constitution is clever enough to warrant the treatment. The bottle reads:

Ale to the Chief! - A Presidential Pale Ale to celebrate Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009. We the Brewers of Avery Brewing Company, in order to form a more perfect ale, require new leadership that can liberate us from our quagmires in foreign lands; embrace environmentally sound energy alternatives to imported oil; heal our ailing health care system; free us from tyrannical debt and resurrect the collapsing dollar. We hereby pledge to provide him with an ample amount of our Presidential Pale Ale to support in the struggle for the aforementioned goals! Hail to the New Chief!

Not an 'Imperial' Pale Ale, this is a democracy. It's Presidential! Take the all-American pale ale, a bipartisan blend of malt and hops, increase to both Avery Brewing standards, and then, of course, dry hop the result with that most quintessential of American hops, Cascades, and you get this... Ale to the Chief. A brew worthy of the Oval Office! Brewed with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, hops and yeast.

Appearance: A rich burnt-orange, crystal clear body with a firm, off-white head on top. Lacing is good.

Aroma: As you'd expect from a Double IPA, as soon as the bottle is opened, hops flood the air. They're of the classic Cascade profile: bright citrus and pine. There's a caramel base under all the hops, but I'm not getting the amount of booze I was expecting.

Taste: Good hops up front, followed by lots of sweet caramel malt. The hops could be a bit more assertive for my tastes, but everything meshes well here. There's a long hoppy finish, with a bit of booze around the edges.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with fine carbonation and a bit of warming alcohol. Dries in the finish.

Drinkability: Double IPAs are not know for their drinkability, but I would say this is slightly more drinkable than your average example. The booze is hidden excellently, I'd never guess this was over eight percent.

Verdict: Not just a gimmick, Avery have crafted a great beer for this occasion. This is a perfect accompaniment to today's events. I only wish that I was able to source more than the one bottle I managed to find. Ale to the chief!

Grade: A-