Avery duganA IPA
November 29th, 2009 beckelToday I have an ale that I finally got around to picking up from The Four Firkins the other day and was very pleased to see they still had plenty in stock. When I first read that Avery Brewing was producing a new Imperial India Pale Ale I was simply ecstatic. I forget where I first read about it but they suggested that the hop loving brewers over at Avery intended to create another seriously hoppy IPA for their lineup that fell somewhere between their year round IPA and their massive 10.24% Maharaja Imperial IPA to allow ones hop thirst to be quenched without passing out. According to Avery their mantra for this ale became “Unity of bitterness, hop flavor and aroma” which sounds lovely to me. So I was every so pleased to see Alvey’s email a few weeks ago that it had come into our state and was available for our drinking pleasure. This ale pours an moderately light orange red hue that is very translucent. Three fingers of tight off white bubbles were easily produced but the majority of the head dissipates within a few minutes leaving only a small amount of lacing around the glass. Aroma is delightfully hoppy with resinous pine, sweet floral notes, a melody of gentle citrus and beautifully mellow bitterness and a good dose of malty sweetness to back it up. A small amount of alcohol is noticed on the nose but it is not offensive or surprising considering it’s ABV of 8.5%, reminding me of a gentler Maharaja. Flavor is quite nice. A good dose of sweetness is present as to not immediately bombard you with a boatload of hops, regardless you will quickly be rushed with a variety of citrus notes from orange to grapefruit, more gentle pine notes, and a solid hop bitterness, finishing with some added caramel sweetness as to not make you want to scratch your tongue too much afterward. While the 93 IBU of Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial and Chinook are more than obvious and plentiful for lovers of hops such as myself this Imperial IPA was brewed with not only respect to hops but also to allowing said hops to contrast and compliment the two-row, caramel 120L, victory malts used in this ale. Mouthfeel is rather clean and the body is medium. Over all I would say that Avery meet their mantra in making a delightfully hoppy ale that all Lupulin fans will be able to appreciate plentifully. If your not into hops I suppose you shouldn’t bother with this ale, but it’s still darn tasty. Give it a shot and ride your bike.
