Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Avery Brewing Company: Maharaja Imperial IPA

First Impressions: The Maharaja Imperial IPA from Avery Brewing Company struck my eye in the store. Avery is in Boulder Colorado and the front of the label said something to the effect of "Bottled from 11th barrel of 2009." I had never heard of Avery and it looked good, and I'll never turn down an Imperial IPA, so I had to try it.
The Maharaja is the second from the left.

Smell: The Maharaja has an overwhelming hoppy smell. Imagine adding an ounce of cascade hops to the wort during the boil and then sticking your face over that for the smell. Thats exactly what the Maharaja smells like. Very strong aroma.

Taste: Once you get past the extra hoppy smell, get ready for more hops! This is like licking hops. This beer made me believe that there is such a thing as too many hops. I enjoyed sipping it, but it was just peeling away at my teeth. The hops did well to hide the high alcohol content of this. The bottle said 10.69%.

I'm a big fan of hops, but even I thought they went a bit overboard with this one. Since it peels away your enamel so much, you need about 6/10 golden grills to drink it.





That looks weird.

Great Lakes BC: Christmas Ale

Last Friday, Peter, Anne and myself bought six varieties of beer to each try at the same time and discuss. The six beers are all pictured next to the Christmas tree and they will all be blogged. The first beer of the night was the Great Lakes Brewing Company's Christmas Ale. The beer has a spicy smell with a lot of cinnamon. There is also honey and ginger which you can smell after reading the bottle. Anne enjoyed the O! Christmas Ale song on the bottle as well as the environmental tips about what to do with your Christmas tree that were built in to the song. The beer was tasty and went well with the season, the spices weren't too much. I like this a bit more than winter lagers, but I don't really know what to compare it to since I don't usually drink spicy Christmas ales. Anne noted that it had a bittersweet ending at the back of the tongue.

Overall, I would give this beer 5/10 Recycling Signs.


Monday, December 7, 2009

Stone India Pale Ale


I had heard many good things about the Stone Brewing Company's IPA but had never taken the opportunity to try one until this past weekend. I'm a sucker for a great IPA and this one does not disappoint, in fact it's quite amazing. Incredibly flavorful with the prefect amount of bitterness. Smooth going down but still very rich. Each gulp was better than the last, and i was quite disappointed when the final sip had come and gone. Probably not recommended for your average beer drinker, but if you enjoy IPAs this one should not be overlooked next time you're at the package store.

This really should get a 10 but because its my first review i'll give it a...............


9/10 Doug Fluties