Avery Review #8 - New World Porter

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Apr. 6, 2012

Review #8 for The Avery Project is the third regular, year-round release we’ll be reviewing from this Boulder institution - Avery New World Porter (Avery IPA and Joe’s Pilsner were the first two).  This beer has been described as a hoppy porter and even by Avery themselves as Black IPA.  But, then again, that’s sort of what Avery does, they put lots of hops in things. 

My personal experience with this beer is surprisingly limited.  It is not easily found on tap and when I am at the tasting room here in Boulder I typically reach for what I cannot just pick up at the Liquor Store.  While I have had a few tasters of it, I have never actually had an entire New World Porter from Avery all to myself.  So, here’s to new experiences!

Location: Boulder Liquor Mart

Cost: About $1.89/12 oz. bottle

ABV: 6.7%

IBUs: 45

Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado

Style: American Porter

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.92 – Very Good

My Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.88 – Very Good

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate: 438

Brewery Description: New World Porter

Bottled On: NA

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) This is a pretty dark beer, black all the way through with a pale, red light breaking through at the edges.  The head is about a quarter-inch thick and seems to be fairly strong, but disappears quicker than I expect it to.  The lacing is fairly strong.

SMELL:  (3.5 out of 5) Raisins, chocolate malt and a touch of coffee greet the nose with less hoppiness than I expected lingering in the background.  The aroma is quite pleasant, but not as strong as I would like it to be. 

TASTE:  (4 out of 5) Here’s a shocker, Avery hit the nail on the head in terms of the style, but they made it hoppier than most other beers in the category.  Roasty malt flavors begin each sip as some lemony citrus notes creep in.  Chocolate, toffee and coffee all enter the mix mid-sip and then the Columbus hops (one of my favorite varieties) take over for the finish providing some spicy, bitter and earthy characteristics that almost make it taste like a black IPA.  In fact, the bottle calls it “A Pioneer Black IPA”.  It also then goes on to say that this beer is “Expanding the porter category”.  Anyhow, as it warms caramel enters the mix, however, the citrus component becomes stronger as well, maybe a touch too heavy.  Despite that minor criticism, though, this is a surprisingly tasty beer.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4 out of 5) The New World Porter is creamy and smooth, but it still has a decent sparkle to it.  It is medium bodied and while it leans towards the sweet side up front, it finishes on the dry side. 

OVERALL:  (4 out of 5) The last review here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights was of Avery’s Hog Heaven Barleywine (Although it was not reviewed for The Avery Project, it was reviewed for The Barleywine Project instead).  In that review, I defended Avery’s decision to call it a Barleywine since many people, including some Avery employees I have spoken to about it, think it should be renamed Hog Heaven Double or Triple IPA.  In the case of the New World Porter, which Avery themselves also refers to as a black IPA, there is a stronger case for renaming it New World Black IPA.  This beer does have many characteristics of a Porter, and ultimately, it still is one, but it is a very, very American-style Porter with a lot of IPA traits.  It could easily be recategorized and no one would bat an eye.  Finally, at 6.7%, the NWP can sneak up on you.  It tastes like a much more sessionable Porter than it really is, but the near-7% gives it a punch.

Avery Maharaja, At Least Someone Agrees With Me

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Mar. 20, 2012

Back in April of last year we here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights were right in the middle of our DIPA Project - our quest to drink and review the 20 Most Reviewed Double IPAs on Beer Advocate.  It was time to review a personal favorite of mine and a classic, the Avery Maharaja.  The Maha, in my opinion, proved to beat Russian River's Pliny the Elder, a point that many have disagreed with me on since.  However, this afternoon I came across a YouTube review of Maharaja and found that at least one other person agrees with me, so I thought you all might like to check it out.  Here, from the San Diego Beer Vlog; Avery's Maharaja:

Avery Review #7 - Joe's Premium American Pilsner

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Feb. 28, 2012

I have taken a few months off from posting, so thanks for coming back to check out the latest here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  Since my last post in December Beer Advocate has changed its rating system and that, to this point has been the system I have used to rate the beers on this blog.  I will attempt to keep that system intact, at least throughout the remainder of The Avery Project and The Barleywine Project.  When the time comes to move on to the next project I'll reassess at that point.

Anyhow, since I am a bit out of practice in reviewing, I thought I'd restart with an easy one, one of Avery's standards, Joe's Premium American Pilsner.  Avery calls it a “session beer for hop heads”.  Let’s get into this one and see if I agree.

Location: Boulder Liquor Mart

Cost: About $1.75 per can in a 6-pack

ABV: 4.7%

IBUs: 42

Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado

Style: American Pale Lager

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.77 – Very Good

My Beer Advocate Rating: B-/3.38 - Worthy

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate: 166

Brewery Description: Joe’s Premium American Pilsner

Bottled On: December 2011

APPEARANCE:  (3 out of 5) As the picture indicates, I poured this 12 oz. can into my tall Trumer Pils glass and it foamed up right away.  The initial pour was about 8 oz. and it ended up splitting the glass in half, one half now has beer, the other has a loosely organized and fluffy head that isn’t in a hurry to fade away.  The beer itself is a crystal clear and very pale yellow with a several streams of different sized bubbles popping up from the bottom.

SMELL:  (3.5 out of 5) The nose is not overwhelmingly strong, but it isn’t weak either.  A light lemon flavor and some grassiness come through strongest. 

TASTE:  (3.5 out of 5) Joe’s Pils is quite a bit hoppier than most of its competitors.  Citrus is noticeable, particularly lemon and a touch of grapefruit, but a bitter, earthy grassiness dominates the flavor.  This is certainly a hoppy beer for a pilsner and it provides a bitter bite on the finish that many IPAs cannot even match.

MOUTHFEEL:  (2.5 out of 5) This is a fuller bodied pilsner than I am used to.  It is dry and crisp, yet it sits a little heavier than a typical dry, crisp pilsner should.  The finish also provides a slight puckering sensation that tends to linger on the palate due to a lack of carbonation.

OVERALL:  (3.5 out of 5) To be fair, whenever I taste this beer, I put it up against a true classic in its field – Mama’s Little Yella Pils from Oskar Blues.  7 times out of 10 I think Avery beats OB, but in the pilsner arena, it is all Oskar Blues.  Joe’s, however, is a good example of the style and is nicely hopped for an IPA lover like myself.  It comes up short in the citrus department though, and the mouthfeel isn’t quite what I am looking for in a pilsner. 

Avery Review #4 - Avery Rumpkin

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Oct. 24, 2011

As some of you may have seen on the blog earlier this week, Emily and I made it out to Avery for Rumpkin Release Day back on the 15^th of this month.  We arrived a little before 3:00 in the afternoon and were pretty close to the front of the line.  At first we felt a little silly for getting there so early before the 5:00 PM release, but we quickly learned why we certainly had made the right choice.

For starters, it was an absolutely perfect Saturday afternoon here in Boulder.  It was about 78 degrees and the clouds were few and far between.  The tasting room and patio were jam packed with regular brewery-goers.  After grabbing a couple bales of hay to sit on and arranging our stuff I walked into the tasting room to grab a beer.  It was so busy that the whole process took me about 15 minutes.  When I came back out with beers in hand, though, the guys next to us let us in on the secret – people in line for Rumpkin didn’t have to wait in line for beer now.

Sure enough, they had the barrel room open and had a mini bar set up with ten taps plus all of Avery’s canned beer was being sold for $2 each.  I did not wait for another beer the rest of the afternoon.  On top of cheap and easy beer, the line-waiters had exclusive access to some of the tastiest turkey legs I’ve ever had.  They were braised in Avery’s White Rascal and then spiced with the Rumpkin spices.  Amazing. 

Regardless of whether or not we were there to early, it was worth it to both of us to wait a couple of hours in order to buy two full six-packs of Avery’s Rumpkin.  Last March, while visiting Boulder, Emily and I stopped at the Tasting Room.  We were lucky enough to try a random batch of Rumpkin that, until that point, had been set aside for a rainy day.  We were both impressed, but they were only offering 4 oz. tasters of it.  When GABF rolled around this year I was able to sneak over to the brewery for a few minutes and get a single 4oz. pour.  Then, the day of the release, we split two bottles with four or five other people, leaving us a precious few ounces a piece.  Finally, though, a few nights ago I was able to sit down with a full bottle and write a proper review for an actual, no-foolin’, full bottle of Rumpkin.  Here’s what I found:   

Location: Avery Tap Room

Cost: $10

ABV: 15.9%

IBUs: NA

Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado

Style: Rum Barrel Aged Pumpkin Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.97 – Very Good

My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.68 – World Class

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate: 34

Brewery Description: NA

Bottled On: October 5, 2011

My Avery Rumpkin waiting to be poured

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) It doesn’t look like much; in fact, it actually resembles a run of the mill Double IPA - deep copper, with a thin, wispy head that dissipates quickly leaving a ring of foam around the edges of the glass.  A little mound of bubbles clings to life smack in the middle created by the geyser of bubbles shooting up from the bottom.  This is a very unassuming beer for what I know is about to hit my palate and my nose.

SMELL:  (4 out of 5) Brown sugar, dark rum (and yes, it is Gosling’s that I can specifically taste, but then again it is my favorite rum) and pumpkin, make up the aroma in that order.  Additionally, the Rumpkin has some lingering aromas of ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. 

TASTE:  (5 out of 5) Wow.  The Dark and Stormy (one part Gosling’s Ginger Beer, one part Gosling’s Dark Rum with a lime garnish) has long been my absolute favorite cocktail and this is a Dark and Stormy, in beer form, with a bit of pumpkin added.  The big, sweet, sugary rum and pumpkin are first to hit the palate, but the ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon quickly move to the forefront.  The pumpkin and sugar linger on the palate towards the finish and through to the aftertaste.  To quote Homer Simpson “sweet merciful crap” this is an exceptionally delicious beer.  It cannot be improved for a pumpkin beer. 

Going back to the Dark and Stormy, I’ve always described it as a molasses cookie in cocktail form.  Well, now I’ll be describing the Rumpkin as a pumpkin molasses cookie in beer form.  By the way, there is something that is completely lacking here and that is any heat at all from the high ABV.  It’s pretty spectacularly disguised by everything else that is going on in the Rumpkin, although that makes it quite a dangerous brew.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4.5 out of 5) Smooth and a bit oily.  Most of the sip is very sweet and sticky, but the finish is nice, dry and almost palate cleansing.  The richness and big, bold flavors are all felt, but they do not punish the palate on the way down.  This could have easily been far too sweet and cloying, but it stays refined with just the right touch of sugary goodness.

OVERALL:  (5 out of 5) As I mentioned above, as far as pumpkin ales go the Rumpkin cannot get any better.  As far as a barrel aged beers go it also cannot get much better.  This is what happens when one of the world’s better breweries happens to have access to some of the world’s greatest ingredients, in particular, Gosling’s Rum barrels.  The Rumpkin is one of those few limited, seasonal beers that is absolutely and completely worth all the hype. 

Craft beer drinkers have become very passionate about their favorite pumpkin beers over the past couple of years, and I know there are some great ones out there, but I have to say that I’ll be absolutely shocked if I ever come across one that is better than this. 

DRAWBACKS:  The only real drawback for me here is the appearance.  There is nothing wrong with it at all, but the look of this beer does not immediately give the drinker the impression that he or she is about to have one of the best beers out there.  Also, if I am going to get nitpicky, and I will, the nose could be stronger.  It is fantastic, but I love those beers that fill the room with aroma the instant they are open.  

Avery Review #1 - Avery Thirteenth Anniversary Ale a.k.a. Thirteen

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau


Spet. 9, 2011

The first beer I reviewed for my last project here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights was a very special beer – Bell’s Hopslam.  The Hopslam was and is a favorite of mine.  It is a rare treat that helps to make the otherwise dismal Upper Midwest winter slightly more bearable. 

Just like that first review of the DIPA Project, the first review of the Avery Project will be just as special and even rarer…although I cannot claim that it is an old favorite of mine as the only time I ever had the privilege of drinking it was when I reviewed it at the brewery last week.

The beer?  Avery’s Thirteenth Anniversary Ale – a.k.a. the Weizen Dopplebock known more simply as Thirteen.  No, Avery is not celebrating unlucky #13 this year, they just had their 18^th anniversary a few weeks ago.  However, last week, Avery also released the 2011 version of their Ocktoberfest beer, The Kaiser, and I happened to drop into the tasting room full of servers and bartenders dressed in lederhosen for the release party.

As a special treat for the release party, Avery pulled a few special bottles out of the cellar for a one-night only sale.  Seventeen, a black lager brewed for last year’s anniversary, was on the list, but more importantly, so was the German-style wiezenboch beer, Thirteen. 

When Emily and I decided to split the $20 bottle a few of our friends thought we were nuts, but as told them $20 is almost nothing considering that we got a 22oz. bottle and that in most restaurants a 5oz. pour of mediocre wine would have cost us $8 a piece.  Plus, this was a very rare, five year old beer. 

So what did that $20 get us?  Well, here are the specs first, and then we’ll get into the review:

Location: Avery Tasting Room, Boulder, Colorado – Available one-night only (for now)

Cost: $20 – 22oz. bottle

ABV: 9.5%

IBUs: ???

Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado

Style: Weizenbock

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.03 - Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.5

Current Number of Reviews: 219

Brewery Description: Thirteen

Bottled On: 2006

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) Poured into a white wine glass from a 22oz. bomber by Matt at Avery.  The beer is black except for a nice red glow near the rim and on the bottom of the glass when held up to the light.  The head is rather thin and vanishes quickly, but a small amount of film remains on top throughout about half of the beer.  Lacing was minimal, only a few wisps here and there.

SMELL:  (5 out of 5) The nose is ridiculously good - fruity as hell, with mostly dark fruit coming through; berries, passion fruit and a touch of orange.  There is a good dose of malt along with vanilla, smoke and some alcohol.  In fact, it smells a bit like a smoky bourbon, but with fruit.  The Thirteen’s nose is highly complex and very enjoyable. 

TASTE:  (4.5 out of 5) Sweet and delicious.  This thing is absolutely chock full of fruit with a subtle dose of anise.  A little note of coffee is also noticeable upon the first sip.  A second, third and forth sip begin to reveal more of the complexity of this beer.  Vanilla, a mellowed out toasty malt and some smokiness slowly enter the mix as the beer goes down.  It is also very boozy, even more than I would expect from a 9.5%er.  There is a lot going on in this beer and if you ever get the chance to try it, make sure you take a few moments to just let it sit on your palate before sending it down the hatch, a lot more develops with a little extra time.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4 out of 5) The Thirteen is very smooth, but at the same time quite refreshing for a beer that does not have an abundance of carbonation.  With the rich, intense and sweet flavors, there is not as much need for a highly carbonated, palate cleansing feel.  The flavor left after each sip is very welcome.

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) My notes simply say “Sweet Jesus this is an outstanding beer.”  I stand by that assessment and I encourage any serious craft beer drinker to make an effort to get their hands on a bottle or two of this while it still exists.

EDIT:  Until this morning (June 5, 2012) I had completely forgotten that I managed to snag a decent shot of the Thirteen while I was drinking it.  So I just added it in the hopes you will all enjoy it.  Cheers!

The Avery Project

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Sept. 9, 2011

After a ton of deliberation, I have finally settled on my new project for 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  Actually, I have settled on two, and this post will signal the beginning of the first one – 20 reviews on 20 beers from Avery Brewing Company, located right here in Boulder, Colorado. 

Why 20 Avery Beers?  Well, first and foremost, I love Avery’s products - very rarely have I been disappointed by anything they have done.  Second, the last project was a ton of fun, but it took a lot longer to complete than I would have liked.  Not only did I have to trade and travel for a few beers that were not distributed in Illinois (Where I lived during most of that project), but I also had to wait for many seasonals to come out and then spend a ton of time hunting them down once they were finally released.  All of that made the project a blast and in some ways, more rewarding, but I would really like to start and finish a project within a couple of months.  Without a set list of beers to review and with a constant stream of many Avery beers available to me on a regular basis, this should go rather quickly.

In addition to all of this, focusing on a single brewery will prevent me from only focusing on a single style of beer, especially when that brewery is Avery.  Their taproom is set up perfectly for this project; they have 20 taps that range from wheat beers and Pilsners to intense, big and bold Double IPAs and Barleywines. 

Speaking of Barleywine, the second project, which I will also begin very soon will be very similar to my recently completed project – the DIPA Project.  It will, once again, use Beer Advocate as a source, but instead of ticking off the list of the Top 20 Most Reviewed Double IPAs I will be reviewing the Top 20 Most Reviewed Barleywines on BA.  This second project I expect to take at least a year to finish based on distribution and seasonal availability. 

Getting back to Avery, however, in addition to the reasons I listed above, I also want to highlight Avery in an effort to show what kind of fantastic diversity they are capable of.  When I lived in Chicago it was very difficult to find anything other than Avery IPA or Ellie’s Brown in the bars.  You could, however, go to most liquor stores and find a much more broad selection of theirs. 

Even here in Boulder, where almost every bar has Avery IPA on tap it is still pretty tough to find some of their more unique brews outside the brewery or the liquor store.  My hope is that by reviewing many of their other offerings I can show other craft beer drinkers just how great it is to have Avery Brewing just a 15 minute bike ride from my home.  More importantly, I know that I tend to get stuck on certain styles, particularly the highly hopped, but when I do take the time to explore an individual brewery I generally learn a lot about the brewery and more generally, about beer.  I hope that this will encourage others to more deeply explore whatever great breweries they have access to…and maybe even to pass it along to us.

In each Avery-related post, my plan is to provide information for the craft beer drinker in general, but also for Boulderites and Coloradans in specific.  I want people in the area to know where the beer can be obtained and for how much and I also want to give others the reason to track it down.  Some of these beers will be very rare (such as the first beer I will be reviewing) and others will be widely available throughout the 32 states that Avery distributes to.

As an FYI, I have absolutely no connection to Avery Brewing Company other than the fact that I live just a little more than two miles away from the brewery and that it is, so far, my favorite place to enjoy a beer in all of Boulder, Colorado and one of my personal Top 3 overall breweries in the country.  I am not doing this for any financial gain, free beer or special treatment from Avery itself, they have no idea I am doing this.  I am just a big beer nerd and craft beer fan with a desire to help others find the joy that I have found in drinking beer from one of the best breweries in the country.  I hope you enjoy the reviews and get inspired to go out and find some great Avery, Boulder and/or Colorado beer very soon.

Review #11 - Avery Maharaja

Posted by: Stonecipher

Apr. 11, 2011

A couple of weeks ago Emily and I spent the weekend in Boulder, Colorado and of course, a trip to Avery Brewing Company was on the itinerary.  It was about six months prior that I had first tasted the Maharaja on tap in Avery’s tasting room and I fell for it instantly.  Not much made it to Illinois though, and although I was teased with the promise of Maharaja once over the winter, the only bottle I was able to track down was in Richmond, Virginia of all places.  Needless to say, I was looking forward to our return trip to Boulder, particularly because a new batch of Avery’s delicious Double IPA was scheduled to be tapped just days before we arrived.

We arrived at the tasting room about an hour and a half before close, and while that may not seem like a particularly long time to some, when your body is not quite adjusted to the 5,430 foot altitude and you are drinking 10% beer, it can be a bit much.  So despite the fact that the Raja tasted like heaven that evening, this first review of the second half of The List (By the way, check out the two outstanding beers we reviewed for our special “half-time” show) is based on a fresh bottle that I picked up on my way out of town. 

ABV: 10.54%

IBUs: 102

Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.18 – Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.68 – World Class

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1,331/7th

Brewery Description: Avery Maharaja

Bottled On: Batch #13, March, 2011

A couple of notes about the above information:

One, the ABV has varied slightly with each batch and different sources will likely give you different numbers, but Batch #13, the one I am reviewing here, weighs in at 10.54% as it states on the new bottle.

Two, as I predicted a few weeks ago, Maharaja has now moved back into the Number 7 spot on The List.

And Three, several people, our bartender at Avery included, have mentioned that Batch #13 is one of the best so far.  In my opinion, the Batch #12 that I had was great, but the #13 really did beat it.

On to the review…

APPEARANCE:  (5 out of 5) Look at that pretty head!  Poured from a 22 oz. bomber into a Delirium Tremens tulip glass the Maharaja’s head is about an inch thick and stark white.  The body of the beer is a rich, deep, red copper that is so clear that I can look down to the bottom of the glass and see the dozen or so large bubbles slowly breaking apart to create a steady stream of extra-tiny bubbles continuously rising from the bottom of the glass.  As the tulip glass becomes more and more empty a pretty, stained-glass lacing covers about 50% of the opposite side of the glass.

SMELL:  (4 out of 5) Strong floral aromas with hints of pine, grapefruit and even a touch of banana.  At the brewery last week I recall the smell being much stronger, but I also had five 10 oz. pours, so what I recall is suspect at best.  This is an excellent smelling beer, but I would like more aroma.

TASTE:  (5 out of 5) A blast of hops and flowers assaults my tongue right off the bat, followed by a burst of grapefruit and a few other more subtle citrus flavors.  All the while, the malty notes are slowly building through the middle of the sip where they peak with a tempered sweetness.  The back end allows the malt to fade while the floral hops and the grapefruit return.  At the very tail end, the grapefruit kicks one last time leaving a bitter, citrusy taste on the tongue.  Throughout the glass I was also able to pick up hint of nuttiness and some grassy notes as well.  I have never said this about a beer, but the Maharaja is symmetrical, depending on how you look at it, it is either two waves of bitterness on either end of the sip or one sweet, malty wave in the middle.  Either way, it is delicious.  It should be noted, however, that it seems to be much bitterer than it was at the taproom.  At Avery, and on tap it was exceptionally malty and sweet, in the bottle it is a bitter hop bomb – again, delicious either way. 

MOUTHFEEL: (4 out of 5) With a bit of a tickle the Maharaja does not have a very strong carbonation.  With that in mind, along with the fact that there is a very strong malt presence (even in the bottle), it is rather surprising that Avery’s offering is neither mouthcoating nor oily.  Instead it is rather dry. 

OVERALL:  (5 out of 5) It is difficult for me to write anything objectively about Avery.  Their IPA was one of the very first that I fell in love with and my two trips to the brewery have only served to make me love them even more.  After this past week’s visit I believe they have thrust themselves from somewhere in my top five to over taking Lagunitas as my solid number two on my favorites list.  They’ll need to do just a tad better to edge out Ska.  Anyhow, I have only been privileged enough to have Maharaja a handful of times, but the flavor sticks with me and is always memorable.  Drinking this beer has been a celebratory experience, a social experience and a spiritual one.  As I sit here drinking it right now it is the latter.  This is the first time it has been just me and the beer.  I know I’m gushing about it, but this beer is special and very well may be the beer that has tipped the California vs. Colorado debate for me in favor of CO. 

DRAWBACKS:  Basically none, except the nose.  It may not be perfect for everyone.  If you’re a hop head expecting a Stone Ruination, you will be disappointed, but if you can appreciate complexity and some malt then Maharaja is for you.  Back to the nose, though, my guess is that if Avery ever tried to mess with the aroma they would destroy the taste as well, so I would never call for any changes to this beer, but for such a spectacular brew, it is a shame that planting my nose inside the glass for three minutes is not quite as wonderful a sensation as it has been for some of the other DIPAs on The List.

SOUND:  This one is a stretch, but as I mentioned above, the Maharaja can be a bit of a spiritual experience and as I was having this experience during this review, my iPod happened to start playing the perfect song.  I’m not religious at all, but I believe that this song was delivered to me as I drank this either by the spirit of Benjamin Franklin or by Silenus (the ancient Greek God of Beer).  The song?  It was Donald Byrd’s “Cristo Redento”.  Haunting, soothing and exceptionally complex all at the same time, this masterpiece of sound from a legend in the jazz world is the perfect companion for you and a Maharaja.  I understand the stigma attached to drinking alone, but if it is done for the right reasons, at the right time, under the right conditions, with the right drink and with intent, it can be a transcendent experience.  If you can obtain a Maharaja wherever you are, I highly recommend that you secure a bottle, take it home and wait for a night when you know that no one else will bother you, download “Cristo Redento” by Donald Byrd, put it on repeat and crack the bottle open. 

The nearly 1,500 words I have written so far have taken me almost an hour to write and I have spent about 25 minutes listening to “Cristo” during that time.  I have also savored every sip of this beer the whole way through.  Furthermore, it has taken me this entire time that I have been writing to finish this spectacular beer and I would not want it any other way.  I have reviewed over half of The List here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights so far and I have already tasted 14 of the 20 and right now, Maharaja is the front runner in the taste department.  Yes, there are still six that I have not tried, but unless the YuleSmith beats this one I can’t imagine anyone else knocking it off its pedestal as the Gold Medal winner for 20 Beers and 20 Night’s Top 20 DIPAs.

Welcome to 20 Beers in 20 Nights

Posted by: Stonecipher

Nov. 11, 2010

Welcome to 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  I love beer, I love to write and of course, I love to write about beer.  So that is what I will do here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights - review 20 beers on 20 different nights.

To be clear, I will not be doing this in 20 consecutive nights, just 20 random nights over the course of the next few months.  If all goes well, and I am still having fun, I will continue with a new project on the blog here, but I may end up wrapping it all up after I have done my 20 reviews.

Which 20 beers will I be reviewing?  Well, since the Double or Imperial India Pale Ale (DIPA) is currently my favorite style, I will be reviewing the Top 20 most reviewed DIPAs on Beer Advocate.  I am located just outside on Chicago, IL, so most of these beers will be obtainable, but I may need some help from the beer community out there with getting my hands on a couple of them.  I am completely willing to make a trade, or to post a link to your site, whatever.  But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For those of you too lazy to go sign up at beeradvcate.com and check out the list, here it is:

1.   90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
2.   Stone Ruination - Stone Brewing
3.   Bell's Hopslam - Bell's Brewery
4.   Pliny the Elder - Russian River (Will need some help finding this one for sure)
5.   Hop Wallup - Victory
6.   120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
7.   Maharaja - Avery Brewing
8.   Dreadnaught IPA - Three Floyds
9.   Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide
10. Hop Stoopid - Lagunitas
11. Burton Baton - Dogfish Head
12. Double Simcoe IPA - Weyerbacher Brewing
13. Maximus - Lagunitas
14. Gordon Ale - Oskar Blues
15. Unearthly - Southern Tier
16. Founders Devil Dancer - Founders
17. YuleSmith (Summer) - AleSmith
18. Double Dog Double Pale Ale - Flying Dog
19. Hopsickle Imperial IPA - Moylan's Brewery
20. Founder's Double Trouble - Founders

So, without further ado, check out Review #1 and please comment.  I would love feedback on the reviews, thoughts on beer and general beer related conversation and humor.  Let's have some fun while I blow off the hundreds of things I should be doing instead!