This is a special one today. This here is one of my favorites, if not my very favorite beer of all time. The Maharaja. One of the biggest, best, hoppiest imperial IPAs you will ever come across. And for me it doesn't get much better. This particular bottle comes from release 16 from spring of 2012, so pretty fresh! This beast of a beer clocks in at a hefty 10.17% ABV and a ludicrous 102 IBUs. To the beer!
Maharaja pours a mixture of bright red gold and deep amber with bright yellow highlights. Two fingers of solid white head leave some nice lacing.
This beer is a hopheads dream. Tons of hoppy aromas. Big floral, tropical fruit, and oily resinous hop notes. Pungent hop aromas. If there's any aroma to be found here from the malt it's buried under all that hops.
Surprisingly, the malt does lead the way on the flavor. Deep and creamy with a sweet bready maltiness. Not all that shocking really though, a ton of malt is needed to survive the onslaught of the hops that are on the way. The first hints at that 10.17% ABV are found here as well with a mild warming sensation. The maltiness gives way to massive hop flavors. Floral, herbal, oily, and big notes of tropical fruits. And for all those hops this beer doesn't beat your palate into submission with the bitterness. Only a pleasant lingering bitterness on the finish. Maharaja is dangerously drinkable, for a beer with this much ABV it goes down sweet and smooth. I could drink this beer every single day.
If you are a hophead like me and you have yet to try Maharaja, what in the hell is wrong with you? This beer is a monument, a testament to the hop. A beer that every self respecting beer nerd should hold in reverence.
HD
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