This has been quite a week here on the blog. One of my all time favorite beers bookended by two big imperial IPAs. Today's beer, DuganA, is from one of my favorite breweries, Avery. Their Maharaja is probably the best beer I've ever had so this one has a lot to live up to. When I sit down to an imperial IPA from Avery I have a certain set of expectations. DuganA is berrewed with two-row barley, dark aromatic, and caramel malt, and Chinook, Centennial and Columbus hops. It clocks in at 8.5% ABV and 93 IBUs. Sounds right up my alley. To the beer!
DuganA pours a slightly hazy coppery amber with highlights of pale gold. It's capped by a finger of dense rocky white head.
Big, resinous, piney hop aromas come out swinging first. There's almost a minty like quality as well. The bold hop notes are contrasted by a toasty, caramel, slightly molasses-like malt character. It's a bit boozy on the nose as well. Quite the lovely smelling IPA we have here.
DuganA is one big, full-bodied, rich, and smooth IPA. Toffee caramel malt sweetness leads the way and lays a strong foundation for some huge hop flavors. Big oily, bitter hops in fact. There's plenty of fruity flavors going on in here as well, notes of pineapple, grapefruit, and peach. The bitter, piney, resinous flavors eventually overpower the fruity sweet flavors for a very dry, very long, bitter finish. Those boozy notes that I detected in the aroma are nowhere to be found in the taste. As such, this is a dangerously drinkable beer.
This a pretty fantastic double IPA. I don't know if I like it quite as much as I like Maharaja, but that's an awfully high bar for me. It does stand as a very worthy companion piece. Maharaja is more sweet and fruity, Dugana more bitter and resinous. They both show off different aspects of the hop. And most importantly, both are delicious.
HD
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