Avery duganA IPA

And yes, I think the faux-Indian alternative capitalization (e.g. lower case 'd', upper-case 'A') is rather tool-ish. But I think the same thing of Adam Avery, so there's that. ;^)

But really, when you get down to brass tacks -- and what you get when you crack open this bottle and get this beer into a glass, and then get the beer into you -- this beer is a big-time winner.

Now, it could use some finessing in the aroma department. Since that seems to be the modus operandi of almost every hoppy beer in the PacNW I've run across over that past two weeks, I'm actually okay with this fact. If this beer had an aroma that matched up with it's quite killer flavor and hop profile, it'd be in the running for my Best New IPA of 2009.

But even still, this beer is on the money. Is this an occasion where the brewer-generated hype machine, the beer-geek buzz, and the actual beer itself are all aligned? Is it the end of the world, or at least the end of the Mayan Calendar, for such a far-flung happenstance to occur without the planets being aligned and the gates of Hades opening up?

Yup. It sure seems so.

Avery may talk up this beer as a more sessionable Maharaja, but it's still very much a big ol' beer with big ol' hop profile all up in it. So don't think for a second that folks are swapping this out for their 'normal' IPA (from Avery, or otherwise).

So does the world need two DIPAs from Avery? When both the Maharaja and Dugana are this nice and resiny and fruity and complex and bitter and tasty? The answer is yes.

Damn Adam Avery for coming out with now two beers that I now not only can't hate on, but can easily see getting again in the future!
//TB