Avery alludes to the traditional objective of IPAs (English breweries used to load their beers with hops to help preserve it during the long journey to India) with the rustic, global label on this brew, and one gets the idea that this could probably endure the journey across a few oceans. Thankfully, this Colorado brewery is close to home for many states in America.

Pouring a clear amber color, Avery’s IPA is capped with a bubbly head, which leaves behind thick clumps of white foam as it recedes. The nose on this exudes hops from the start, with a strong grapefruit and citrus beginning with traces of pine as well. I was taken aback by the potency of the malt bill in this, as you get a brown sugar-esque sweetness in the finish.

The taste brings on a two-sided attack on the palate. At once you get a strong sweetness from the malts which serves as an excellent foil to the bitterness that come sweeping in shortly after. The Cascade and Centennial hops are the most prominent, delivering a triple threat of spicy, floral, and citrus flavors, all the while piling on more and more bitterness. The finish seems to blend a nice proportion of both sweet and bitter, with a subtle alcohol heat.

This finishes pretty clean, but leaves a bitterness on the palate and the hops numb the tastebuds after a while. This is an IPA that doesn’t focus on being a hop bomb, but is still able to promise a lot of hop flavor while balancing it nicely with the malts. One of the downsides of Avery’s IPA, however, is that as you drink, the bitterness begins to pile on and take away from the drinkability.

6.5% abv.

B / $10 per 6-pack / averybrewing.com

Avery IPA

$10

8

Rating

8.0/10