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duganA IPA
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 8.5%
International Bitterness Units (IBUs): 93
More information: averybrewing.com
I could be biased, but I think there's always room for another India pale ale on the market.
When formulating a recipe for an IPA, the possibilities are endless. The types of hops used, the quantity of hops used and when you introduce them to your boiling wort -- among other variables -- all contribute to the uniqueness of the finished product. And just as there are many styles of beer to choose from, there are many IPAs out there to fit particular tastes, moods, meals and occasions.
Avery Brewing Co. (Boulder) seems to agree, as it just released its newest IPA named duganA.
"We wanted a more sessionable IPA than The Maharaja Imperial IPA," says Kellner Schoenke, taproom general manager at Avery Brewing, "something in between Avery IPA and Maharaja."
Adam Avery, president and brewmaster, adds: "We wanted to capture the huge hop flavor of Maharaja and package it in a form that could be drank with more regularity."
And while Avery's other IPAs are fantastic in their own rights, duganA brings something new and different to the table.
The allurement begins when you set your eyes on the bottle, which is adorned with an image of Ganga, the voluptuous Hindu Goddess of the Ganges River.
Ganga is the only entity that flows both in the heavens and on earth, and she enriches the spiritual lives of millions. Coincidentally, duganA flows from a heavenly place known as Avery Brewing Co., and I believe it will enrich the lives of countless hop lovers.
Made with a variety of Pacific Northwest hops, duganA, which means double in Hindi, is described as "brutally bitter, dank, piney and resinous." If you're a hophead, you're probably salivating by now.
While sampling the beer for the first time, I felt captivated by the complex fusion of hop flavors, aromas and bitterness. Intense elements of grass, flowers, pine and citrus had the pleasure center of my brain on synapse overload.
Fragrant notes of grapefruit and tangerine lingered well into the aftertaste. Meanwhile, a bold, grassy bitterness with a hint of orange rind loitered on my tongue, beckoning me to take another sip.
It was like my olfactory senses were getting a deep tissue massage, and loving every minute of it.
As I savored the flavor, I actually felt my insatiable hop craving being quelled. It was temporary, of course, or at least while I still had some duganA left in my glass.
"We're just beer lovers who can't stop ourselves from making new beers," says Avery. "Quest is a bit cliché, but yes, that's the only way to describe it: We're on a maniacal quest for hop perfection."
