When it comes to IPA's, if you want to get basic and simplistic you can break them down into two categories: ''Drinkable'' and ''Palate Abuser''. I consider myself a person who can at least respect, if not enjoy, each of those categories. The ''Drinkable'' category for the obvious reasons, and the ''Palate Abuser'' category, if for nothing else, to see how completely over the top the brewers have gone. While the palate abusers are often more fun to review, it's always nice to get the chance to review a really good, drinkable IPA. Thanks to Avery Brewing, I get the chance to do just that with their Avery IPA.

When poured in the glass, the color was a little lighter than what I am used to in most IPAs. I can't knock it here though. It was a nice golden color that was crystal clear. In the helpful picture, think more of the bottom half of the glass. I think there was just a weird shadow messing with me in the upper half. It had a fluffy white head that stayed around for a while, and laced pretty well throughout the beer. The aromas were pretty straightforward. It was very floral in the hops department, to the point of taking on a bit of a sweet tone. However pine was pretty noticeable, as was grapefruit, so the typical citrus smells were present. I was even able to detect a faint smell of freshly cut grass.

The first sip of Avery IPA was not surprising at all, and I mean that in a good way. While it was very hop forward, it was not aggressive. Instead it was just bold and flavorful. There was a bit of a bite right off, but not so much of a hop bite as it was a citrus/tart bite. The first thing you notice is a grapefruit taste that controls the palate. About halfway through, the malt comes in and mellows things out slightly with just a hint of nice caramel sweetness. Then at the tail end you get just a bit of bitter hops bite that we have all come to expect from a quality IPA. The whole time you are drinking it, you notice that it has a great mouthfeel for an IPA as well. It wasn't very heavy, but did have a bit of a sticky feel to it. Almost as if it was trying to coat your mouth and tongue very thinly. The aftertaste was a pretty good representation of the beer overall. You are able to taste a bit of the malts, but the typical IPA flavors are what you really end up with. A little bit of citrus mixed in with lots of flavorful hops.

Avery Brewing did pretty well with their version of the base IPA. I felt as though they stuck to the basics, and ended up with a nice result. All beer camps could enjoy this one. The more experienced drinkers should probably view this one as a good session IPA. It was an easy drinker, and had all the flavors you have come go expect from the IPA style. The beginners could use this one as a good gateway beer. It wasn't overly aggressive in the hops department, and had plenty of good, balanced flavors. It would be a really good, almost simple introduction to the style for them. Sometimes in the search for better beer, we forget that simple can be good. For me, more often than not, simple ends up meaning drinkable. And if nothing else, the Avery IPA is highly drinkable. Isn't that all we really want from our beer anyway?