Beer Lord sent me some beers and I am going to send some to him ASAP!
One of them was his Maharaja. I put it in the fridge as soon as I got it so it could have at least 24 hours to settle before I tried it. I was planning on waiting until tomorrow but the curiosity killed the cat. ( sorry inkleg )
I always pour my beers really slowly for clarity. I also always tend to over carbonate my beers because that's how I like em. I use 6 oz table sugar for a 5 gallon batch. So don't let the lack of head in the photo fool you. I am just used to pouring higher carbonated beers.
OK. First impressions. I popped the cap and the aroma hit me like a Mac truck. Very floral with a hint of pine is how I would describe it.
Pour...it came right out of the bottle...I like that in a beer.
Let me just say that a few months ago I tried a Breckenridge Batch 471 and absolutely loved it. The first thing that hit me on that beer was a pleasant sweetness. I have been pursuing that in my IPAs since. Paul NAILED that with this beer. It does have a very minor bitter finish on the first sip that goes away after that. But up front I got hit with that sweet taste. I think that must be what Paul is talking about when he says he has a good malt backbone. The sweetness is only a micro second then the hop flavor comes in. That flavor, like the aroma, to me anyway, is mostly floral with a piney background. Extremely pleasant. I seriously want the recipe for this beer.
Overall impression. This is an extremely dangerous beer. The pleasant flavor makes it very quafable but it is an 8% beer. If I had more I would have to be extremely careful with it and exercise self control.
I am tasting now looking for flaws. And the truth is I simply can't find any other than I was unable to get it to pour as clear as mine. But who the hell cares what it looks like when it tastes this freaking good.
Well played Paul. Very well played.
It was that good. 
