Accelerated Stall Maverick's IIPA

I'm not wild about breweries giving their products two names. As a reviewer, I find it baffling. Such is the case with a new imperial IPA from Barrie, Ontario's Barnstormer Brewing Co. The beer is called either Accelerated Stall, Maverick's IIPA, or Accelerated Stall Maverick's IIPA. God, it might even be called Maverick's IIPA Accelerated Stall! See what I mean? What's a beer scribe to do? I'll tell you what: I'm going to call the beer "Maverick's", and the folks at Barnstormer should be grateful I didn't dock them points for this nonsense. End of rant.

Maverick's is sold in 473mL cans that are nearly as busy as those that house Flight Deck, another Barnstormer product. The beer inside  checks in at a pretty substantial 8.4% alcohol and a ballsy 80 IBUs. Under a durable and dense off-white foam, Maverick's proved to be a hazy golden orange ale. For so strong a beer, the nose was almost dainty, with subtle hops notes and a leaning toward citrus. Less dainty was the flavour, which also had citrus leanings (orange rind and grapefruit), but managed to contain some sweetness, much booze, and a bit of resin. The finish wasn't powerful, but it did definitely linger.

As IIPAs go, Maverick's 80 IBUs represented a substantial integer, but not one that translated into obvious bitterness to my palate. This was as approachable as an imperial IPA is likely to get, and would be the kind of brew I'd recommend to a recent craft beer convert with a hankerin' for something stronger. That's not to say the beer isn't good--quite the contrary! I liked it a fair bit. It's just not as gum-wrinklingly bitter or as unconscionably strong as some of its peers. A fine tasting beer that fits somewhere between a highly charged IPA and a less-than-obliterating IIPA.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.