I am looking at brewing a Maharaja clone. I’ve seen some recipes with up to 18 lbs 2 row (for +/- five gallons) and some with more like 14-16 lbs 2 row and some DME or corn sugar to add alcohol. Anyone have some experience on which way they have gone and how it’s worked?
It seems that this recipe has changed a lot over the years. But mostly the changes are in the hops; the grain bill is pretty consistent. No sugar in any of the recipes I’ve seen, and I think that is consistent with how this beer tastes from Avery; it’s not super dry like some west-coast IPAs, it’s just a bit sweeter finishing.
I’ve made the recipe below a couple of times (which I got from here: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/maharaja-clone-93250/index2.html) and it is very good.
The Maharaja
OG: 1.090
AE: 1.012
ABV: 10.24%
IBUs: 102
Grist:
Pale 2-Row – 93.8%
Victory Malt – 3.1%
C-120 – 3.1%
Hops:
60min – Columbus (13.9% AA) – 1.09 oz
30min – Columbus (13.9% AA) – 1.09 oz
0min – Centennial (13.9% AA) – 2.18 oz
0min – Simcoe (11.4% AA) – 2.18 oz
Dry-Hop – Simcoe – 4.38 oz
Dry-Hop – Centennial – 2.18 oz
Dry-Hop – Chinook – 2.18 oz
The Brewing Network and Can You Brew It covered this awhile back, straight from Adam Avery’s mouth:
Yeah, I’ve gone back and re-read that link and there’s newer posts since when I brewed it 
and it looks like they’ve now recommended some DME or sugar. I can say that the recipe I posted has fermented out to 1.012 so I guess it can be done, depends on the mash profile and ferment temp I suppose.
Thanks Colin, I know you can brew a good version…