22 oz bottle with the usual, Great Divide presentation. Red foil on this one. Dark copper, garnet colored body with good clarity and a small, off-white head. In the Chimay chalice the beer leaves some decent lace and a thin, creamy spotty head on the surface of the beer. The nose is where things get interesting to say the least. There is some sweetness that I was expecting, but there is also a dose of some hop character. The tastes are also pretty odd. There's a lot of sweetness, but not...
Notes on beers brewed by
Great Divide Brewing Company
16th Anniversary Wood Aged
When this came out, rumor had it that this was exactly the same beer as the 15th anniversary. I have no idea about the validity of that statement, and it wound up in the BA db as a different beer anyway, so here goes. The bottle has silver foil on the 22 oz neck. An aggressive pour produces a slightly hazed, mid-orange body and gives a lovely, dense, creamy white head. Looks a little like a latte floating on top of the beer. Nose has a little soapiness (which I like), but it never gets strong....
Rumble IPA
12 oz single. Pour gives a copper colored clarity and a nice, full white head. Quite creamy looking. The appearance is without question the highlight here. Nose has a lot of soapy character and not much else. I like the soap note in the nose, but it does not really get carried forward into the tastes. The beer is quite bitter - with a metallic twang. I'm not sure that oaking an IPA is a wise move, and the combination seems to create a very, very bitter affair with all the bad aspects of...
Smoked Baltic Porter
After a really strong start to my experience with Great Divide over many years, inmore recent times there have been some very mixed results. Unfortunately, this is another relative disappointment which doesn' make the mark for me. Pour is pretty much as expected with a low carbonated, jet black body that doesn't produce much head or lace after the initial, aggressive pour. Requisite light, charred malts but the smoke is disappointingly restrained. I don't necessarily want a massive Rauch...
Tripel
11 oz pour at Taco Mac on the East West Connector, Austell, GA, USA. Pour gives a classic, hazed yellow body but a rather disappointing lack of head (at least in terms of size). Lace is good. Very strong, even "artificially" so; plenty of bubblegum aromas and a lot of sticky sweetness. BIG estery fruits and plenty of alcohol too. Now, of course, all of this is completely in order for the style, including (to an extent) the slick mouthfeel, but to be honest it seems a little floral and...
Hoss
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Delighted to try this as the Marzen style is one of my favorite styles. Paradoxically, rye beers are some of my LEAST favorites so the the juxtaposition should be interesting if nothing else! Pour delivers exactly what I am looking for in the style, i.e. a completely crystal clear body with a nice white head with some spotty film and lace. Super orange, golden body. Nose gives some edgy malts and some...
Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti
22 oz bomber. Having read a few reviews and considered the beer myself, I got a touch nervous about the combination of chocolate and oak. Frankly, these elements have the potential to be fighting one another in the tastes and this could be a difficult marriage. Poured into the 22 oz, Terrapin snifter in several, small pours, the beer forms the expected look. Black body with a few dark brown highlights at the edges. Nice head initially, but this fades to a spotty, fine film on the surface of...
15th Anniversary Wood Aged
22 oz bottle, $7.95 from the relatively unlikely location of Cheers, Carrollton, GA, USA. Bottled on Jun 19, 2009. Black foil on the neck with a white cap. This should be interesting - a style that I am not crazy about, with the additional element of wood aging that I generally don't enjoy, from a brewery that I have enjoyed in the past, but lately has put out a couple of beers that I have been less than impressed with! We'll see. Pour is mid-amber, perfectly clear body with an amazingly high...
Double Wit
22 oz gold foiled neck in the newish Great Divide packaging. Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour produces a very high, light head with very good retention and decent lace. The body is golden with a very slight haze. Light carbonation. Nose is a fruity, funky, light alcohol that is pretty astringent. It smells a little like an overripe banana. It's a little strong. Alcohol is very prominent in the taste, even to the point of being a touch solvent like. It drinks a lot easier than that but he taste...
Claymore Scotch Ale
Had this a few weeks ago on-tap at The Brick Store but this review is for the 12 oz bottle that I bought as a single at Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a lot darker than I was anticipating. Getting toward black. Head and lace are ultimately, largely absent. In terms of the nose and the taste there really isn't much more here than a alcohol inspired malt bomb. Now, one might think that is somewhat one-dimensional, but in the context of the style this just about covers the bases. The re...
Dunkel Weiss
22 oz bottle from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Delighted to see one of my favorite styles produced by a brewer that usually does a very solid job across the board. Bottle sports the usual, new GD artwork and red foil on the neck - nice. Noisy pour (good sign), and a nice head with lace is produced. A murky, mid-brown pour is the result that is not very attractive but standard for the style. It's very straightforward in terms of the nose and the taste. We get all the standard clove and...
Belgica
16 oz pint on tap at The Porter, Little Five Points, Atlanta, GA, USA. Golden body with a little chill haze underneath a pillow-like, rocky head. Good creamy peaks and troughs in the head. Noce retention and lace. Nose has the pre-requisite light fruit and IPA notes. The Belgian yeasts and sweetness are simple and subtle rather than massive, and the same is true of the hoppy notes. The bitterness and hop character only really cut in in the aftertaste, and the combo makes this very drinkable. I...
Colette Farmhouse Ale
Review #1900. Somewhat surprised to come across this at Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. $7.99 for th 22 oz, gold foiled bottle with the new style Great Divide label. Bottled on April 15th 2009. Poured into the Southampton Weizen glass the beer produces a pretty decent head. It lacks much creamy density but it is well formed (if light) but does not produce much lace. The body is a surprisingly thin, bright yellow macro-like pour but has some cloudy presence. Nose has some acidity...
Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
Had this a couple of weeks ago on draft at The Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA but this review is a follow-up with a 650 mL bottle. This one is partially poured into the 22 oz Terrapin snifter, the perfect glass for this type of brew. Jet black pour that is not necessarily as viscous as I was expecting. Actually quite carbonated too. The head is a typical mocha, coffee one with some good retention and lace. Nose and tastes are pretty typical with burned malts, molasses and astringent coffee. Not...
Samurai Ale
$5.25 from Taco Mac, Marietta, GA, USA. 12oz bottle. Cloudy, lemon colored pour that has some chill haze - looks a little Hefe-like. Sweet, mild honey like tastes with little or no distinguishable, nose. Some pepper creeps into the finish. A really odd beer this one that seems to me to be a collection of many different styles rolled into one. Some macro lager, light lager, Wit and even a little Saison. Strange, but drinkable and tasty but HORRIBLE (even in a bar) value!
Hades Ale
=== Update 01/08 === In the bottle, $5.99 Toco Giant, Atlanta, GA, USA. This experience pretty much reflects the original, draft review. A little more white pepper in the finish. === Original Review 08/07 === On-tap at the Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA. A lighter, less sweet Duvel. A pretty good beer then. Good golden color but lacks a little body and depth, and although the head is there it lacks great retention and is not as big as I would have liked. Aroma has some mild spice and banana,...
Hercules Double IPA
On tap, Taco Mac, Decatur, GA, USA. $6.25. All I have come to expect from this fine beer, at last on tap! This has been constantly out of stock at the Taco Mac East West Connector and I was delighted to be able to snag a pint here instead. Fine looking brown pour with great lacing. It's all hops - aroma, taste, aftertaste and burps. A classic that is balanced wih some mild sweetness and malt. It teeters on the edge of going too far, but it just about manages to pull it off. It's close, but it...
Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
$6.75 on tap at Taco Mac, East West Connector, Atlanta, GA, USA. Jet black pour - opaque. Smallish head, but nice lace lacing and a ying-yang symbol forms in light brown bubbles on the surface of the beer. Silky milk chocolate mouthfeel with a hint of mild tobacco?? Aftertaste is all evaporating alcohol, almost as if you can feel the alcohol rising to the roof of the mouth and in the back of the throat. There is more of a mouth and tongue coating with the draft version than the bottle but it...
HotShot ESB
12 oz bought as a single from Riverside, Chattanooga, TN, USA. Nice color and design on the label. Large, frothy light head with a soapy texture. This is in line with the taste which is also somewhat soapy in nature. Biscuit aroma's come from the amber body with some significant carbonation making this beer an above average looker. Initial sweet malts balanced nicely with a hop ending that is fairly short. Good drinkability, sessionable qualities and everyday potential.
Denver Pale Ale
I like the presentation (the labels) on the Great Divide range - simple and striking, especially the colors. Pale orange pour with not much head or lacing but it does leave a nice thin film on the surface of the body. Fine bubbles of carbonation persist. Sweet grass in the nose. The tastes are rather soapy in their hop nature. Good malt and hop balance are the keys to the success of this beer. Despite the balance there is a small bitter hop finish that lingers and warms. As it warms the hops...
Titan IPA
I like this beer chiefly because it represents the American style of IPA's so very well. Really quite striking clarity, and a seriously light copper color. Big frothy head soon pulls back to give tons of lacing and a creamy surface. There is a hop nose that sits between citrus and pine. This is quickly followed by an amazing marriage of hops, sweetness and metallic twang in the taste. It has a huge bitter character without really being bitter (if that makes any sense). I guess what we are...
Saint Bridget’s Porter
All very simple and good. Standard pour, with great looking black body and creaminess around the head. Mouthfeel is super. Mild coffee overtones in both the nose and the taste, but it's not overpowering and is very simple. Enjoyable, goes down real easy and has the creamy aspect that I like in my Porters. Very nice example of the style, sticks to a tried and tested formula and does a nice job.
Hibernation Ale
Wow! Pour is a slightly lighter brown body than I was expecting with a nice head and some lacing. The lack of lacing may have been due to the temperature that this was presented (too cold), so I am happy to give it the benefit of the doubt. As it warms the aroma is all malty, nuttiness - very nice. The aroma is followed quickly by a complimentary sweetness in the taste. A really spectacular nut/malt brown ale feel. In fact, to get a real feel for what this beer does best, it would need to be...
Fresh Hop Pale Ale
Very light orange color with a nice bubbly (soapy like) head with some lacing. Clarity is big and its definitely a good looker. The light and clear appearance certainly adds to the feel of "freshness". Lovely grass-like, hay hop profile runs through the smell and the taste. Light citrus with bitterness along the backside and malt backbone holds the whole package together. Amazingly light and refreshing drink. To be honest this is probably as far as a Pale Ale can go before becoming an IPA....
Hercules Double IPA
Nice looking red/Copper body with a lovely dense, slightly orange colored head. The head, body and the lacing are certainly very attractive. Sme chill haze. The aroma and taste combine to give a definite resin based, pine flavored hop profile. There is not much subtle about it, but it does (just about) pull it off. The finish is sugary citrus, with the grapefruit really being quite bitter. The bitterness continues to grow and slightly reduces the drinkability for me. Alcohol is well hidden and...
Yeti Imperial Stout
Genuine, thick black appearance with a small tan head, and a little lacing - not much, but some. Alcohol and toasted malts make up the majority of the aroma. I was pleased to find that this wasn't mega-complex. That may sound strange to some, but I was glad that the beer really was simply a really nice, strong stout. Sometimes brewers get into the habit of trying to produce something that is way too complicated, this didn't. Smoothness and strength are the key descriptors here. There are a lot...
Old Ruffian Barley Wine
Beautiful clarity in the pour, with a mahogany color and a small but perfectly formed head. Deep fruitiness and malt backbone really belies the fact that this is both a Barley Wine and a hoppy one at that. It's really a complex beer with the hoppiness, alcohol, malts and fruit all complimenting one another in layered rushes. Just when you think that you've got a handle on where this beer lies in the style range, it's up and at you from a different angle. Refreshing, then biting, then fruity,...
Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
Oak-aged to add vanilla notes? Well, vanilla is too subtle a flavor to pick up in this massive beer, and to be frank, I don't see much difference between this and the regular Yeti. Classic opaque pour with a small head (I assume because of the ABV) and all the classic burned, roasted overtones in the aroma. Lots of chocolate and coffee in the tastes, but the main taste is the lingering licorice finish. Quite smooth until the end when the bitter finish kicks in. Alcohol is very well hidden, but...