Great Divide Old Ruffian Review

Name: Great Divide Old Ruffian
Style: Barleywine
ABV: 10.2%
IBUs: 90

Here's a beer I haven't had for about 3 years now: Great Divide's Old Ruffian Barleywine. I'm not sure why it's called Old Ruffian but I do know that the label has changed since I last had it. I know all this because the last I had this beer was when I was living in Chicago (3 years ago) and at the beach for a barbeque that a friend of mine was throwing. Amongst the many tasty beers there was this beer, which I'm just now getting down to reviewing.

In the previous design, it just had the silhouette of a guy getting ready for a good ol' fashioned bar brawl against a mahogany background. The current design shows the same silhouette but this time, the backdrop is what I assume is the skyline of downtown Denver, which is where Great Divide is based out of.

Appearance - Very dark red color that has a bit of shimmer to it when you hold it up to a light, taking on a darkish crimson look with a mild amount of haze. The head is about 2 fingers in width and takes on a khaki colored appearance. The lacing, however, is more on the sparse side.

Aroma - Very piney hop and caramel malt forward with some light toffee. I'm also getting some mild grapefruitiness and maybe tiny hint of rye spiciness. Maybe my mind (or nose) is playing tricks on me but that is what I seem to be getting.

Taste - Quite piney hop and grapefruit forward, despite my earlier observations, backed up by a strong caramel malt back bone. That rye spiciness that I first spotted in the nose is also here in the flavor, but much like the nose, it's mild at best. I'm also getting some very light roastiness, which is something I'm not used to seeing in barleywines. The aftertaste is also pretty much all bitter hops and not much else.

Not quite as good as I remember it, but it's held up quite well these past three years; Whether it's a change in recipe or the changes in my palate are unknown at this point. What I do know is that it's a good barleywine for both beginners and experienced drinkers of this style.

Great Divide Old Ruffian - 8/10

Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale Review

Name: Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale
Style: Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy
ABV: 7.7%

A couple weeks ago, I was at my local liquor store when I noticed that they started carrying Great Divide Brewing on their shelves. Previously I was only able to acquire this on my excursions down to the Twin Cities but now it seems that will no longer be the case.

I decided to take a piece of the Twin Cities home with me in the form of Great Divide's Claymore Scotch Ale. It's a beer that I haven't had for a couple of years and I thought now would be a good time to revisit this.

Claymore pours a very dark brown color that almost looks black in appearance. There is a slight red tinge on the bottom of the glass but it's a pretty dark beer nonetheless. The head starts out fairly foamy but it settles down into more of a flat thin appearance; Nothing in terms of lacing though.

The aroma is very smoky with some peated scotch and and caramel sweetness. There's also some noticeable roastiness in here too.

Like the nose, the taste is also quite smoky with a more prominent roasted barley profile. The caramel sweetness in the aroma is also present here along with the peated scotch flavor. Aftertaste is also quite roasty and a bit of hoppy bitterness.

The body is pretty heavy and some thickness to it as well, bordering on what some may consider to be "chewy." The carbonation is thankfully rather light and the texture has a nice creamy feel.

Claymore Scotch Ale may be a little more smokier and roasty than other Wee Heavy-style beers out there but it's pretty tasty for what it is. Though I prefer my Scotch Ales to be a bit maltier, I would still recommend this regardless.

Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale - 8.5/10

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA Review

Name: Great Divide Hercules
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 10%

It's been a long while since I've reviewed anything from Great Divide Brewing, mainly because they weren't available up here. Now imagine my surprise when I discovered last Friday when I walked into my local liquor store and saw some brand new Great Divide beers sitting on the shelf that had just arrived on the shelves; Which makes me very happy considering that I got this beer from down in Minneapolis just a few weeks back and speaking of which.....

Tonight's beer is Hercules Double IPA, a name which more than likely gets it's name from being a fairly strong Imperial IPA that clocks in at 10% ABV, which I consider to be on the high end of the spectrum in terms of ABVs for this style unless you count Evil Twin's Molotiv Cocktail.

Hercules pours a hazy dark orange color with a fairly thin filmy head. The lacing is what I would describe as moderate and I'm not picking up any visible carbonation. I do, however, see a couple pieces of floating sediment on the bottom of the glass.

The nose has a very strong citrus & piney hop scent with some apricots, mangos and grapefruits. There is some slight maltiness to be had but it's an otherwise very fruity smelling beer.

The flavor is a thankfully more balanced out with a strong citra-hoppiness with some sweet mango and grapefruit fruitness and a much more prominent caramel malt backbone. The aftertaste is a little bit more on the resiny/pine side with some light maltiness thrown in. The palate has very heavy body which comes along with some moderate carbonation.

Hercules is a textbook example of how to do an Imperial IPA correctly when it comes to flavor. If I had to point out one complaint about this beer, it's that the palate could've been just a little bit lighter in terms of weight and carbonation. Aside from that, Hercules is definitely worth checking out if you ever see it on the shelf.

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA - 8.75/10

Great Divide Colette Review

Name: Great Divide Colette
Style: Saison
ABV: 7.3%

Great Divide Brewing Company is the second craft brewer that I ever tried which was based out of Colorado, the first being Fat Tire. They have a pretty good line-up and I think they have one of the best widely available Barleywines and Scotch Ales out there. However I will be dedicating my first Great Divide review to their Colette Saison Ale, which is their Spring Seasonal release. Perfect type of beer to drink right now considering it's quite rainy out right now.

Colette pours a bright hazy yellow color and a soapy head and with just a slight bit of lacing along the sides.

The aroma has a mildly sweet malty scent to it, along with yeasts and fruity notes. Surprisingly sweet smelling for a Saison, which reminds me of New Holland's Golden Cap Saison. The flavor isn't too different from the nose but it has a very slight lemon sourness to it and some cracked pepper flavors.The sweet maltiness is also in there, along with yeasty and fruity notes. It also finishes quite dry with a slight yeastiness.

It's quite moderate in weight and the carbonation is rather mild and it fits quite well with the other elements of this beer.

Colette strikes a good balance between being earthy and sweet in terms of it's flavor. It's a well rounded Saison that comes off as quite sessionable and is an ideal Spring Seasonal for that purpose.

Great Divide Colette - 8.25/10