Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti

At the Colorado Brewer's Guild Brunch at Freshcraft, I ordered a glass of Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti. The beer pours a black color with a frothy brown colored head. The aroma consists of espresso, coffee, chocolate, toasted malts, caramel, and oak. The taste is dry and bold with dark espresso bean and bacon flavors. Oak accents are strong with bold Belgian chocolate making up the backbone. The finish has a touch of vanilla and caramel. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. For a coffee infused beer, this one ranks near the top of them all. It had such a strong coffee presence build upon dark chocolate, and the oak really added the drying aspects to make it spectacular.

Great Divide Belgian Style Yeti

I picked up a bottle of Great Divide Belgian Style Yeti from Stateline Liquors and I decided to share it with some friends. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan head that barely leaves any lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, Belgian yeast, and caramel. The taste is smooth and sweet at first with a large Belgian yeast profile. A dark chocolate flavors comes out after the yeast with some vanilla and caramel. A slight toasted malt flavor hangs out in the background and the finish is rather dry. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. While not my favorite of the Yeti series, I really enjoyed the Belgian yeast sweetness added in with the chocolate flavor.

Great Divide Colette Farmhouse Ale

I ordered a glass of Great Divide Colette Farmhouse Ale at the Alehouse at Amato's, run by Breckenridge Brewing. The beer pours an unfiltered gold color with a light foamy white head. The aroma consists of pepper, lemon, and wheat. The taste is foamy in the mouth but rounded with lemon, cream, wheat, and a dry pepper finish. The alcohol content is 7.3% ABV. While this was a delicious and refreshing beer, I would find it difficult to drink more than one of these due to the large mouth feel that accompanies it.

Great Divide Claymore

For St. Patrick’s Day, I ordered a glass of Great Divide Claymore at Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin filmy tan head. The aroma consists of toasted malts and caramel; nothing too intense here. The taste is smooth and sweet with caramel at first before some roasted malts and chocolate kick in. There is a light, dry, and biting finish with the Claymore. The alcohol content is 7.7% ABV. This was the perfect beer for St. Patrick’s Day, and it had a wonderful sweet caramel base with a wonderful toasted accents from the malts.

Great Divide Rumble Oak Aged India Pale Ale

My girlfriend bought me a bottle of Great Divide Rumble Oak Aged India Pale Ale as part of a mixed six-pack for my birthday. The beer pours a copper color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, orange, tangerine, caramel, and oak. The taste is sweet and smooth with lots of caramel up front before transitioning into a dry and biting pine and lemon hop flavor. The finish brings out more citrus with orange and tangerine, before drying up in the after taste due to the oak. The alcohol content is 7.1% ABV. I really enjoyed the great hop presence in this beer that was well balanced with the sweet caramel backbone, all drying out on a bed of oak for the tongue to enjoy.

Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale

I picked up a bottle of Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale from Al's of Hampden on a whim based on my love of the Great Divide beers I had in Denver. The beer pours a golden amber color with a lofty foamy head that laces to the glass. The aroma consists of fresh lemon and bitey pine with a light caramel background; this is a spring morning in the forest. The taste starts with a light caramel base before a big lemon wave takes over the tongue. On the finish, the fresh pine accents come into play and really round out the flavor. The alcohol content is 6.1% ABV. The Fresh Hop Pale Ale was a wonderfully crafted beer with a lovely helping of fresh hops, a great lemon accent, all built on top a solid caramel base.

Great Divide Hoss

On of the first things I did upon arriving in Denver for Great American Beer Fest was to find a soccer bar to watch the Arsenal match. Google Maps on the Droid pointed me to The British Bulldog, where I ordered a Great Divide Hoss, a rye beer. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts, rye, and a hint of lemon in the background. The taste is malty and sweet that also is dominated with rye flavor, with some tea and lemon coming through on the finish. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. While drinking the beer, all I could think about was what an amazing beer the Hoss was. The best word I can use to describe it is wonderful, as it is the best rye I've had to date.

Gread Divide Hercules Double IPA

I went to Fat Head's in Pittsburgh and ordered a Great Divide Hercules Double IPA. The beer pours an orange-red-amber color with a faint thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of caramel, grapefruit, and mandarin and orange with pine. The taste is sweet with caramel, grapefruit, orange, and lemon with a pine bite on the end. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. I absolutely loved the great sweet grapefruit flavor in the double IPA and thought it was very well done. Overall, an excellent double IPA that is up there with some of the best.

Great Divide 16th Anniversary Wood Aged Imperial IPA

I stopped into Al's of Hampden to pick up a growler of Great Divide 16th Anniversary Wood Aged Imperial IPA. The beer pours an orange amber color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, grapefruit, and sugar. The taste is sweet and smooth with a heavy dose of caramel with some grapefruit. There is a good oak accent that dries out the beer. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. This beer was a very delicious brew with decent hop finish and great oak accent. Overall, I thought it was very well done and I hope to be able to get some more of this before it's gone.

Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

TJ's in Paoli had the Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout on draft at the Pliny the Younger tasting, so I decided to give it a try. The beer has a black color with a foamy tan head. The aroma consists of oak and chocolate. The taste is nutty and chocolate, but very smooth and good. I was really impressed with the oak accents that were incorporated in this beer. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. The balance between oak and chocolate in this beer was amazing, and the oak really helped bring out the toasted malts. The alcohol provided a nice warming effect without being too bitey.

Great Divide Hibernation Ale

I ordered a draft of Great Divide Hibernation Ale at D's Six Pax and Dogz in Pittsburgh. The beer has a dark amber color with a light foamy head. It smells of toasted malts, chocolate, and caramel. The taste is slightly spicy at first and transitions into a smooth toasted flavor. The chocolate flavor doesn't stand out too much, but is there. The caramel really smooths out the beer and provides a great accent. The alcohol content is 8.1% ABV. I really enjoyed the Hibernation Ale and would gladly order another glass. The smooth finish makes it a very drinkable beer, as in you could drink several in one sitting.

Great Divide Titan IPA

At a local joint that has a great selection of beer, The Brewhouse Grille, I ordered a Great Divide Titan IPA. In the Cental Pennsylvania area, it can be difficult to find any Great Divide beers. The Titan IPA is dark amber in color and has a light pine-like aroma. The beer has a a malty front taste to it, and a spicy hop finish. The after taste is slightly hoppy, but the malts in the beer balance the beer delicately. The alcohol content is 7.1% ABV. I thought this was a solid IPA and wasn't overpowering with the hop content. Great Divide makes some decent beers, and I would add this to the list of regular beers that I would try again.