Archive for the 'Great Divide' category
Great Divide Hoss
This beer won a bronze in the rye beer category at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), and when I was compiling the post of reviewed winners, I was surprised to learn this beer had not been reviewed. I could have sworn Ben had drunk this. Knowing that the beer was still on tap at a local bar, I decided to check it out. Also, the beer is based on the Marzen style, so it kind of / sort of fits in with the Oktoberfest 2009 reviews.
Poured into a pint glass the beer provided a thick, off-white head and an amber hued body. Attacking my nose were unmistakable scents of rye. Joining the aroma melee were cereal grains and dark fruit. Unsurprisingly rye was a very predominant taste. Big, hearty, rye. Surprisingly the beer went less cereal grain and more bready when it ran through my mouth. Clean through the mouth the beer ended with a large rye bread taste that went a bit spicey and smokey, like the crust of the bread got slightly burnt.
Certainly a beer that sticks out in the taste department, and one I found quite drinkable. Not sure how it stands up to other rye beers because I am not a big rye beer drinker (I do not remember the last rye beer I had). The bronze at GABF is a pretty good sign of the beer’s quality though. If you could not ascertain from the review, if you do not like rye, you are best to let this beer lie. (Wow that was a pretty awful ending.)
Great Divide Dunkel Weiss
My love for the Dunkelweizen genre goes all the way back to some time spent in Germany. However, more recently, my love was made concrete during many a Wednesday night at Tyler’s Taproom in Carrboro, NC circa 2005 when me and my roomies carried our pub quiz dynasty (by our own assessment) through several months, fueled by many pints of delicious Franziskaner Dunkelweizen (or ‘Frankenberry’, as some of our team would have you believe). This particular offering is neither a Franziskaner product nor from Germany at all, but I’m still excited about it. So there.
The Great Divide dunkel pours a medium brown color that is hazy with debris and is exceptionally effervescent for a dark ale. The head here sparks up a caramel white color, but quickly dissipates down to almost nothing. In the nose, this beer isn’t terribly pungent, only putting off a light aroma. This aroma is, however, quite sweet and almost candy-like with just a wee bit of dark malt. In the mouth, this beer is an immediate flavor explosion. Given the light aroma, I’m frankly very surprised by how big the taste is here. The flavor throughout the mouth is very sweet with a flavor that I’d compare to SweeTarts. It’s almost cloying, sugary, and lightly tart. In addition to this, though, there is a decent malt backbone. The malt is darker and offers some toffee flavors, but nowhere near enough to challenge the aforementioned sweetness. So, what we have is a beer that is both sweet and tart, though the malt does enough to keep it from being overpowering in either regard. However, the flavor is powerful indeed, carrying all the way through the mouth and sticking for some time in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is also quite delightful, washing clean and making this brew exceptionally refreshing for such a dark ale. All in all, I really like this beer. It isn’t much different than the Franziskaner that I know and love, though it is perhaps a bit more tart. Definitely a beer I hope to drink again…
Great Divide Saison Ale
Saison Ale! One of my favorite summertime beers. Great Divide! A pretty great brewer. I hope this works out well…
This saison pours a luminescent golden color with lots of tiny bubbles floating up from the bottom of the glass. This is much clearer than most saisons you run into, demonstrating a bit of filtering perhaps. There is a bit of dense debris to the beer, but it’s nearly crystal clear up to a light. There really isn’t any head to speak of on this beer – it is pillowy and dense for just a second, but then fizzles down to just a tiny ring around the edge of the glass. In the nose, this is full of citrusy sourness. It slightly burns the nose, but that’s a good thing. There is a great sweet note, too, to balance out the aroma. Now, the taste. Maybe I just haven’t had enough saisons lately, so I’ve just forgotten how much I like them, but this is really good. There is a heavy blast of sourness on the tip of the tongue that burns all the more due to some heavy carbonation. This piques the tastebuds to prepare them for some lemony sourness that soon comes down the line. Along with this sourness, there is a great sweet addition that makes the flavor akin to a lemonheads candy (though not quite that sweet). On through the mouth, the beer never loses a light burn on the tongue, and the flavor just keeps on, while attaining a light malty flavor and a rather silky mouthfeel. Even after the beer is gone, a refreshing lemony sweetness sticks around the back of the throat for ages. This is a mighty tasty beer. I can’t remember what it costs, but I feel like I probably got my money’s worth. The only downer of this is how refreshing it is. If you pop this open outside on a hot day, you’re liable to kill it pretty quick, so try and take it easy, okay?
Great Divide “Saint Bridget’s” Porter
This here’s a porter from a brewery that I’ve generally been fond of though, for some reason, we’ve never gotten our hands on this particular variety from them. However, when our friend Linda showed up fresh off of a trip to CO with a couple of these in tow, she was happy enough to toss one my way, so I’m anxious to see how it goes down.
The Saint Bridget’s pours a rather dark brown color – it is fairly clear, letting in substantial light around the edges of the glass, betraying a lighter brown hue. The head here begins rather thick, pillowy, and caramel-colored. However, it quickly dissipates to an almost nonexistant covering over the beer. The aroma of this brew is mostly nutty, with some peanut buttery sweetness and just a hint of smoke. In the mouth, this beer lives up to its description as a ‘robust porter’. This isn’t quite as smoky as some porters, and rather tends towards the nutty and rich category. Throughout the mouth, there are beaucoup nut flavors, combined with a rich dark malt that gives this a rich flavor and a substantial mouthfeel. Honestly, most of what I’m getting here is peanut. This couples with the malt, very slight smoke flavors, and some faint ‘porkiness’ to make a beer that is, while not terribly complex, rather flavorful and very accessible for a porter. I often tend away from porters because the over-bearing meaty and smoky flavors eventually wear thin. This one, however, is a bit more dessert-like and easy-drinking – probably one of the better porters I’ve had recently.
Great Divide Denver Pale Ale (DPA)
This is going to be a follow up to my ‘The “wet hop” challenge’ post. After some searching, I was able to get my hands on a six pack of Great Divide’s Denver Pale Ale (DPA). Unfortunately by this time, I was unable to get another bottle of Great Divide Fresh Hop. Can’t win for trying. So this will just be a review of the DPA by itself, with a summary comparison with the Fresh Hop done via my notes.
Fortunately I picked up a six pack of this beer because the first bottle I opened was completely funked. It seems the bottle was not properly filtered because there were large pieces of debris floating in the beer. If you find a beer that looks like this and smells of hoppy-brewed raspberries, you have a bad beer.
Anyway, cracking into a second bottle the beer poured a bit on the dark side for a Pale Ale with a nice red-brown color. The beer had a ‘tan, chunky head of two fingers, which took some time to dissipate. The body was a bit hazy with nice, little debris floating throughout.
In the nose a nice floral hops aroma was up front, with a hint of lemon. The aroma was rounded out with a bread/grape-nuts/fresh grain back and some caramel sweetness.
In the mouth the beer had a certain robustness to it, especially for a pale ale. The hops, with its citrus value, provided a nice beginning which led to the sweet malt finish. There was a nice earthy bitterness for the beer, not over powering but definitely present.
Once again Great Divide provides another well balanced beer. It seems the DPA is a bit hoppier and darker then a ‘normal’ pale ale, but it still does a great job at balancing itself out. If I was looking for something with a nice hop presence and balance, I would have no issue reaching for this beer again. Now compared to the Fresh Hop Pale Ale (based off my notes), I would say the defining factor between the two would be the hops. The Fresh Hop Pale Ale had a stronger presence of hops (pine aroma, compared to lemon aroma), which is to be expected from a wet hop beer. Still wish I could have tried them side by side, but there is always next year.
The “wet hop” challenge.
As Ben mentioned in his review of Deschutes “Hop Trip” Fresh Hop Ale more breweries are taking a shot at the “wet hop” or “fresh hop” style of brewing. This wet hop style, using freshly picked, undried, full cone hops, is a ‘seasonal’ style that coincides with the annual hop harvest. Now there are certain challenges with this brewing technique, which I touched upon in my review of Harpoon’s Glacier Harvest, so I will not repeat them here. With a couple of these beers hitting the local retail shelves I thought I would setup a little challenge for myself. The challenge, to be able to pick out the wet hop brew from the non-wet hop brew!
The premise was simple. I would pick up a wet hop and non-wet hop style of beer from the same brewery and try to discern, from a blind tasting, which was the wet-hop one. Two breweries with wet hop beers on the local shelves were Great Divide’s Fresh Hop Pale Ale, and Port Brewing’s High Tide Fresh Hop IPA. Unfortunately this is where my original plan started to fall apart.
Though I was able to get my hands on Port Brewing’s Wipe-Out IPA for their non-wet hop style of beer, I was unable to get my hands on Great Divide’s Denver Pale Ale for their non-wet hop style of beer. Undeterred I decided to amend my “challenge” and picked up Great Divide’s Titan IPA to see what type of difference there was between a wet hop Pale Ale and a regular IPA.
Now, along with the fact I am tasting a Pale Ale compared to an IPA, there are two (at least) other problems with my challenge. First the recipes used for the beers. If I wanted to make an apple to apple comparison, I would need the wet hop and non-wet hop beer recipes to be the same. Great Divide makes no reference, on the web site, of using the same recipe to brew their Denver Pale Ale and Fresh Hop Pale Ale, so even if I was able to procure a Denver Pale Ale I might not be comparing the same beer recipe. Port Brewing does detail the hops used in their Wipe-Out IPA (simcoe, amarillo and centennial) and High Tide Fresh Hop IPA (amarillo, fresh chinook, and fresh centennial). This “slight change” of simcoe to chinook hops makes a difference because different hops impart different aromas and flavors in a beer.
The second problem would be the amount of time the Titan IPA and Wipe-Out IPA had been sitting on the store shelves. Since the fresh hop beers were from this year’s 2007 season, I knew the beers had only been traveling through the distribution chain for a month (roughly). I could not say the same about the Titan and Wipe-Out IPA. Now neither beer tasted ‘skunky’, but there is the possibility some of the ‘hop factor’ had mellowed down a little bit, because time is not a friend of hops, as noted in my cellaring post. Even with these two other problems, I decided to continue on with my challenge.
To make my tasting ‘blind’, I had my girlfriend pour half pint servings into four separate glasses (A, B, C, D), while taking note of which beer went into which glass. Since I was not trying to discern which brewer made which beer, she placed the two Great Divide beers to my left, and the two Port Brewing beers to my right. As I viewed, smelled and tasted, I would take notes based on the letter marking on the glass. I also had some water to help cleanse the palate between tastings.
The two Great Divide beers poured near identical in color with a light amber hue. The Fresh Hop Pale Ale (which was also reviewed by Matt, though that review seems to be from last years hop harvest) poured clear with a tight white head that began as a finger and settled down to a thin covering. The Titan’s body had a bit of debris and a cream colored head which again started as a finger but settled to a thin covering. The Titan head however, left a nice lace stickage while it receded down the glass. They both had a very similar smell of pine aroma and light citrus with some hint of bread. I knew the beers were different from the head and debris but if I just had smell to go off of, I would have thought they were the same beer, or at least very hard to distinguish. The mouth feel was also similar between the two beers with a light to medium feel, giving the mouth a good coating but nothing that lasted past the swallow. Much like the aroma the tastes were very similar with a hit of pine up front and bread in the back. The Fresh Hop Pale Ale was less bitter then the Titan IPA so it went down smoother. Conversely the malt/bread was not as noticeable in the Titan IPA but it still was present. Both are good, well balanced beers with no one taste or aroma overwhelming everything else.
Though both Port Brewing beers poured a golden color, the Wipe-Out IPA was a darker shade leaning more to a golden orange. The Wipe-Out IPA had a nice, thick cream colored head with good stickage down the glass, while the High Tide Fresh Hop IPA poured a white head with little to no stickage. For aroma I found the Wipe-Out to possess a massive piney hop aroma with some citrus notes, and the reverse for the High Tide Fresh Hop IPA, with a citrus/grapefruit pronounced aroma and a hint of pine. Both of these beers are hop bombs with little balance and strong bitterness, with the Wipe-Out IPA being a bit more so. The Wipe-Out IPA possessed “more flavor” as my girlfriend put it with its wallop of citrus and pine notes. Both beers are great “hop bomb” beers and both went down well, but the Wipe-Out IPA seems to have a little more going on in the flavor department.
This leaves the question that started this all off, could I differentiate between wet and non-wet beers? Plain and simple… no. I was completely wrong for both breweries, having picked the non-wet beers to be wet beers. What does this mean? Well not much really. With all the inherent problems in my testing, it was never truly a balanced wet hop to dry hop comparison. I did find it interesting, though not too surprising, how close the Fresh Hop Pale Ale was to the Titan IPA. The wet hop style is supposed to “impart hop flavor of superior freshness” (Ben) to the beer, thus ratcheting up the hop factor of the Pale Ale bringing it closer in taste to an IPA. As for the Wipe-Out IPA to High Tide Fresh Hop IPA comparison, it was interesting being able to taste, side by side, two IPAs from the same brewery with slightly different recipes and different brewing processes and noting the differences. It cements the fact of all the variations inherent in brewing and how rather slight changes in a recipe and process can change the outcome of the beer.
I think this in essence is the reason for the wet hop “phenomenon”. Brewers are an experimental lot and they want to discover the variations which different brewing processes bring out in their beers. My glass is raised to them for these endeavors.
Great Divide Samurai Ale
Now, anyone in their right mind might be skeptical of this beer, as most of the rice beers you know are of the macro-brewed swill variety. However, keep heart – there IS such a thing as a good rice beer. Most of those that I’m aware of have come from the Far East so far, like some of the brews from Hitachino. However, I’m perfectly content to see what Great Divide can do with the genre.
It pours a just-slightly-cloudy light golden color, and one of my favorite things about it is the large amount of fine carbonation. I’m drinking from one of Sam Adams’ new fancy glasses with the ‘nucleation’ area at the bottom. Usually, this ‘nucleation’ point pulls a few bubbles out of a beer. However, with the Samurai, you get a scenic circle of frequent dense bubbles that is a lot of fun to look at. The aroma of this is crisp and light. Frankly, it doesn’t have an especially pleasant or predominant aroma – it’s just lightly malty, smells a bit of carbonation, and is fairly non-descript. The flavor of this is pretty good. Honestly, the nearest approximation is of a summer wheat ale. It IS highly carbonated, there is a light refined sweetness from the malt, and there is almost no apparent hop contribution. The aftertaste again exhibits carbonation, and goes down with a light tingle, some light sweetness, and then it’s gone! And, really, that’s about it. It IS a good beer, albeit a simple one, and this may be what Great Divide intends. Through the mouth, this maintains a fairly consistent and definite sweetness. It’s light, refreshing, and has an effervescence that lends an additional crispness to the brew. Pretty good brew, all around, and something interesting to try if the best rice brew you’ve ever had comes from Anheuser-Busch.
Great Divide Hades Ale
Hey again, boozers. I tell you what, it’s nice to have a fridge full of all manner and variety of tasty brews waiting for you in the corner when you need it – I’m already getting spoilt again by the luxuries of the modern world. Tonight, I was in the mood for something light but complex, and I’m really hoping that the Hades fits the bill.
The pour of this beer, frankly, seems a bit boring when compared to a lot of beers. It’s a filtered golden color and, by look, could pass for any domestic macro-brewed light beer. However, a quick sniff quickly squashes any preconceptions you may have about this beer. This beer has a lightly sweet and spicy smell that is somewhat similar to a Belgian tripel, but not quite as cloying and lacking the occasional citrus aspect – also, it’s not too pungent. Basically, it smells very enticing, and I expect it to taste good. And, taste good it does! This beer enters the mouth with a light but substantial kick. There is an initial carb burn on the tip of the tongue that opens up the tastebuds for the spicy sweetness to follow. On through the mouth, this spiciness maintains, but is melanged with a mild hop bitterness and a nice sweetness reminiscent also of a tripel – I’m not entirely sure if there is any candi sugar used in this (it DOES use a Belgian yeast), but the sweetness leads me to believe there may be. On through the mouth, this spiciness picks up a light floral flavor and finishes with a second bite at the back of the throat. The floral sweetness then maintains in the throat or quite some time without heading too far up the nasal cavity. Great Divide has accomplished a nice light beer that is both refreshing and quite complex. It’s sorta an American tripel blended with the flavor of a lighter lager, and I like it…
Great Divide “Old Ruffian” Barley Wine Style Ale
To be perfectly honest, I haven’t been very tempted by most of Great Divide’s offerings. While I’m sure they have some great beers – everything I’ve had from them has been par or better – they are plagued by what is, in my opinion, bad label art. And, if you’re a SevenPack regular, then you know that bad label art can turn me off from an entire brewery. However, in the case of the Old Ruffian, I noticed in All About Beer magazine that this was rated as the best American Barleywine style ale. Period. So, with that sort of credential, I simply had to try it.
The pour of this Barleywine is fairly typical. It’s a dark ruby with a heavy cloudiness from the bottle fermentation. I would have to say that this contains even more suspended debris than other similar beers. The smell of this is spicy and hoppy – a bit more pungent than something like Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot (one of my very favorite Barleywine’s). There is also an acidic sweetness that slightly burns the nostrils. In the mouth, this beer is no slouch. Initially there is a bit of a hop burn, followed by a bitter trail through the mouth that clings to the roof of the mouth, only exhibiting sweetness and spice towards the rear of the tongue. The predominant aftertaste holds on to the bitterness, and the hop sticks around for several seconds. All in all, this Barleywine is much more ‘hop-forward’ than any other Barleywine I’ve had. My 2 reference Barleywine ales are Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot and Brooklyn’s Monster Ale and, while I can’t say that this is better, I will say that it is definitely a contender. It is certainly a different beer, and if you’re a real hop-head, then I think you’ll prefer this. However, I’m going to need to taste all three side-by-side before I’m ready to crown a winner of this battle. Stay tuned.
Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale
Most brewers say they use the freshest ingredients when making their brews. As well they should because nobody wants to buy a beer marketed on the claim that the ingredients were pre-packaged and stored in a large warehouse for months on end. While the former of the two aforementioned claims may not be entirely correct the majority of the time, in this instance it is. The brewers at Great Divide use “wet hops” to make this American Style pale ale. Apparently “wet hops” are hop cones picked that very day and thus when they are added to the wort they are at the height of freshness.
This is an unfiltered golden ale with a intense floral aroma. The taste is light in the front of the mouth and surprisingly well balanced given the extreme hoppy smell. Then as the malt sensation begins to plateau a hop explosion takes place in the back of the throat and ventures into the nasal cavity. There is a slightly abrasive mouthfeel but if you’re a hophead you’ll love it. This ale is very much like an IPA, quite different from the english pale ale style. There is nothing complex about this brew; there’s some malt, a lot of great hops and a resultant great taste. Sometimes I like a brew that makes me think and other times I want the brewers to just say what it is and then deliver. Such is the case with this beer and I am very happy with my purchase. I was a bit skeptical because I remembered not being entirely impressed with the Hercules IIPA but my confidence has been restored. This comes highly recommended if you like hoppy goodness.
Great Divide Brewing’s Hercules Double IPA
I know, I know…. as soon as you saw this title you said to yourself
(whilst clapping), “Her-cules, Her-cules!” Well, unlike Eddie Murphy, this beer seems to still have a place in America. The beer is strong – as the label says it is not for the faint of heart. It is exceptionally hoppy and has a high alcohol content (9.1% abv). The hops in the beer are wonderful and produce a lasting, full mouthfeel that is quite good. The beer pours a copper color with a nice, full head and has a lasting aroma to it. The taste is wondeful – hoppiness with hints of fruit and a bit of sweetness. Despite the gracious amount of hops, the Hercules is not bitter. To the contrary, it is a good drinking beer. Although, two or more of these would probably set the evening down a precarious path. This gets my full recommendation.
