Great Divide 15th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Denver, Colorado USA

22oz Bomber. Copper colored pour with large cloud like fluffy white head. Aromas of oak, light vanilla, rich malts, medium hop presence. Taste was oak dominated, notes of vanilla. Rich barleywine maltiness. Hop bitterness is present but not featured. Still a very solid offering. IMO oak should enable not dominate

I just discovered this bomber that’s been hiding at the back of the fridge since I bought it last summer. Oops... It pours a hazy, rich copper with a sizeable beige head that deposits significant spidery lace upon the glass. Expecting that I’d let this one go too long, I was pleasantly surprised to find an aroma that is easily among the best I’ve encountered in quite some time: a big, round, barley wine-like malt front with bright, earthy, citric, piny and floral hops and a clean/virgin oak note in support. Medium to full-bodied and velvety soft on-the-tongue, it transitions to a woody and lingering, solidly bitter finish with a touch of alcohol on the exhale. The flavor is a blend of big toffee-like malt and citric, floral, fruity, piny and slightly resinous hop notes along with a woody supporting oak and alcohol finish. I’m curious how much more aggressive this was eight months ago, but right now, it’s pretty damn good.

22oz bottle to snifter. Clear amber with nice tan head. Aroma is exactly as expected from a DIPA wood. Hops with with oaky vanilla and caramel. Nice harmony between the oak and malts. A rebuy for me.

Poured a slightly hazed copper color with an off-white head. Woody citrus hop aroma with some light pine notes. Great flavor of hops. More of the citrus, pine and wood. Medium bodied and warming.

Bottle: The aroma consists of caramel, vanilla, mild citrus hops, and oak. It pours a transparent amber with a large off-white head with great retention and leaves behind some nice thin webbing on the sides of the glass. The flavor starts with caramel and some really nice vanilla notes. There’s a light fruitiness in the background. The finish has some mild citrus hoppiness and light oak. Medium bodied with soft carbonation and soft mouthfeel

Bottled July 27th, 2009; Sampled September 2009
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass quickly produces a four-finger thick, lightly tan colored head. The beer is a nice rich red color that shows a concentrated red-copper hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of oak and hops; notably there is a soft vanillin note & some buttery oak up front that mixes with floral and citrus hop note, while a spicy, woody note mixes with the more herbal and pine hop notes towards the end. The oak actually tends to mute the citrus components of the hops and instead accentuates the more floral, herbal and pine like notes. Notes of orange blossom, herbaceous tangerine, some lychee and bergamot are noticeable here though.

Somewhat rich feeling as it first hits my tongue, there is an unmistakeable viscous heft to this beer that sees it clinging to the palate after each sip. Toasted oak flavors linger in the palate after each sip as does an herbal hop bitterness. This has a nice bitterness throughout, though it is not at a huge level like some Double IPAs; the ample bitterness that is here plays well with the other flavor components. Lots of sticky malt notes contribute to the overall palate presence of this beer, but aside from a touch of crystal malt caramelization don’t end up being too overwhelming with all the other flavor notes found here. The mix of spicy oak and herbal hop notes towards the finish can get a touch hot at times. Despite being so thick and viscous feeling this beer really doesn’t taste very sweet at all; somehow the mix of flavors produce a richness, but not a lot of sweetness (which is definitely nice). As the beer warms a touch more of the citrus / fruity hop notes start to become more noticeable; orange zest, some lychee, as well as candied tangerine notes.

Not a bad beer, the oak actually manages to integrate itself pretty well with this beer. I do feel like it could stand to be a bit more hop focused, which makes me wonder how much hop character this has lost in the two months since it was bottled.

Poured golden/orange with white head, may have gotten a bad batch however because it was full of oxidative qualities including butterscotch, but with some good IPA citrusy hops with a bit of oak. Could be good!

Purchased bomber. A transparent golden amber hue with a modest beige head. Earthy wood notes are striking in the aroma. Interesting mix of wood, vanilla bean, citrus and mild hops are present on the taste. This DIPA is not as hoppy as others and lacks the bitterness at the end.