Great Divide Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Pours pale copper with a bit of white head. Moderate nose with some dirty earthy hops and oak. Upfront oak flavors with some back ground hop character. Medium body with a lingering wood aftertaste. No signs of 10% alcohol.

UPDATED: APR 16, 2011 On tap at Fat Heads in Pittsburgh. Really nice balance with the whiskey cask flavors contributing but not overwhelming a really Nice IPA. Light mahogony color, modest head, florals but less than in some double IPAs but plenty of hop flavor and clean slightly sweet finish. 10/09 great from the bottle, with plenty of value and effort in the brew 4/11 Ontap at Busy Bee in raleigh, still a remarkable balance for aged beers with whiskey playing a great role but not overwhelming

22 fl oz bottle, RBSG2009. Pours clear and dark amber with a small white head. Aroma is light yeasty and subdued roasted malt. Fruity too. Mild fruity and malty flavoured, slight phenolic. Smooth fruity and phenolic finish.

Bottle courtesy of ericandersnavy and boomer0813. Pours with a large, creamy tan head and a hazed orange body. Great lace. Aroma of orange, caramel, spicy wood notes, vanilla tannins, earthy and sticky. Taste is bitter and earthy with sherry, bitter toffee, wood, caramel and an english hop profile. Light bubbles and a creamish mouthfeel with low residual sugars/dryness. A little disappointed, but still a good beer.

Reddish copper colored clear body, a big head, and a classy label made for an excellent visual impression. The aroma was a bit subdued for a DIPA and was faintly musty rather than aggressively hoppy. The taste was more clearly hop based, with a spicy beginning, and a sweetish finish. Vanilla flavor, which I am sure was imparted by the wood was noteworthy in the aftertaste. I detected some wild texture similar to Brett, which I also attribute to the wood chips. Soft in the mouth at first, but got a bit coarse towards the end of each sip. A good beer, but I like my DIPAs better without the wood aging effects.

UPDATED: OCT 15, 2010 Dark rich orange. Strangely weak aroma. Smells mostly of molded soap from Bath & Body Works. Hoppy taste. Sweet but chalky and spicy finish. Musty and chalky smell. 2.9
RE-RATE 10/14/10 courtesy of Fratto. Bottle. Slightly hazy orange color with a frothy head. Aroma is soft hops, light soap. Flavor is hoppy with dry bitter finishings. Finish is a bit metallic. Still a bit rough.

Bottle thanks to Dmac. Pours out a reddish copper with a one finger off white head that sticks around. Aroma is very earthy, pine, oak, creosote, and some sweet vanilla notes. Taste is earthy with some hops coming through, but they are tamed by the oak aging, some vanilla, oak and little sweetness in there too, slight alcohol on the finish. Overall a good beer but I really have a hard time seeing this as a double IPA, they may need a category called "beers formerly known as IPA’s/double IPA’s" that would suit oaked Double/IPA’s like this one.

Bottle purchased at Friendly Mini Mart in Lakewood. I like the promise of a wood-aged imperial IPA. It really takes the beer out an plays with its boundaries. It doesn’t just have to be a good solid hoppy beer, this can now range from well hoped and mellow, to fruity sweet and strong. This manages to handle several different aspects all at the same time. It is very rich and malty, good caramel flavoring and dark color too boot. Yet there is also this sweet sugary aroma, almost Belgian in nature, but it has decent fruit nature to it, and not overly citrus in nature. This has been nicely wooded, and honestly, preferable to most IIPA’s, since this can be drank without protective gear.

This was actually a rather pleasant surprise. Much better than I’d anticipated. Doesn’t really work as an "IIPA", but it’s a nicely done BA’d beer.

22 oz bomber from Jonathan Ron. Poured a deep orange/amber/red body sitting underneath a large frothy off white head with lots of lasting power and nice lacing. Aroma is woody, slight buttery notes, pepper, dry vanilla beans and a touch of alcohol. Flavor is of the wood barrel with notes of caramel, coconutt, vanilla and butter. Nice beer but I’m still not sure about this whole oak aging a DIPA, seems to be counterproductive.