3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20May 13th, 2011 - Another year has passed, but the sentiment is the same as it was in 2011 - the Great Divide Wood Aged Double IPA is a ode to great brewing work, and to an institution that I hope always darkens Denver’s doors. The thin off-white head births a vicious, clinging lacing, which contrasts with the somber dark honey and bronze color of the clear brew. And right away, masculine, gourmet smells from the glass set my nose and writing hand into a flurry of activity. The smell is heavy, sticky and sweet, with roasted asparagus, a little mesquite, and hickory aromas. The roasted smells are compelling, and I already regret not having a grill nearby to make something to complement this beer. The body is even heavier, my palate straining under its density, bouncing carbonation and slashing alcohol notes. Sticky with sweet potato, honey and hickory, this beer is full of warm, comforting winter flavors, but feels a little clumsy for it. This is easily forgiven in the aftertaste, where this Anniversary brew delivers a long aftertaste one can meditate on, preferably by a fire, and preferably by one applying its flames to a piece of meat. This is a worthy beer to mark Great Divide’s 17th Anniversary, and I hope to see it again in a year.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
17th Anniversary
A - Pours a clear amber copper. Great retention from the root beer foamed head. Average lacing.
S - Candied grapefruit flesh, canned pineapple, mango, wood, sweet vanilla
T - Big dose of rich caramel/toffee malt, maple, woody around the edges. The woody vanilla comes out more in the taste than the nose. Sweet tropical fruit in the background. Piney bitterness on the back end. Vanilla and wood on the finish.
M - Smooth and creamy, medium to full bodied.
The malts really shine here. The hops are there to do there job but take a backseat to the Malt, vanilla, and wood.
Serving type: bottle
05-05-2011
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
17th Anniversary on tap at Iron Monkey in Jersey City. Pours a cloudy orange golden color with a thin head. The aroma is like a cedar closet with some bready malt. Very little hop aroma. On the palate it comes across like a delicious barley wine. The sweetness is toned down but there is a nice toffee caramel and toast profile. Pretty solid stuff.
---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle to flute
Vanilla, bourbon, bready.
Slightly cloudy amber with a thin tan head. Taste is very malty, with, surprisingly subtle hoppiness. Great mouthfeel - oily and creamy with a pleasant alcohol bite at the end.
4.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle 18th - Piney with some nice malt backbone. The wood is there although in the background, this bottle is 8 months old. Clear amber with a thick off white head. So very smooth and rich on the palate, with the ever so slightest alcohol warmth on the throat. Malts are forefront with the hops and bitterness coming in shortly after. More of a symphony of flavors all playing nicely rather than fighting. The oak really comes through with the malts adding a nice depth. Caramel, toffee a bit of alcohol are all there. Very nice.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
18th anniversary Bottle from Sprout’s Eastlake: Appeared as a dark dense golden honey with a fluffy cotton foam head up top. The nose is dominated by bread and whole wheat fragrances with no apparent aroma of the wood aging yet somehow the wood aging must have mellowed out and practically hides any trace of them. It isn’t until my first sip am I reminded that this is a Imperial IPA style because the hops in this beer deliver an immediate dosage of bitter hops while a secure backbone of malts holds this heavy hitting beer up. I say its heavy hitting because the alcohol is apparent but it can’t compare to the bold smoky flavor left behind that might be overly wood aged—IMO.
17th anniversary Bottle from Pacific Liquor: Poured a dense golden liquid with a thin layer of foam head. As for the aroma, there was a slight hint of wood from the barrel-aging process with subtle notes of earthy hops. The flavor is subtle with the earthy bitter hops being smoothly refined by the wood barrel which has morphed this double IPA into a complex and sweet malty beer that suggests orange peel and honey.
A: 7 a: 3 f: 8 p: 4 o: 15
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
22oz bottle courtesy of my wife. 18th anniversary bottle. Pours a hazy copper with half finger white head. Lacing is chunky and sticky. Aromas of floral hops, citrus, pine, and oak. Taste is caramel, toffee, dry oak, grapefruit, mandarin, and some brown sugar and vanilla.
4.5 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
22oz bomber, 18th Anniversary, bottled on March 21, 2012. Pours a slightly opaque amber close to a caramel apple. Virtually no head. Aroma is pretty mellow, perhaps because of a year in the cellar. Taste is mellow and very even, no hot spots at all. Both the taste and aroma have subtle vanilla notes, with a nice hop finish. This beer aged very well. Spectacular.
4.6 AROMA 10/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
Subtle oak aroma but overwhelmed by earthy citrus hops. Cloudy copper color with big yeast chunks covered with a thick white foam. Bold hop bitterness with a full body. Long lasting bitterness but delicious.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle of the 17anniversary aged in cellar fridge. Pours a dark copper, malty aroma followed by the alcohol. Very good full bodied beer.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Sweet and woodden taste. Herbal at the nose with a bit of nuts and chocolate. The sweetness is balanced by a strong bitterness, making an ’harmonious extreme’ beer.
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