Great Divide Barrel Aged Old Ruffian

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Denver, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Shared bottle with Timfoolery. Pours a murky brown. A little too tart for my taste. Almost like sour cherries. I was severely disappointed. Maybe a bad bottle....might have to try again. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle from someone. Thoughts are this bottle of 2011 is infected. Sort of a tart taste, even though I still taste the whiskey, barely. Almost like a wine barrel...taste the "cherry." Whatever, not impressed at all. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bomber from trade with DrSilverworm. Bottle number 1576, unknown vintage. Pours a murky dark brown color with a big bubbly head that lingers a bit. Nice complex aroma of whiskey, toffee, tobacco, vanilla, butterscotch, caramel, and biscuits. Taste is equally complex. All of the aromas balance pretty well, glad that the whiskey does not overpower. Brown sugar and whiskey sweetness is a bit over the top but not too bad. Really thick, sticky, and chewy mouthfeel. A very nice sipping barley wine.

Aroma of sweet whiskey, raisin, and toffee. Pours deep red with very small film. Taste is amazing. Solid barleywine notes of sweet dates, cherry peel, caramel, candy Apple, and a nice pine hop. This is a wonderful brew.

Bottle: The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, fruit, coconut, and bourbon. It’s a hazy orangish-brown with a small beige head. The flavor starts with moderate-heavy caramel, toffee, and fruit. Then finish has raisin, coconut,bourbon, and a hint of mint. It’s medium bodied with light-moderate carbonation.

This isn’t a monstrously complex beer, but it is so damn smooth and it does what it does so well that it deserves the high rating. Pours a deep brown mahogany color with very little head. The aroma is super concentrated with notes of burned wood, caramel, biscuit, toffee, and butterscotch. On the palate, you can taste a tinge of vanilla from the barrel, but its mostly a strong caramel, beady sweetness. Super clean finish considering how sweet it is. Lovely!

Bottle number 4262 poured a muddy brown in color with a thin coating of tan head. Aroma has vanilla, oak, dusty hops, sweet whiskey, brown sugar, and light heat. Mouth feel is medium heavy with a nice coating and plenty of carbonation for a barrel aged beer. Flavor has aged hops, plenty of barrel wood, vanilla, mellow whiskey, brown sugar sweetness, and mellow heat going into the finish. This is a nice combination because the barrel treatment does not take over but rather mellows nicely into the base beer complimenting instead of dominating.

HAvent had the regular to compare but this is a solid BA barleywine, plenty of oak and vanilla form the barrel.

Amber with a large head of beige foam. Odd nutty and musty aroma. Tart on the palate, semi-drying.

Sample, brown bottle, 750 ml, 11.8%, bottle 3347; eye: dark ruby, clear, tiny ring of pale brown head, light lacing; nose: woody, whisky, caramel, malt, bourbon, light dark fruits, anise, molasses, light vanilla; mouth: woody, whisky, caramel, malt, light hops, dark fruits, anise, molasses, light resinous hops, finale in malt with presence of molasses, full body, below-average carbonation, mildly bitter, lightly sweet, lightly alcoholic texture; overall: quite fine FRANÇAIS Échantillon, bouteille brune, 750 ml, 11,8 %, bouteille 3347; œil : rubis foncé, limpide, petit anneau de mousse brun pâle, légère dentelle; nez : boisé, whisky, caramel, malt, bourbon, léger fruits noirs, anis, mélasse, léger vanille; bouche : boisé, whisky, caramel, malt, léger houblon, fruits noirs, anis, mélasse, léger houblon résineux, finale en malt avec présence de mélasse, corsée, carbonatation sous la moyenne, moyennement amère, légèrement sucrée, texture légèrement alcoolique; en résumé : bien bon