Great Divide Barrel Aged Old Ruffian

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

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle 193/461: Big thanks for this one maniac. Beautiful mahogany body with a light ivory head. A great aroma, nice oak and vanilla accents. Taste is outstanding, a bit thicker than expected which is nice. Great toffee, nuts, oats... some dark fruit, maybe plums. Smooth ending with great accents from the oaking. Outstanding beer overall.

Bottle. Aroma has big notes of dried dark fruits, tawny port, sweet caramel, wood, whiskey, brown sugar, vanilla and black licorice. Very dark brown hue with a slight rusty tinge. Murky. Small off-white head that mostly diminished and left no lace. Flavor is very sweet and heavy bitterness. Palate is full bodied and oily soft. Overall a very nice Barley Wine. All of the flavors are very well blended and the whiskey is not boozy. Loved it!

2008 vintage (#78/461) 750ml bottle with a bottled on date of April ‘08 and a 12.7% ABV compared side-by-side with a 2012 (#0860) 750ml bottle that has an 11.8% ABV. 2008 – Pours a murky, deep amber, slightly orange tinted body with a finger-width, creamy, tannish beige head that dissipates slowly and leaves lots of pretty lacing. Gorgeous beer. Aroma seems a bit messy at this point. Its pretty sweet and the malts seem oxidized. The hops haven’t completely gone away, but only a light floral and earthy citrus note remains. A bit of an orange note from the hops mixes with lots of caramel and some toffee. There is still plenty of oak that gives off a bit of a char note, but also seems to accentuate the oxidization of the malts. A light raisin and date note along with some brown sugar. Flavor is similar with the oak really dominating while the malts don’t give off the oxidization that the aroma displayed. Maybe the “accidental” 20-month aging helped with the oak’s presence. The malts aren’t as complex as the fresher bottle, but they have aged nicely with lots of rich caramels, toffees, and a light molasses. A light orange comes out again from the floral and earthy hops mixing with the malts as this makes way for a big, pretty dry woodiness. The beer is sweet enough and big enough to handle the oak, but if this were any thinner the oak would be way over-the-top. A light vanilla and a bit of a whisky note mixes nicely with the oak. Some brown sugar and a touch of chocolate towards the end as some dates and raisins make their way into the mix. Finishes dry from the big woodiness and all-of-a-sudden, lots of vanilla shows up along with a sweet malt backing and light dark fruit note that isn’t nearly as rich and deep as the 2012 bottle. Medium bitterness and a touch of booze before leaving a lengthy aftertaste with lots of wood and vanilla. Medium, smooth body that was probably thinned a bit from the extended aging with a soft, medium-light carbonation. Overall, I was expecting to like this bottle more than the 2012 because I’ve been carefully cellaring it for four years and it was the original release, but this is no where near as good as the fresher version. This may be passed its climax or maybe it was aged too long on wood, but I did enjoy it nonetheless. The aroma seemed oxidized, but it didn’t show up in the flavor. The oak is really dominant and I’m guessing it was way over-the-top when this was first released, but throughout the years it seems to have blended well with the malts that have also settled into their own. I like the bigger vanilla note that comes out towards the end and despite this being thinner than the 2012 bottle, it still has a really nice palate. I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to pick this up in Denver four years ago and hold onto it like I have, but if anyone still has a bottle of the original release, I would drink it now before the flavor gets oxidized (6,5,7,4,13=3.5). 2012 – Pours a cloudy, deep amber, slightly orange tinted, but less so than the 2008 bottle with a finger-width, creamy, tannish beige head that’s a bit lighter than the 2008 while dissipating slowly and leaving lots of pretty lacing too. Absolutely gorgeous. Aroma is awesome. Sweeter with lots of heavy caramels and some molasses along with a slight boozy note that dies after an initial whiff and plenty of aggressive hops that are floral and earthy. Pleasant oak and a light whiskey note with some rich dark fruits consisting mostly of dates and raisins. Plenty of toffees come out as this warms along with a nice vanilla, a touch of chocolate, and some brown sugar. Flavor is absolutely wonderful. Rich dates and raisins with deep caramels, toffee, molasses, brown sugar, and a light chocolate up front. Lots of oak in the middle with a soft vanilla that blends so well with the sweetness of the malts. A sturdy amount of earthy and floral hops that also balances the malts while never distracting from the pleasant oak and nice whiskey note that comes out more towards the end. Finishes nicely dry from the oak and hops, but rich, deep, and sweet from the malts and dark fruits with an awesome vanilla note coming out more as this warms. Medium bitterness before leaving a lengthy aftertaste. Full, creamy, smooth body and a soft, medium-light carbonation. Overall, an absolutely breathtaking barleywine. The malts are sweet and complex, but never cloying. Lots of hops to balance, but they never distract from the malts or the barrel aging that offers plenty of oak, vanilla, and a very pleasant whiskey note. Remarkable palate and no hint of booze that reminds me that yes, I do want to drink this forever and ever and ever. Wow…this just might be the best beer I’ve ever had. Drink this NOW. Utterly stunning (9,5,10,5,18=4.7).

750 @dmac’s willblake is back in NJ tasting-thanks dmac –pours copper with offwhite bubbles. Aroma is medium/dark fruit-dates, 2nd medium malt-peat. Taste is medium/dark fruit-dates, 2nd medium malt-peat/wood.

Bottle @ home. 11.8% abv, 2012 vintage. Let’s see if this mofo is worth $25-28 for a 750mL. Dark red orange appearance with a nicely carbonated, tan head. Initially a pretty floral hoppy aroma but that gets overtaken by an oaky, whiskey, dark caramel, light vanilla, a bit boozy aroma. Warming, dark fruity, rich caramel/chocolate, whiskey, big vanilla/oaky, coconut flavor. The floral hoppiness doesn’t come through nearly as much in the flavor. More smooth and less boozy than the normal version despite the higher abv. Lots of dark fruits in the flavor and a fair amount of toffee and caramel. Smooth, toasty caramel malty, dark toffee finish. I’m quite surprised on the drinkability and smoothness of this brew. No burn on the finish and not really any fusel alcohol notes. Not sure if it’s worth the huge price tag, but I do like it a lot more than the normal version.

2012 bottle #3041, opened at home, treat to myself. Thick dark reddish basically black pour, cream khaki off white head that fades fairly quickly but laces well. Aroma is huge dark fruits, big molasses, toffee, nice whiskey notes with hints of vanilla, lots of burnt toffee/caramel, slight grassy notes as well but really big sweet caramel, dark fruits and whiskey notes throughout. Taste is fantastic, big smooth toffee, dark fruits, big vanilla and coconut notes mixing into a woody whiskey middle, nice sweet dark fruits with some green and dark raisin, figs, more burnt sugars towards the end with a fairly sweet finish, the heat comes through just slightly but really not much. Fantastic stuff.

In short: A heavy malted and woody beer that is way too easy to drink. Excellent
How: Bottle 750ml. First release (2009?), bottle #168/461. Consumed when over 2 years of age. Big tanks to Rob from Goebel for this one
The look: Cloudy bronze body topped by a persistent small beige head
In long: Nose is heavily butterscotch, alcoholised dessert and only a mild-medium barrel presence. Taste is surprisingly not too cloying sweet, this is a 12.7% beer with the alcohol ratjer well hidden, rich caramel, some butterscotch, light notes of berries, toffee, light buttery notes. There is a strong barrel presence but it feels like straight wood barrel and not bourbon barrels or other boozy barrels. Here it is more like good old straight old wood barrels and it dries out the beer very nicely and adds a pleasant light astringency. With my first glass I thought it was pretty good but then the more I drank it the more I loved it, which is exactly the opposite of the effect a monster 12.7% beer usually has on me. Excellent beer, surprisingly I preferred this batch over the regular Old Ruffian. Another big bottle of big sweet beer that I drank too easily, but I’m not blaming my weight gain on the people working in the crafbeer industry, because I don’t eat those people.

Bottle via trade with boamr, thanks Ryan for this rare gem. Poured ugly, slightly muddy orange/choclate brown body with no real head, a few super small bubbles of light beige with super agitation. Aroma more than made up for the ugly appearance, nice and sweet overall with notes of honey, molasses, toffee, barrel, hint of vanilla, bread. Fuller body with a syrupy feel, soft carbonation, and a chalky finish. Flavor is similar to the aroma with notes of vanila, toffee, molasses, oak barrel, dry toast, dry caramel, maple syrup. really nice stuff here.

Bottle shared thanks to Dmac. Pours out a moderate to murky dark caramel color. Aroma is of bourbon, oak, some caramel, toffee and wood. Taste is a very nice balance, caramel toffee, oak, bourbon, vanilla, light earthy notes with not much of the stronger content showing through, just enough to let you know it is there.

Bottle 831 of 1188 shared by Dmac at his house. Pours murky caramel. Nose/taste of caramel, toffee, vanilla, oak, whiskey and sweet malts. Medium body.

Pours a beautiful brown color. Nice thick head that hangs around. Fantastic flavor of sweet malts, heavy vanilla and oak. The flavor is fairly hot with alcohol, which is the only flaw that I can find. Great beer.