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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Incredible. Smooth, rich and luscious, with notes of toffee, dark fruit and chocolate-covered caramel. Hints of vanilla and nuts follow in the background. It finishes with a healthy dose of hops that balance out the sweetness. Intricate notes of whiskey (Stranahan’s is awesome, BTW) and wood, providing amazing depth and complexity. As it warms, it becomes even more complex. This beer captivated me from start to finish. And to be quite honest, it was one of the finest barrel-aged beers I’ve ever had.

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).

750ml bottle. Pours a strange fecal brown with a foamy tan head. This beer does not pour like a barley wine. The aroma is of oak, whiskey, caramel, malt, chocolate, alcohol, and vanilla. The aroma is very rich in flavors and smells fantastic. The taste is of caramel malt, chocolate, grass, vanilla, and spice. Huge oak and whiskey flavors dominate the beer, but don’t make it seem unbalanced. Lingering taste of oak, alcohol, and vanilla. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy. The alcohol compliments the beer very well, but turns this beer into a definite sipper. Finish is all harsh alcohol. Although it seems to have lost any barley wine characteristics in the barrel aging process, it is still an amazing beer. One of the most enjoyable beers I have had, even though you can do little more than slowly sip on it. I goddamn loved it.

2008 Vintage (bottle #332 of 461) poured into a Stone Levitation flute. Review from notes. Big thanks to Stigs for sharing this. 4.0 A: Murky medium brown color. Two fingers of light brown creamy/frothy hybrid head. Average retention and some spotty lacing. 5.0 S: Absolutely wonderful! Bourbon is in perfect proportion and smells great. Leather, light oakiness. Almost tangy (in a spicy way) malty sweetness. Lots of toffee. Moderately boozy, which works really well in this instance. 4.5 T: Oak is a lot stronger in taste. Bourbon again is complementary, with moderate leather, vanilla, and mild citrus. Underlying barleywine is slightly doughy with lots of toffee and caramel and a mild spiciness. This is much less bitter than the regular fresh. Also, much of the hoppiness is gone, but a mild herbalness still lingers. 5.0 M: Heavier medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Good creaminess and super smooth. Not too thick or sweet like some barleywines. 5.0 D: Awesome brew. This demonstrates bourbon barrel aging at its finest. Bourbon complements a very solid barleywine. Highly recommended though I heard the second batch of this isn’t as good. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 09-25-2010 19:17:49

Bottle opened by JW77...thanks for sharing this gem Jon. Pours a nice dark brown colo with a light tan head. Aroma is damn nice...tons of bourbon, wood, vanilla, brown sugar, syrup and caramel. Flavor is full of sweet bourbon, oak, lots of vanilla, brown sugar...mmmm mmmm good!!

6/26/10. Sampled at the Tally Tasting 2010 courtesy Patrick. Huge malty aroma, nice and sweet. Wonderful sweet malty aroma with awesome coconut and vanilla. Love it.

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.

Sampled at Skyview’s tavern. To me this didn’t have many of the qualities of regular Old Ruffian (which is one of my favorite barley wines), but that doesn’t mean it was bad. The barrel aging is very apparent and this baby is super complex with high notes of oak, whiskey, vanilla, light caramel, and subdued hops. It certainly is a challenging beer, and I was up for that challenge.

Hazy red brown color with a small, light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of whiskey, sherry, vanilla, caramel, dark fruits, and some alcohol. Taste of vanilla, pine, tobacco, caramel, nuts, whiskey, and light alcohol in the finish.

Bottle from 5 points. Possibly the best bw I’ve ever sampled. A nice citrusy note adds some depth to this alcohol hot, vanilla, whiskey, oak, and cream flavored brew. Excellent.