Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Denver, Colorado USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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Cask. Very hoppy with a smooth finish. Fruity aroma and a very pleasant beer to enjoy. Experienced at the Grey Lodge Pub in Philadelphia.

A beer I heard about a lot, and it managed to live up to the expectations. Worried it might loose much of its character while travelling all the way to Europe, I carfeully opened a cooled (not chilled) bottle. Immediately the smell of freshly cut grass and hops ’hits’ you. It poured deliciously and the head was as firm as whipped egg white. The aroma is overwhelming and lasts surprisingly long - the tickle in the nose doesn’t subside easily. Copper blond, golden, and an extremely white head it looks like a sculpture. The foam nicely laces the glass and biting it is a treat in itself. The palate is not as overwhelming as I anticipated and actually that’s good. It drinks as easily as water (sorry) but reached parts of the sensory organs I previously never noticed. The aftertaste is incredibly smooth and fresh and lasts the perfect length. All in all the kind of beer that, given its reputation, may easily disappoint but it didn’t do that at all. It was a beer to open up new views on how beer can taste and I now fully understand the concept of brewing with wet (freshly harvested) hops. It made me buy a carton of 12 bombers - one of only 60 (!) available in Europe in 2009, as far as I know!

Appearance: The FHA pours a warm coppery orange color with a nice subtle (yet rocky) tan colored head. The presence of carbonation is visible as you hold the glass up to a light. There is a very nice foamy three finger head, which on the top, almost looks like frothed milk. As the head settles, it hangs on to the side of the glass leaving its fair share of lacing. Smell: As one would expect from a beer called Fresh Hop Ale, there is a ton of hop aromas on the nose right out of the glass. It’s very citrusy and clean smelling with a bit of pungency from this abundance of hops. Finally, there are lots of grassy and bitter grapefruit components present in the end that almost confuse you into thinking it’s a double. Taste: There’s not as much carbonation on the tongue as you would expect from a beer with this much head. Unlike a lot of other hoppy beers along these lines, though, there is a good amount of flavor coming through. The citrus components that I got on the nose don’t fully translate to the palate. These hops have a much grassier or pine needle quality than those others. Mouthfeel: The mouth feel on this one ranges between light and medium bodied in that your mouth wants it to be a potent Imperial IPA, but that fact is that it’s just a Pale Ale with lots of hops. It coats the tongue nicely, though, and never leaves you needing more bitterness. Overall: The beauty of this beer is that it’s not considered an Imperial IPA – it’s a Pale Ale. This difference alone brings the alcohol content down 3% from its older brother, the Hercules Double IPA, which I prefer greatly over this. The problem with the FHA being a Pale Ale, however, is that hop heads will really wish there was more going on in this glass if it’s going to include lots of fresh hops. You are basically getting 75% of the experience of a double IPA. Ultimately, this is a really nice beer because it can be a lower alcohol percentage beer while still hanging on to a lot of the same hoppy characteristics of a double. And to be perfectly honest, it truly is better than a lot of the “Imperial” IPAs I’ve had from other breweries around the world.

Incredibly crisp. The use of whole leaf hops is very evident given the grassy aroma and flavor.

Bomber form Village Beer Merchant. Light amber pour with fluffy off-white head that didn’t really go away and left a beautiful ring of lace after each gulp. Aroma of mainly fresh American hops, sweet malt. Light enough body to chug. Absolutely delicious fresh hop flavor with citrus and herbal notes. Light biscuity malt and pleasant hop finish. Well done harvest pale ale!

This is really nice hoppy beer! with a nice alcohol percentage. I don’t like too much alc in my beer.You smell the fresh hops and I taste great. Now in botlle in the BeerTemple Amsterdam.

An extremely hoppy pale ale that probably has more in common with an IPA than a pale. I would drink this all the time if I could. Deliciously bitter and fragrant. I thought it was more piney than citrusey but I’m no expert.

Stop your search! This is it! A perfectly balanced american pale ale. Very hoppy yet smoth and fresh. Orange with a fluffy white head. Aroma is light grass and citrus. The Flavor is fantastic. Rich, with big hop at the end. The only downside is that I only had one.

2003, V1.0 on the bottle. I would say the best part of this beer is enjoyed before the first sip. Beautiful copper body with a slight head. The lace patterns left in the glass is exceptional. The nose itself seems sticky and was quite unique. The taste is average I would say. Having the name hop in the name, I expected this to jump out in flavor and really grab me. I was left with some hoppy flavor along with sweetness of the malt. All in all, not a bad beer, however I must say I was somewhat disappointed.

Poured with a nice amber color and big head. Grassy aroma hops dominate and hold all the way through. Balanced well with medium body of sweet malts. This is an excellent drink. I kind of view it as a barley wine light. To me it’s on the edge, any more hops would be over the top and any more malts would be too much. Very good.