Great Divide Hades

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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(22oz bottle) Purchased at some yet to be known store on Olive Way in Seattle. Good prices and only a couple of blocks West of Stumbling Monk. Lasting white creamy head with a hazy gold body. Nose of peaches, coriander, orange peel, lemon zest and vanilla. Very light and enjoyable flavour - hard to believe this is only 7.3% ABV. Somewhat like Saxo, a staple in my Belgian diet. This beer is very refreshing and crisp. Impressed!

Bottled June 2007, Sampled April 2009
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three finger thick, slightly meringue like, off-white colored head that leaves some nice lacing on the sides of my glass. The beer is well carbonated with lots of bubbles rising up through the murky, orange-gold colored beer. When held up to the light the beer shows a white-gold color that is similar to a Wit because of the haziness. Fruity aromas of pear and green apple subtly perfume the aroma along with a spicy, almost pepper like character. The finish has some cracker-like grain notes to it that can be somewhat pronounced at times. There is perhaps a touch of herbal honey aromatics here as well. Not a bad aroma, I find that it is pretty nice too. Coming back to the aroma after drinking this for a bit, it can be quite aromatic; spicy, herbal and with a solid fruit backbone, it is really starting to grow on me a bit more than it did initially.

The first sip is lightly sweet tasting with a fruitiness that accentuates this. The beer finishes with a touch of a carbonic bite as well as some lingering, light, but biting bitter hop notes. There is a touch of metallic character here, some touches of white pepper, a definite ginger note and some lingering, turpene driven clove like flavors that lingers on the tongue. The fruit notes remind me most of pears, but there is also a touch of sweet green apple. The hop character is pretty subdued, but there is a touch of herbal hop character that goes along with the more apparent hop bitterness.

Quite a bit fruitier than Duvel, and it is also a fair bit sweeter too. It is quite a bit different than Duvel, but it similarly needs to be enjoyed with a dedicated full bottle and a bit of time as it starts to grown on you if you spend some contemplative time with the beer. But this is quite a bit better than the beers reputation had me thinking. This is definitely an enjoyable beer that is a bit too easy to drink given the beer’s strength.

Great Divide Brewing Company--Hades Ale--2007 22 oz. Bottle. 7.30% ABV--15 IBU’s? (4.0 /5.0) Belgian Ale--Golden. $7.99 Each. No sediment. Mild lace head. Clear thin bright yellow color. Crisp mild hop Belgian yeast ester front. Crisp dry tangy thin Belgian wheat spice body. Mild hot mild hop crisp clean Belgian spice end. Sampled 8/27/2007.

Pours hazy pale yellow with a smallish white head. Strong yeast, clove, honey in the nose. Flavor is initially spicy yeasts and hops with a trend towards a nice honeyed malty backbone. Ends clean. Pretty good.

#666 22oz bottle bought just for this rating. Served in a Duvel glass @ 53.5°. This is sure the Duvel yeast, smells just like WY1388. Aroma is light pear/apple, light pepper, mild banana, candi sugar, earthy hops, and almost a hint of ginger? Brilliant golden color with a two fingered, billowy white head and vigorous carbonation. Great clarity. Initial taste is sweet malt, white pepper, pears, mild banana, and honey followed by lemon, yeast, more white pepper, some alcohol, and some mild to moderately bitter, earthy (more dusty than muddy), lightly floral hops. This is a well made Belgian Strong Golden Ale, easy to drink with a subtle complexity which I find to be the hallmark of the style. It reminds me greatly of my own BSGA.

UPDATED: SEP 6, 2008 Clear pale yellow/gold. Small white head. Looks like a macro pale lager. Definitely doesn’t smell like one- floral perfume, light lemony citrus, crisp grains, grassy hops, just a bit of candy sweetness. Same flavors with a dry, yeasty finish. Medium body, balanced carbonation, easy to drink. Overall better than the sum of its parts. Great session beer.

28 Feb 08 22oz bottle
Hazy gold, w/ small white head, 3
Estery- bubblegum, spice, raisin, pepper. Not much hopiness or maltiness, 7
Spicy, peppery, w/ malt in the start, and a bit of bitterness in the middle, and a prickly spice on the tongue at the end, 7
Lively carbonation, med/light body otherwise, slightly acidic, 3
A pretty tasty belgian golden strong. Flavor profiles not very deep, but very tasty nonetheless. I’d have more ...17

Pours bright gold into a Trappist glass. Bright white micro head quickly subsides to skim surface and cling to rim. Sweet candi and malt aromas. Creamy, smooth and full with caramel and pez flavors. Lasting spice finish. Tastes like they got ahold of some Unibroue yeast.

Had this beer on 7/29/2007. Aroma is a sweet crisp scent. Color is a pale hazy yellow with good carbonation and thin head. Taste is crisp and bitter. Starting with a light/medium body it goes down crisp. Finish comes on with mild sweet malt flavor back by a sour yeast taste then ends dry with a nice bitterness. Its a bit more bitter then I feel a Strong Golden should be and the Belgian taste is a bit light.

Hops, yeast and citrus aroma with a light malty character. Golden yellow with a white foamy head. Malty light citrus, hay-like qualities with good balance of bitter and sweet. Even carbonation with a creamy mouth feel and dryish finish. Pretty good overall.