Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Denver, Colorado USA

A very solid example of the style that still backs up its hop punch with some slight malt. Great mix of all the classic hop characteristics. bitterness does hit you right upfront and lasts until the aftertaste. That is not really my thing but I would recommend it to any hop head or someone looking to explore double IPAs

Pours a pale copper with a small creamy persistent head. Fair bit of almost transparent yeast clumps floating all over the place, apparently Great Divide’s yeast doesn’t flocculate well. Amazingly thick lacing though. Aroma shows lots of malt for an IIPA, loads of caramel, molasses, golden syrup and nutty notes. Hops are still there in the background however, with resinous and piney notes being most prevalent. Flavours reflect the aroma: fairly malty with a lot of golden syrup and some nutty notes, before resinous hops take over, followed by an extremely piney, mildly bitter finish contributed to by some clean alcohol Quite a rich body with creamy carbonation that doesn’t manage to cut through the sweetness. The malt levels in this are off the scale. Really lacking in hops aroma and to a lesser extent flavour. None the less, quite enjoyable, though too rich to have more than a couple.

Good DIPA. Cloudy pour. Aroma is not overwhelming like many of this style. Almost like a hops slurry. Pretty malty for this style.

355 ml bottle @ Volo. Copper colored beer with an off-white to pale yellow head. Aroma is heavy, sappy pine hops. Taste is very much the same caramel with tons of pine bitterness. The label calls it hefty, and it is. Mouthfeel is almost gritty it’s so bitter and it has almost no carbonation feel.

Pours copper. Nose is loads of citrus and pine hops, sweet caramel, honey. Flavor is chewy resinous hops, sticky pine, sweet oranges and fresh grapefruit balanced out with toffee and caramel malt. Nice.

Pours a nice dark orange color, the head of the beer runs down the glass nice a slow. For a IPA there is not much of a citrus note on it. Theres more dark notes then anything. This beer makes me like hops even more , I can now label my self as a true hop head after drinking this one. Great beer people.

Pours amber with a touch of orange and a nice creamy tan head - looks great! Nose has masses of malt, caramel, nuts & toffee with pine & citrus hop notes - basically your typical US IPA. Palate is quite malty with the toffee malt bringing a full palate. Relatively low carbonation. Hops kick in the mid palate & round out with medium bitterness on the finish. A bit of a malt bomb. Would like to see a touch more carb to dry it up a touch. Abv not at all evident, which is a plus. Probably a totally different beer with a fresh sample, enjoyable all the same.

Bottle. Pours dark clear amber with a short off-white head that dissipates to surface cover fairly quickly. Aroma is very hoppy and malty and fantastic: notes of toffee, hazelnut, burnt sugar, raisins, citrus, sultanas and pine. Flavour is essentially very similar but has stronger woody and nutty characteristics while keeping the sweetness to a minimum. Mouthfeel is smooth and slightly tingly with a long lasting bitter / sweet finish. Seriously good beer.