Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

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

Bottle, shared w/ danielcurtis81. Very bright orange. Lots of citrus. Lots of alcohol at first, but the taste improves and the overpowering alcohol taste fades as the beer warms a little. Hop overload hits well. Not a bad double IPA, though not my favorite.

Draught. Pours hazy orange-amber with a creamy, slightly off-white head. Nose is sweet caramel and citrus, apricot, bit of pine. Taste starts off with caramel sweetness from the malts complemented by ripe apricot, with a citrusy, slightly piney hop bitterness coming through towards the backend, and a nice, mild, lingering bitterness on the palate to combat the massive fruity sweetness of this brew. Palate is slick and syrupy, mild carbonation.

Huge beer with a ton of great hop presence. This is not a session beer for me but stands alone as a great representation of the wonderfull 2IPA’s coming from the West Coast.

In the bottle from By the Bottle in Vancouver, WA.
Pours clear, medium amber with a medium, white head and decent lacing. Wonderful fruit aroma. Peaches for days. Great taste! Probably my favorite based on taste alone. I always love the super fruity and floral IPAs. That being said, this is kind of a one trick pony. Even though it is 9.5%, it’s really all about the hop flavor and aroma. Malts lend to a very respectable mouth-feel but not contributing a lot to the flavor. Which personally I don’t mind, but makes it a little less well-rounded in the grand scheme. All in all a great tasting beer and that’s all that matters!

12oz. bottle. Pours a hazy apricot with a cream clingy head and some small floating yeast. Aroma of intense pine, lemon, and caramel. Flavor is full-bodied, over the top, and utterly delicious. I tasted sweetening notes of caramel malt, a touch of roasts, and some ripe fruit. This is, however, all superbly complemented by a barrage of fresh, crisp hops that yield flavors of grapefruit, lychee, lemon, and of course, much bitterness. The palate on this brew is surprisingly crisp, and the finish is nice and long. Finish is bitter primarily (it is a double ipa!), but still well balanced to me: hop-centric, yet backed by a good helping of malt. This is a standout.

Pours a cupric amber with moderate fluffy head. Particulate matter is suspended in the glass. It’s quite a beautiful appearance. Nose is strong of delicious hops. Taste is significant hoppy, just the way an IPA should be. The hoppiness fades away and gives a slight sweet tingle for aftertaste. It kind of feels refreshing. It hides the alcohol very well. I could get in trouble with this one. My favorite IPA thus far.

Bottle. Pours a very deep amber/orange color with nary a head. Very citrusy nose with malts very present. Taste is very malty with a bitter hop back. Maybe too much as the hop lingers a very long long time. The mouth feel is thick and cream almost stout like. I’m not normally an IPA fan, but I kind of like this stuff. It’s pretty sweet and not a all over hopped. A very good beer.

Bottle. A good beer, although a disappointment. Both the aroma and the flavour is rather one dimensional. A little too bitter and there is a lack of real character.