 kepano (239), Meudon, France
Mar 21, 2006
I surprise myself by continually returning to IPAs in spite of my mild aversion to strong hops. I find the popularity of IPAs so intriguing that I have forced myself, again and again, to evaluate (for educational purposes) what are considered some of the finest examples. Great Divide’s Hercules was yet another trial for me, in this encompassing experiment. The pour produced an enticing peachy red body, impeccably clear beneath the creamy head dotted of craterous formations. The nose is immediately reminiscent of every other IPA. Grapefruit and burnt toast, and the variable pineapple, mango and soap. I have begun to think that American brewers have cornered themselves into a style that leaves little to creativity and art. I believe we are on the verge of innovation. This plateau is, I am certain, sociologically natural, and will hopefully result in my newfound admiration of this unborn style. Nonetheless, I take a sip. Bitter. Grapefruit and orange are dominant some creaminess appears with thought, but the dry and bitter palate does not seem accommodating for complex flavors. Another conventional IPA and another checkmark in my book.
DruncanVeasey (2694), The Penguin’s Arms, Europe, Warwickshire, England
Nov 10, 2009 Bottle. Lightly burnished bronze with a fine cream collar. Neat lychee, toffee, Turkish Delight and cheesecake base aroma with some woodsy high alcohol heat behind it. Alcohol warm from the off; orange liqueur silkiness, soap, caramel, digestive biscuits and pistachio chipping in. Like DFH 90min this has got a luxurious malt slickness that carries the hops and alcohol with finesse. Mellow, rounded, glowy IPA . Even the missus liked it.
heavy (815), Split, Croatia
Nov 9, 2009 31/10 A 0.355 l bottle courtesy of ogivlado, great thanks for sharing! First double IPA for me. It poured orange body with small head. Cascade hops aroma along with some caramel malt. Bitter citrus and sweet malty, flavor. Malt showed roasted sugar, vanilla, plums jam, toffee, slight chocolate and some wood. Full in body with longer bittersweet finish. Expected much more hops, but it was very pleasant like this for sure.
waltersrj (15), Washington, USA
Nov 2, 2009 This thing is epic. Poured a dark, deep golden/orange color. Good amount of a white head that lingers. The nose is huge on hops, citrus, and pines. Taste is light caramel, citrus fruits, and a bit of malty sweetness. The aftertaste is a little bitter and it definitely warms you up with the alcohol. Great beer, and my favorite Double IPA.
Doggythedog (1541), Split, Croatia
Nov 1, 2009 Bottle that ogivlado shared with me and heavy
Poured a lovely ambery-red body, small off white head that went away relatively fast. Woody maltiness in the nose, a bit sticky, very light hopiness actually, a bit jammy. Light caramelly, fruity, somewhat grainy malty taste with some herbal bitter hoppiness, not as strong as I expected by any means. Ok, bitter aftertaste, a bit understated. Nice but expected more, far more.
Fratto (670), Arlington, Texas, USA
Oct 30, 2009 On tap at Flying Saucer Fort Worth. Definite hop aroma, but with rye and dark fruit. Well balanced flavor. A little fruity. Very hoppy. A little malts. Well done.
Cavie (1318), Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Oct 29, 2009 Dark rouge pour. Woody hops on the nose with earthy elements. Very creamy mouthfeel. Taste is soil hops. Has a clay feeling with hops that came from the ground. Has also a small amount of fruit, but not citrus. Dark fruits, but only in the slightest. A heavily aged double. But flavorful.
TheGent (144), , Massachusetts, USA
Oct 28, 2009 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
Davros (202), Australia
Oct 26, 2009 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.
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