Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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UPDATED: OCT 16, 2004 ReRate-After having this beer on tap, i must say that the bottles do not hold up for very long. i had a bottle about a month ago and it was fading fast. the hops were not punch and the malts were getting kinda cardboardy. I lowered the rating by .3 (bottle 4.0-tap-4.5) 22oz bomber-HUGE thanks go to Mromero548 for the 4 bombers that he picked up for me of this beer. This beer will knock your socks off if you like hoppy beers. pours a deep orange hue with very good lacing. mild carbonation and slightly viscus for a IIPA. Looks very juicy!. The aroma is sugary sweet citrus hops-grapefruit, orange, tangerine, sugar surup, carmel apples-to much to mention. The flavors are very complex, almost to dreadnaugt standards. They start out sweet crystal malts, then a nice pineapple citrus mid section followed by a slap in the face of piney hops. Very resiny finish of the piney hops-almost like gin. This is awesome stuff! Its really good that such an average company can put out a brew of this quality. This is definately more piney than dreadnaught, which i almost prefer sometimes. Alcohol was present, but added to the gin-like quality of the finish. I would love to do a vertical against dreadnaught with this one. This one has some of the citrus notes in the aroma of Dreadnaught and the piney finish kinda like Yulesmith. Fantastic stuff!

Die Schaumkrone hält mittelmäßig, es riecht intensiv würzig mit citrusbitteren Aromen. Geschmacklich überwältigt mich erstmal die herbe ich bekomm die ersten schlucke kaum runter weil es so intensiv herb-bitter ist, nach ein paar Schlucken geht es ein bisschen besser, aber die hopfeneinheiten sind einfach überwältigend, und ihre Erfahrung wert. Test vom 28.8.2010, Gebinde: Fass Noten: 10,11,9,11,-,11 - 10,57

Tap at Rattle & Hum. Chestnut with a thin off-white head. Nose is kinda fresh leaves, fresh hop and fresh grass. Some warm malt but not overpowering the main symphony. Mouth is sweet syrup, hop resin, some dry fresh hop as the flavour progresses, then grass and dryness. Big long dry semi-sweet end, balanced by bitterness. For me it is a solid IPA, but it doesn't push any boundaries, and for me, great and innovative is better than great. ---via BeerBuddy

UPDATED: MAY 30, 2012 Bottle. The pour was a murky medium copper orange with a large (2-3 finger) rocky cream colored head that had decent retention, finally reducing to a thin layer of residue with some excellent sheeting of sticky lacing. The aroma was of a toasted grain malt, pine and floral hops and a mildly sweet yeast with notes of citrus (grapefruit / peel), toffee, caramel and a mild alcohol tinge. The taste was bitter sweet and a tad malty with a hint of toffee early on, with the taste becoming a bit hoppier and having a strong grapefruit presence and a mild citrus peel bitterness towards the end. The flavor lingered for a good while with the taste of citrus and hops settling nicely on the taste buds, meanwhile a mild alcohol warming sensation just added to the enjoyment of this tantalizing brew. Mouthfeel was almost medium in body with a dry oily texture and a good lively carbonation. Overall a DIPA with a well balanced blending of flavors that created a smooth sweet bitter taste, which made this a very enjoyable and drinkable brew.

355 ml bottle.
Rated on 20110623.
Pours very beautiful amber color with light head that leaves some nice lacing. Aroma of overly sweet american hops, fruits and pine. Flavor of mild malts, syrupy sweet fruits and apricot. Too sweet palate but nicely hopped and bitter. Could be quite balanced without the sweetness.
4414

Aroma: alcohol, caramel, citrus, grass Apperance: amber, clear, white foam, Taste: medium sweetness, medium bitterness, Palate: light body, thin feel, lively, bitter,

Bottle. Pours an amber/orange color with medium white head. Aroma of grapefruit, caramel, honey, floral hops amd perhaps some pine. Taste, bitter hops, honey, grapefruit, tangerine and maybe some peach. Nice long bitter finish. Alcohol is known. Excellent Double IPA.

Bottled. Poured a deep copper, thin white head. Aromas of caramel, resin, citrus and herbs. Taste is very hoppy and malty, bitter finish. While strong it’s very drinkable.

In April 2008 from BA. A 335ml Brown Bottle, obtained from Borough Market, London. Recommended by BA ColoradoBobs. Poured into a Hoegaarden ’Grand Cru’ stemmed tulip glass. A dull, deep terracotta orange body with an off-white almost biege coloured, tight but thin foaming head. The beers body has a very slight haze to it, but not enough to detract from its fine looks. The aroma was all hops and more hops, some malty molasses type smells did pop up if I sniffed hard and long enough. I tasted this straight after a Titan IPA, this is a seriously hoppy brew compared to that (and I thought that hoppy). It is a little too hoppy for my English tender tastebuds, but it obviously hits all the right notes for the style. I obviously can’t compare it with others within its class, but overall I liked it. Not used to 9.10% beers (although I do hit Belgium regular), this seemed well balanced and hid the alcohol very well. Will this turn me into a hop monster? Probably not. Will I look out for hoppy American beers in the future? Probably. Thanks John, only another 5 Colorado beers left to try/review (before I buy some more?).

Oh, wow. A fabulous, balanced double IPA. Sweet fruity hop aroma - good bitterness and citrusy hop flavor. A favorite.

bottle aroma, malty funkness,some flora hops color, rich amber, forthy white head taste, first flora hops then the malt background picks up nice balance overall, good beer