Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Denver, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter

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Hmmmmm, I don’t pick up any Oak aging in this one. I do however pick up alcohol, not that that’s a terrible thing. Nevertheless, as expected, this is one BIG tasty beer. I have to wonder though if the alcohol flavor doesn’t mask some of the flavors that I detected in regular Yeti. Given the price difference of around $4 compounded with more flavor being released; I’m content with traditional Yeti. Unless of course I’m in the mood to drink one big bastard of a brew.

On tap at the Draught House. Pours thick and black with a brownish tan head and great lacing. Nose of chocolate and vanilla with roast and oak. Huge chocolate and roast in the flavor with some vanilla and oak. There is also a smokiness to it. Nice full body, sticky with good carbonation and a long finish. It is great to find this beer of draught. I will get some bottles and let them age.

UPDATED: APR 28, 2005 Side-by-side with the conventional Yeti. The color is the same but this has more of a peach head while the other has more of a darker beige. Aroma of the oak-aged is slightly more hoppy but in an antiseptic sense, and happily burns the nose with the high alcohol %@!. At this level there’s a simple Kahlua-like sweetness to the flavor and the alcohol has a chipotle quick-burn in the mouth and on the finish. Seems to also be a slight vanilla tint on the side of the tongue but this may be autosuggestive from the commercial description. The highlight of this beer is the nice, dry oak & hops finish. Nice beer, perhaps somewhat overrated for its 9.5% kickass properties.

Pours black with a big fluffy tan head that stays forever. Aroma is almost entirely fresh citrus and pine hops (like sticking your nose in a bag of hop pellets) with a slight roast malt coming in behind. Flavor is citrusy and piney hops, roast malt, coffee, bitter chocolate, wood, and vanilla. With a bit of the head the palate is full and creamy. The oak aging adds a nice accent but does not dominate. Drinkable for such a big beer.

love the pour on this beauty....dark opaque brown with a brown head that was chunky and large. nose of crushed red peppers and dark chocolate. flavor kicks through to the palate with a thick viscous feel. huge hop bitterness, almost too much for this style imo, with the essence of coffee, choc malt, earthy wood, and bourbon flavors. alcohol is difficult to find....all in all you cant go wrong. quite nice!!!

Thanks Cheri and Wunderbier. This was damn good stuff. A big chocolate, smoke, and whiskey aroma. The appearance was pitch black with a large tan head. The flavor was sweet chocolate, whiskey, raisins, roasted malts, coffee. The whiskey flavor isnt overpowering and the alcohol is hidden well. A freaking gem right here!

This is a very good stout but I could not detect the "vanilla character" from the oak aging. Maybe my palate is insensitive. However, I loved the dark chocolate color and the dark chocolate/coffee malts and the hefty hops. Overall, a well balanced imperial stout but not the best. I think Avery’s is ther best.

22oz bottle. The pour is thick, border-line oily. In the glass it is beautiful looking. Pitch black body topped by a dense tan head that leaves behine stunning sheets of weping lace. The aroma is really nice. Sweet chocolate malt, light citrus (grapefruit mainly) vanilla, toasted oak, over-roasted coffee, and roasted malts rounf the whole thing out. The flavor is loaded with oak. I mean lots of oak. The oak chips (rather than a barrel) lend a more woody flavor with light vanilla. This really cuts down on the bourbon aspects and I think as a result creates a wood aged beer that the bourbon haters might enjoy. The flavor is a bit shallow but still enjoyable. A lighlty harsh woody bitterness begins to dominant after the first few sips. The wood flavor lingers long after the other flavor fade away. Full creamy body. In the end I think a little less green wood flavor would help. Still an interesting beer though.

Bottle. Rating #950 side by side with the regular Yeti. Aroma is very earthy with malasses notes and cocoa powder. A certain mustiness is present. I detect vanilla and buttercreme. This ultimately had a more intriguing aroma than the non-oaked Yeti. Opaque dark dakr brown with a nice big frothy brown head. Gorgeous. Start is quite vinous and woodsy with the oak chips/barrel really coming through. Almost sour in the middle. Some vanilla is present as well. Roasted, bitter burnt chocolate to finish. Finishes smooth. Nice mouthfeel. A little too bitter and the palate isn’t as pleasant as the regular Yeti. Purchased from Town and Country in W. Springfield, Mass.

Dark Black with a big chocolaty-brown head that is long lasting with a beautiful cascade while pouring. Alcohol in the nose through and through with some hops covering a fast relativly malt heavy nose that is piercing.

The head was kind of thick still when I attempted to taste this thing. The nose is almost entirely hops and is very agressive. At this point you realize that this is not a beer... this is a fist fight and it is going to be you or the beer standing in the end. From there the taste actually mellows out quite a bit and goes more malty with oaky notes here and there. As the beer warms up the hops definately calm down but by the time you are done drinking the entire bottle you are left wanting more. And can therefore be declared the winner of this match. #667