Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

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

22oz. bomber, almost nine bucks at Sam’s, 100th pctl beer? ok, here it goes- didn’t rouse much of a head but what was there was very finely bubbled and sticky. Daaarrrk mocha brown. Really great freshly crushed hop cone aroma, creamy chocolate nougat, dank pine forest after a rainstorm when the sun comes back out. The tongue is first coated with a dextrinous, silky blanket that graciously yelds to waves of bittter espresso with a hint of unsweetened oaken vanilla and then a green sea of hop bitterness washes it all away. Surpassed my expectations, really great imperial that is, surprisingly, nowhere near over-the-edge, just huge in all the right ways. Flippin’ sweet.

2006 (?) Vintage

7/20/2008: Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout doesn’t seem as dark as the regular Yeti as it appears more dark and less black. It has a small tan head that doesn’t stay on top very long. Vanilla and candy-like citrus are most evident in the aroma. It actually smells more like an aged barleywine than an Imperial Stout. The flavor begins with caramelized malt and bits of roastiness and semi-sweet chocolate along with an assertive citrusy hop flavor accompanied by some piney hoppiness as well. Vanilla cream and subtle oak (in the background toward the finish) follow quitely and are faily pronounced. The flavors imparted by the oak aging definitely supress the robust roastiness and over-arching hoppiness of the regular Yeti somewhat, yet manage to blend and create and favorable flavor balance at wamer temperatures (the vanilla begins to retract and the citrusy hops come forth more readily). The body of this beer is medium-full (a bit more thin than the regular Yeti), but it is still very smooth and has a mellow mouthfeel. Overall one can tell that the original Yeti is hiding out underneath the vanilla and oakiness. While this is definitely acceptable and creates a really nice beer, some may more greatly appreciate the robustness and obvious assertive hoppiness delivered by the regular, non-oaked Yet Imperial Stout...

1 Pint 6 fl. oz. bottle (9.5% Alc. By Vol. / 75 IBUs) sent to me by jsh12bama in September 2006. Thanks Jason! Rating #1217 for this beer...

Poured black into my snifter with a big brown head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate and coffee. Flavor is the same with a nicely infused wooden oaky tones. Hops are noticable but not overdone, the bitterness is well balanced with the malt. Palate is medium body not like the motor oil of Dark Lord but almost refreshing for a big stout. Carbonation is slight and only gets you in the back of the throat. Well worth the hype this is up there with Dark Lord, Speedway, and Black Albert.

Bottle shared with 1_2many. Completely black in color with a thick brown/tan head. The aroma is an excellent combination of hops and roasted malt. Flavor is intensely hoppy as well, with more roasted malt, and sweet chocolate. Fairly full bodied with a dry finish. A wonderful balance of robust malt and hops. I’ve been waiting to try this beer for a long time, and it didn’t let me down.

It poured a very dark black and an inch tall chocolate milk colored head slowly rose in the glass. It was a fine looking stout. The head remained for most of the beer, continually refreshed by swirling the glass. I was a little surprised by the hoppiness of this beer, although the label does promote it as a fairly hopped up beer. I found it a little out of place for such a dark stout. Malty and some coffee aromas, with some slight toffiness as well. This beer had many layers of flavors as it warmed up in the glass. It started quite bitter, very similar to a Bigfoot barley wine. As it warmed, it began to have almost a buttery quality, and the hoppiness definitely mellowed. It still had a very bitter aftertaste, though. I could also taste the hints of vanilla that were promised on the label. I liked this better as it warmed, but still was a bit put off by the high hop content. It had a stout mouthfeel. Rich, smooth, not overly carbonated, and warming from high ABV which was very well hidden. Overall, this beer reminded me more of a barleywine than an imperial stout. It was an interesting brew with many levels of flavors, but not my favorite.

Pours pure mahogany but is deep dark black with a nice coffee cream head. Chocolate, oak and alcohol dominate the nose. Exceptional palate, each sip takes the mouth and taste buds through a adventure like a fine Cuban. Flavor is oak, coffee and dutch chocolate with some tannins and a bitter long lasting finish.

Bottle poured in to a sniffer produced a good fingers worth of tan head that turned into a nice ring of lace around the glass. On top of the typical black body true to style The nose on this one was roasted malts (chocolate, espresso) followed by hops and some oak earthiness The hops really stand out in the flavor but it is much better compared to the regular Yeti because the oak kind of tames this out. (Along with me aging this for about a year) You get nice flavors of chocolate and coffee. A great brew but I do think the age helped it Mouthfeel was thick and smooth almost no carbonation Drinkability is good on this one I split this with my brother in law and I will say a glass was a great ending to the night

Pours a perfect black, no light survives. Tan head. Strong aroma of oak, vanilla, whiskey, chocolate, burnt toast, and roasted malts. Flavor is big on the oak and whiskey, lots of cocoa powder, dark chocolate. Finish has a bit of oak and alcohol. Mouthfeel is thick, although not the ideal "motor oil" consistency. I don’t think that I’ve ever had a beer that stands up so well to the wood aging, though. Excellent.