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Great Divide Old Ruffian

Great Divide Old Ruffian  - Barley Wine

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 Percentile 
99
overall
Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine

Denver, Colorado USA

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
8703.91/5.03.91/5.010.27%93.5Snifter
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Commercial Description:
Old Ruffian is a hefty, hop-forward Barley Wine. Seemingly mellow at first sniff, with its subtle fruit aromas and complex caramel sweetness, this deep mahogany-hued ale quickly shows its true character marked by bold hop flavors and massive hop bitterness. Old Ruffian’s rich, slightly creamy, caramel malt mouthfeel balances its grapefruit, pine, and floral hop flavors, working wonders on your palate.
A mind-numbing 90 International Bittering Units (IBUs).
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 Rune (2748), Tromsø, Norway
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/105/515/20
Oct 3, 2008  
250ml on tap at Den Tatoverede Enke. Cloudy mahogany body under a loose, tan head. Flowery smell with notes of biscuit. Prominent taste of dry pine and grapefruit giving way to notes of caramel malts. Hoppy dryness beneath resulting in an increasingly and prolonged bitter ending. Full bodied and a bit heavy to drink (Thanks to Guri from VG for the treat, Copenhagen 16.09.2008).


 cgarvieuk (4159), Edinburgh, Scotland
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/56/103/513/20
Oct 3, 2008  
Bottle at EBF copenhagen 2008 ... Red brown ... big sweet barley wine nose ... juicy pine ... quite a lot of bitterness ... loads of pine hop and just a bit rough.


 elihapa (1033), Honolulu, California, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Oct 1, 2008  
Pours a mahogany-amber color with chill haze. Head is a medium sized, fluffy, creamy tan color. Aroma is of floral bouquet, hops, caramel, and nuts. Smells more like an American Strong Ale, to be honest. Front palate is smooth, with notes of wood, nut, candied fruit, and underlying sweetness. Mid-palate reveals more fruity flavors, also introducing a hop character that will build through the finish. Finish is a touch sharp, featuring warming alcohol, bitter hops, and some fruit-cake. Overall, this is a tough Barley Wine to top. I will have to dock it one notch because I just can’t get it out of my head that this beer veers too close to other American styles of ASA (in the flavor) and Double IPA (in the aroma, and perhaps the sharpness


 austone (999), Turku; Pori, Finland
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/104/513/20
Sep 25, 2008  
Draught @ Plan B. Hazy red copper, firm beige head. Grapefruit hoppy aroma, sweet molasses. Peppery, a bit tangy hoppy flavor, liquorice and fresh ginger. Sharp spicy finish. Full bodied, smooth low carbonation. Not as soothing as I hoped.


sanfiltj (6), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
does not count click to see why this rating of Great Divide Old Ruffian  does not count
4.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
10/105/59/104/518/20
Sep 21, 2008  
Couldn’t imagine a better introduction into barley wine. The flavor lives up to what you’d expect from an ale called "old ruffian." Don’t let its’ fruit filled bouquet fool you, this beer will challenge even roughest of veteran beer barons.


 harrisoni (6703), Ashford, Kent, England
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Sep 21, 2008  
Draught at Plan B, Copenhagen. Clear chestnute, thin beige head. Wow, tha’s a big hit of hop and then really good malty fruity body. Big, big, just a big hit of everything. Not too sweet, not too syrupy, massive cascade, centennial hops. Heat on finish. Lovely.


 luttonm (275), Belgrade, Serbia
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/103/516/20
Sep 19, 2008  
Very interesting barley wine, but an outlier for the style. Can taste the normal profile on first sip but it is quickly run over by a rush of hops, much along the lines of a dipa. remarkably bitter for a barley wine. has a lighter, fruit nose with building hops. Dry finish with lingering bitterness. a little too much for me.


 trevor211 (500), Seattle, Washington, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/104/515/20
Sep 19, 2008  
Pours a murky dark copper color with a very good head. Citrus hops immediately on the nose, with sticky-sweet malts - almost toward the aroma of DFH’s 90/120 min. IPAs. The flavor is remarkably bitter and hoppy, more toward a IIPA than a barley wine - but with the pungeant complexity of the latter. Strong up front, but with a clean finish - perhaps too clean. It made me wish the flavor lingered a bit longer. Very good, though.



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