Great Divide Old Ruffian

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Denver, Colorado USA

*did not buy would not buy* aroma: smells like a dipa. no real malt nose. hmm.. lets just assume they ment to call it a hop wine. idiots. pepper sweet candy malts. cheap booze aroma. app: magical amazing garnet color. with brown overtones. flavor: ha.. kinda tastes like an old stock ale. there are lots more malts in the mouth than the smell would lead one to think. .. kinda the opposite of the comercial description. the hops are not very flavorful just peppery and spicy acidic. the malts are warm but a bit cheap. the booze is a bit harsh chemicaly. this is not bad just not good. better than i thought it would be from the smell. palate: fine but s bit flat. OA: eh. you may take it but i could leave it.

Deep amber in color with a reddish hue......thick white head. Balanced aroma that’s not overwhelming. Very complex hop flavors up front, with an extremely smooth mouthfeel for a barley wine. Finishes with a sweet malt back and a lengthy bitter aftertaste.

Reddish amber hazy pour with a thin off white head. Aroma is plum and raisin with a strong caramel malt background. Caramel malts way in big on the flavor, very rich. I catch some of the citrus from the hops but with about a year under its belt this bottle is getting a bit mellow. The dry fruits round it out. Finishes slightly bitter, smooth, no hint of the abv.

Pours a deep red color with just a hint of a light tan head. It fades fast. Aroma is sweet and malty with a touch of something grassy and citrusy in there as well. The taste starts out kinda like it smells, but the piney-hop flavor quickly destroys any trace of maltiness. The finish is dry and bitter and it LASTS. All in all ,probably a good example of this style from Great Divide, but it’s a bit too hoppy for me to drink often.

Pours a cloudy reddish brown with a small foamy head. Aroma of fruit, caramel, hops, malt and grapefruit. Flavor of malt, hops, caramel, spices and a bitter piney grapefruit finish. Nice lacing and good mouthfeel on this one too. This is a really nice barleywine, I really enjoyed it.

Chalk up another winner for Great Divide! Pours a deep amber maybe even cherry or burgandy color. Nice thick khaki head, especially considering the alcohol content, which produced a bunch of sticky lacing all over the glass. Aroma is nice and hoppy with some citrus fruits. The flavor starts with sweet caramel malty notes. After that is the big grapefruit, tangy, hoppy blast. The aftertaste is grapefruit and a bit winey. Considering the abv here this is quite easy to drink and smooth. This is flat out an excellent brew. If you’re a fan of the style I definitely recommend this!

American style barley wine with a very pungent, citrusy hop aroma and flavor with a malty and refined taste followed by a somewhat decent palate. May be a bit less astringent with some age, but overall this is up there among my favorite barley wines.

Vintage 2005 Pours dark copper with a mohagany tinge. Barely hazy at cellar temperature, with a one-inch head of dense beige. Sheets of clingy, fine lacework. Very nice. Aromatics are still brash after three years. Massively malty with an aggressive high-alpha blast. Oxidation is plenty apparent, with sherry and damp paper shining through. The nose rounds out with citrus-rubbed cedar bark and some smoke-funk. On the large side of medium bodied, plenty chewy and tacky. The pallet has an assertive bitterness up front, drying malt and pine-bark midway, and lingering citrus pith and alcohol follow through. Finishes with lingering bitterness, grapefruit zest, woody tannins, and a building warmth. Three years has not mellowed this ruffian much, and the oxidation is detracting in the nose. Past prime.