Great Divide Old Ruffian

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

Bottle with a little age on it (not sure how much). Pours a deep auburn with an off-white head. Huge citrus hops flavors, plus roasty caramel malts, some dark fruits. No surprise, huge hop flavor on the front transitions to caramel maltiness and finally hints of chocolaty alcohol and backing hop bitterness. A little thick in the mouth, though the carbonation cuts it quite nicely. Really good.

Bottle. Red/amber colour with medium creamy off-white mostly lasting head. Sweet malty aroma with notes of caramel. Sweet bitter flavor.Heavy bitter finish. Oily palate.

tap @ papago... pours a dark caramel color with a frothy white head which leaves a bunch of sticky lacing. floral aroma with notes of brown sugar, citrus rind, pine and a burn from the spice/alcohol. flavor is the same as the aroma. not overly sweet with a dry bitter piney finish. alcohol burns a little on the breath as it warms but that’s to be expected. medium body for the style with a really smooth oily texture. no stickiness or cloying sweetness as too many BW tend to have...nice.

Pours dark copper with light tan head. Aromas of malts and caramel. Flavor is sweet and malty and finishes with a nice hoppy bitterness. Alcohol is well hidden for over 10%. Full body with minimal carbonation and a creamy, syrupy mouthfeel. This is a very good barley wine. I will definately have this again.

draft at barley’s in greenville. pours a darker ruby color than some other barley wines. aroma is very sweet, with floral hops and citrus dominating and maybe a bit of vanilla. mouthfeel is very solid. the beer coats the palate leaving a warm feeling due to the 10.2% abv. flavor came through very well with bitter hops all around and spotted with caramel malt. overall, a great beer.

Bottle. Nice sweet malt aroma with heavy hop and vanilla tones. Cloudy amber color very slight lacing. Very sweet malt flavor with aftertones of candy and hops. A very good barley wine style brew. I will buy this again!

22oz bomber poured into a nonic. Pours a beautiful burgundy orange with a hefty off-white head that clings to the glass. Sweet berries and moderate amounts of alcohol come through on the nose with the slightest touch of hops lending support in the end. This is a sweet smelling beer that I would almost call perfumey. Slightly nutty up front with an extreme blast of alcohol that knocks your socks off. Berries and pomegranate dominate this sweet palate which finishes hot. Extremely complex beer with lots to enjoy. Feels smooth with medium carbonation and medium body. I expected the body to be lighter due to the ABV but it holds up well. A slow slipper for special occasions.

Bottle: Muddy orange/red color, good size head that faded quickly. Aroma is the smell of sweet hops and malt. Intial taste was malt and spice, then a strong amount of bitter hops! Through out the bottle it really did change flavors. It became much more smooth and easy to drink then intially. Texture was medium syrup like texture. Over all a good barley wine. I think it would of been alot better if I let it age. It reminded me of Iron Hill Sasqautch.