Great Divide Old Ruffian

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

Serve in Snifter

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12/2011 Vintage. Pours ruby amber with a small tan fizz. Smells fruity and floral with some caramel notes. Tastes very bitter with hints of sweetness. Full-bodied with a slick texture and mild mouth-carbonation, Great Divide Old Ruffian finishes with a lingering bitterness. Perhaps it would be better if aged.

This beer furthers my suspicion that if you want big, extreme, powerful beers that will make your beard grow thick, Great Divide is your brewery. And among their many exemplars of manly, overpowering concoctions, this one stands out as the toughest that I’ve had so far. The aroma is thick and harsh, with an onslaught of piney, resiny hops, grapefruit and other citrus, sweet, syrupy malts, and a salty (even umami) note that I can’t quite put my finger on. Trust me, it’ll wake you the hell up. The palate is thick, almost syrupy, perfect for the intensity of the flavors that it conveys. The taste is, of course, super bitter, with accompanying sweet caramel notes and also salty and umami notes, like soy sauce. Appearance-wise, it’s clear mahogany with an off-white head. Awesome stuff all around.

Wow. Very fresh. Crisp clarity, deep amber glow, beautiful ring of head with a big stubborn island that swims around the middle. Is this a barley wine?? Huge on hops, I hardly sense anything from the malt, massive hops and a touch of booze if you really snort for it. Taste is so incredibly well balanced, the hops are definitely the star of the show but with a little malt support they don’t burn your bad self... I have a feeling that some might night like the touch of booze but, in that case, you maybe shouldn’t be drinking this style to begin with... Feel is perfect, ’nough said. This is a must for BW fans and hop heads alike, this beer is damn close to perfect. I usually am a huge fan of crusty old barleywines, but this one is gonna stay right at the top of my fresh list. They could call it a DIPA and I would be none the wiser. Tasty shit.

Bomber. Caramel, sweet fruit aroma with a white foamy head that lasted a while over the dark amber fill. The med-light body had a crisp finishing texture. The taste was a nice blend up front of floral grapefruit hop and sweet breadiness. It finished with a dry bitter taste that I quite enjoyed.

*(Cuvée jan. 2010): Magnifique couleur sanguine avec une tête beige crémeuse et vivante. L’arôme est abricots noyé dans le caramel et l’alcool, très sucré, très invitant. En bouche c’est complètement malsain. Une présence velouté, onctueuse, avec la présence fantôme des anciens houblons qui engourdi la langue et procure un fini assez sec. Le caramel tapisse sans retenu pour laisser une délicate amertume avant de partir.

Think white head slowly dissipates. Very pleasant aroma, sweet floral and malty. Initially sweetness is quickly overcome by very strong malty and happy flavor. Very dry mouth finish. Excellent early wine beer. The extra hoppiness and heavy malt does an excellent job of masking the high (10.2%) alcohol content. Very good barley wine.

Picked up a 22oz bottle at Zipp’s. I thought it was cool how it has a good boozy barleywine flavor, but also adds the signature Great Divide maltiness. Finished the whole bootle in one sitting by myself while watching hockey. Good Stuff.

22oz bottle I picked at some point during 2011, shared with Taylor. A hazy grapefruit-juice red color. Little off-white head, good amount of lace sticking. Light, very crisp carbonation. Hoppy, but very much like grapefruit, I’m thinking... Awesome tart sweet taste. A nice, unique satisfyingly hoppy barleywine. Awesome, long aftertaste.

Bottle shared by Kevin. This was an 09’ I believe. Still has a lot of hop character to it. Malty up front with a dryish hop finish. Didn’t blow me away but still very good.

Large choccolate malts and rasins on the nose. Pours a dark amber color with a thin foam top. Taste is a nice malt and hop combo. Lots of flavors playing off each other. Caramel malts in the begining followed by a bitter hop bite on the finish. Overall, I am very satisfied with this beer, the balance between the malt and hop is amazing. I’d give this an A rating.