Great Divide Old Ruffian

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

This beer poured a deep reddish brown with thin tan head. The aroma is of dark fruits, caramel, and hops. The flavor follows the same with the sweet flavors from the fruits and caramel upfront with a big hoppy bitterness in the background. As the beer warmed up the hops calmed down a bit, but they were still noticeable. This was definitely a full bodied beer that packed quite a punch. Had a nice creamy mouthfeel that finished with the hops and sweetness in the aftertaste. It was different for a barley wine, but the hops worked in this case and smoothed out nicely. Very nice brew.

wow wonderful nose sweet , caremel, fruity with a little alcohol and hops, flavour is nice wel balanced, lotsa hops but the alcohol and malts seems to keep things where they should be.

Old rating: Reddish, copper color, khaki head. Aroma is malty, caramel, toffee, & citrus buried in the background. Mouthfeel is huge. Initial taste is malty, caramel, toffee, mildly earthy followed by warm alcohol, nuttiness, and toffee.

Bottle. Clear medium amber red color with a large frothy good lacing mostly lasting beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, nutty, moderate to heavy hoppy, pine, alcoholic. Initial flavor is moderate sweet and bitter, finish flavor is moderate sweet and moderate to heavy bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily / syrupy, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light alcoholic.

A Great Barley-Wine ale. the caramel malts and hops make a great combination. The head is a dark brown and orange. The bitterness, the high IBU’s, is a great addition for this Barley Wine.

On tap at Rich O’s. clear dark amber with a great fluffy white head that settles into a thin film and leaves great lacing. molasses piney hop aroma. sweet molasses light raisin bitter piney hop flavor. piney bitter hop finish with some light sweet raisin and warm alcohol. solid barley wine.

22 oz. bottle from Lukas, OPKS. I assume this is the most recently release, couldn’t tell from the bottle. Pour is a slightly hazy reddish orange with some carbonation and a medium sized off white head. Aroma is butterscotch sweet malt and a hint of hops. Taste is more of the butterscotch malt, but not nearly as sweet as the smell. A touch of heat in the finish. Good BW, though still a bit young.

bottle. small, tan, fizzy head (quickly disapates) into hazy reddish body. chocolate, dark fruit, caramel, and pine are all present in aroma. almost velvety mouthfeel. flavor is bitter with some semisweetness in the finish. alcohol is extremely well hidden. Damn fine barley wine.