Great Divide 15th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Denver, Colorado USA

Bomber from the Sam’s in Downers Grove, Illinois: This poured a clear amber body with a foamy off-white head. Nice lacework. The aroma is woody and has juicy sweet malts and floral/citrusy hop scents. Soft and smooth in the mouth. There’s more hop flavor than bite in the taste, smoothly complemented by swet caramel amlt and enhanced by oak, vanilla, and a peppery heat from the strong alcohol content. The finish was bitterly dry with a low alcohol burn. Nice.

Dan’s Bachelor Party Extended Weekend Rating #1 of 90. Bottle. Pours golden. Nose is vanilla, wood, oak, hops. Taste is citrus hops balanced with nice wood character, smooth dry finish and the 10% blends very well. I like it.

In short: A soft caramelized, hoppy, juicy and very woody beer. Very soft and a bit forgettable.
How: Bottle. Consumed fresh 1 to 2 months after its release
The look: Clear copper body topped by a small beige head
In long: Nose of medium intensity with leafy hops and construction wood. Taste is surprisingly smooth and the body a bit thin for a big Double IPA. Soft creamy caramel, mellow juicy hops, wood juice, juicy floral notes. Sweet but not sugary. Alcohol is a bit apparent. Mild bitterness with wood drying out the beer in the finish. A light woody astringency. Could be described as a slim woody American barley wine. When I think smooth beer I think smooth session beer, not smooth boozy 10% Double IPA. This Barrel Aged anniversary is a step down from the kick-ass hoppy beers of this brewery (Hercules, Titan). I think barrel aging Double IPA is the worst thing since unsliced bread.

Aroma: Floral hop aromas with a little wood Flavor: Subdued hop flavors, good malt backbone with wood undertones. Palate: Creamy with a lingering finish of tangerine and a mild bitterness.

Golden pour with off white head. Aroma is grainy, wood, perfume, and hops. The hops are mostly flowery with some citrus. Flavor is good. Vanilla with nice bitterness. A bit sweet and hoppy,maybe a bit too sweet for the style. The hops are there, though. Nice mouthfeel with good carbonation. Glad i got to try this one.

Bomber. Nice amber body with an off-white, fizzy, mostly lasting head. The aroma presents notes of raw wood, toasted grain, grass, perfume and flowers. Some hnts of peach and vanilla. The flavor is moderately sweet and light to moderatley bitter. It finishes lightly to moderately sweet and moderately bitter. The bitterness is long lasting. Medium body, velvety texture with moderate to lively carbonation. This is a beer that gets your attention from the first sip — the woodiness muting the bittering hops, but not the sweetness, with other flavors sneaking in behind these three domineering characteristics. By the time you reach the end, you think you’ve had enough of the wood and sweet malts.

22 oz. bottle from Grape & Gourmet. Pours dark orange with a thick off-white head. Aroma of light citrus hops, earth, oak, vanilla, and bourbon. Excellent flavor of pineapple, citrus, and floral hops up front but with a smooth vanilla and caramel finish. Some sense of the alcohol content but more so because of the wood aging. I’ve had other wood aged DIPAs that I didn’t care for so much so this one really exceeded my expectations. This is quite extraordinary.

22 ounce bottle in snifter. Orange amber with ring and lace. Woody fruity cardboardy piney aroma. Woody perfumey orange syrupy piney with sweet vanilla herbal finish. Medium full syrupy body. Reminds me of Ricola.