Great Divide 15th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA

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

bomber from grape & gourmet. pours a beautiful, clear amber with a thick, fluffy, light khaki head, great lacing and retention through the entire glass. aroma is excellent, albeit not massive like most DIPAs, but elegant with notes of herbal, citrus hops, floral esters, wood, sweet vanilla, and bready malts. flavor is delicious and wonderfully unique with bitter, herbal hop notes with a touch of citrus up front backed by big, smooth oak, vanilla, and sweet, nutty, caramel malts with a bittersweet, slightly smokey, bourbon-esque finish. palate is full bodied and superbly easy to sip with just a trace of booze and light carbonation. overall, this brew is a great example of wood aging done right.

Beer pours reddish amber in color with a massive tan colored head that is totally retained. Aroma is difficult for me to decipher with lots of wet wood, some earth, but I don’t don’t get the massive hop assualt I look for in double IPAs. Flavor is likewise, sweet malt with some nice wood notes, but not the big hop assault I want in my double IPAs. Maybe I am rating to style, and independent of style this may be a great beverage, however, when I buy a double IPA, I want something along the lines of Green Flash.

This fantastic double IPA poured an amber color with a generous white head. The aroma was inviting, with notes of floral hops, grass, lemon and bread. The flavors were delicious, with bitter tones of hops, grass, citrus, wood and caramel. The finish was bitter, dry and spicy.

Bottle. Poured a clear amber color with a dense tan head. Aroma is citrus, earthy hops, wood and spice. Medium bodied with a crisp mouthfeel. Flavor is caramel, floral hops, wood, and a touch of vanilla. A little to the sweeter side as far as IPA’s go. Finished with some warming alcohol and faint fruity, bourbon notes.

Clear, warm amber color. Great head that leaves a lot of chunky lace on the glass. Clean hop aroma--not overwhelming, slightly sweet. No wood. Good malt base. Well-balanced but has a great bitter finish. Again, deceptively normal--not extreme at all. I never detect any alcohol in the nose or palate. Full bodied with good carbonation. A super easy beer to drink and yet fulfills all of the DIPA expectations.

22oz Bomber – Gravity Beer Market – Olympia, WA
Aroma: Big hops and lots of wood aromas.
Appearance: Brown in color, Clear with a light head.
Flavor: Huge hops and wood flavors. This is a big beer with tons of flavors.
Palate: Dry Wood Finish, with a Great Mouthfeel.
Overall: This was a super beer with tons of flavors. Big beer this was awesome.

Draft at flying Saucer. I just dont get these BA IPA or IIPA for that matter. Hazy copper pour with a frothy off white head and thick drippy lace. Oaky, herbal & floral notes. Caramel, earthy, vanilla and light acidity. Bitter dry finish is where the hops finally make their appearance

Pours a nice copper color with a frothy khacki head with some decent staying power. The aroma shows oak, caramel malt, grains, and some floral notes. Flavors are a bit sticky, a lot of toffee and malt up front with bitter hops that mix with a ton of oak. I wouldn’t call this alcoholic but it is sticky with a little too much oak and sweet malt that over-power the hops at times. Bitter dry finish but I’d prefer if this were a little more hop forward. Hard for me to envision as a DIPA but I guess probably right for a Wood Aged version of one. I love the GD Oak Aged Stouts but I could never really get into this one. Just overall a bit odd. Still a decent beer though.