Great Divide 15th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA

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

the oak makes this lean into the vanilla in the nose and palate. I don’t get the citrus grassyness that i’d expect from a DIPA. instead this has a lot of very familiar notes and tones borrowed from the Yeti. For me, this ends a touch too acid.

22 oz. bottle served in shaker- poured an almost transparent darkened maroon with heavy brown tints, low carbonation, frothy and creamy one finger head very slowly bacame half finger in size and laced very nicely. Aroma of pine, oak, caramel malt. Hits the mouth with a nice medium body, malt is highly enjoyable, vanilla is noticeable at first in the background as some hops come sliding in, holds up fine in the middle, finish is acidic and the wood comes into play here- a great hearty finish from the oak, mildly dry. Definition of how to make a beer with wood. Enough said.

22 oz bottle, bottled 7/2/09. Pours a clear copper amber with a huge creamy white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is subdued at first with some weird notes but it opens up as it sits. Some piney hops, caramel malts, floral vanilla, soap(?) and plasticy metallic alcohol.

The flavor is woody malts and pepper with a big spicy hop finish. The alcohol is very noticeable and is warming but not too over the top. As it warms, lots of sweet vanilla comes out. The mouthfeel is full bodied and creamy.

Overall, an interesting beer. It has some strange notes that are hard to place and seem slightly off to me. As it warms, the sweet vanilla dominates and becomes slightly cloying.

Sampled on draft at Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh PA this beer poured a dark red-caramel color with a trace white head that produced great lacing. The aroma was tangy, sour, fruity, woody and a bit dry. The flavor was a complex mix of bitter, sour,tart and tangy with strong sour fruity hops and notes of nut, oak, vanilla and a touch of smoke underneath. The finish was long, sour, fruity and woody. The body was thick. Wonderful.

On tap at the ginger man. A deep amber hue with a white head, Aroma was a strong pine note with some citrus notes and sweet malt. Flavor was very rich with hop pine notes. Some wood notes throught. A good malt profile. Fnish was very crisp and dry.

Bottle sampled as a bonus beer at the Belgian tasting at Blacklick Wine & Spirits on 7/16/09. Cloudy brown pour with a big beige head. Very malty aroma with an earthy hop balance. Tastes of oak and imitation vanilla with a bitter finish.

Bottle from Siciliano’s Market, Grand Rapids, MI. Almost clear light copper with medium to large, creamy off-white head. Aroma is spice upfront with oak, herbal hops, and belgian spices (clove, coriander, etc), tropical fruit, some caramel, am I getting oxidation? or is it just the cherry and vanilla, but even though I know that this was bottled less than a month ago, their seems to be cardboard coming off the aroma. Flavor is oak, floral hops, some alc, pretty sweet but balanced, only a little resiny hops that comes off as being a combination of floral, spice and grapefruit, once again I think I’m getting tricked into thinking oxidation but it could be the trifecta of alc, oak and sweeter fruit, a little earthy and dirty, nice though. Medium to full, creamy body with light burn. Overall very nice, the only criticism I would have of it is, is that it’s being pulled in many directions. It’s complex in a way that can come off as being unbalanced but at the same time it’s very drinkable and will probably wont improve with time. It also seems to be a very straight forward BA IIPA but then it has some holiday spice and acidity. Very interesting beer to say the least.

Bottle and served in my GI IPA tulip: Slightly hazy deep coppery hue topped by a huge creamy off-white head which left excellent lacework upon the glass. The aroma has notes of caramel and bready malts, french oak, resiny and herbal hops, some grains of paradise and clove, with just a touch of apricot and lychee esters. The taste is rather smartly balanced with an initial sweet malt and vanilla tone balanced by hop bitters and a light acidic fruit component. The oak is also well played to accent the flavor and not overpower them. This all said, the GD Anniversary IIPA will not be confused with some of the hoppy resin bomb within the genre. The mouth feel is shockingly smooth with the exception of some sneaky alcohol towards the finish. Overall a very solid offering and one I would try again.