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Great Divide Barrel Aged Old Ruffian 3.91 88

Great Divide Barrel Aged Old Ruffian

Percentile
99
overall

bottled
available

on tap
unknown

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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
883.99/5.03.91/5.0Special12.7%93.6Snifter
Commercial Description:
Barrel Aged Old Ruffian Barley Wine was aged for 20 months in Stranahan’s barrels. As it does for Yeti, the aging process mellows Old Ruffian’s edge while adding gentle notes of oak, whiskey and vanilla to the 12.7% ABV and 85 IBUs beer. (The original Old Ruffian won a Gold medal at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival and a Silver medal at the 2007 GABF.)

“Our intent,” says Great Divide founder Brian Dunn, “was to age each beer in the barrels for 9 months. But we got busy with other projects, primarily the addition of a new bottling line, and the beers ended up aging for more than a year and half.” While the labels on the bottles state that the beers were aged 9 months in barrels, both beers were in fact aged 20 months in barrels.

Release limited to 470 bottles.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 GeneralGao (3057), Iowa City, Iowa, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/105/516/20
Mar 12, 2009  
Bottle 146 of 641 shared by pepsican. Thanks! Poured a murky brown color with an off white soap bubble head. Rich aromas of dark fruits (raisin, fig, prune), toffee, and booze. Full bodied, sweet, and sticky in the mouth with a nice boozy flavor. The malt bill was hefty and imparted a melange of toffee, spice, caramel and molasses flavors. A decent amount of piney hop flavor and moderate bitterness countered the big malt backbone well and melded nicely with the booze. Delicious stuff.


 CanIHave4Beers (906), Des Moines, Iowa, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/59/104/517/20
Mar 10, 2009  
Sampled compliments of Pepsican. This was a highlight of the tasting for me, not because it’s rare, in fact I didn’t even know it existed till it got brought out, but this was wonderfully tasty. Pours a hazy red with the sort of espresso swirl head. The aroma is full of a nice malty sweetness well balanced with some good oak notes. The flavor is just awesome plenty of vanilla and bourbon with a good cherry like fruitiness, just a really nice beer.


FirmButtstone (47), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/517/20
Mar 8, 2009  
nice oak and bourbon with a bit of sour. overall very smooth with a nice finish. very good overall.


 TheRealBastard (142), The-No, California, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/59/104/518/20
Mar 4, 2009  
Well thanks to Nick AKA "Crosling". This beer is a monster, heavy bourbon flavors all around. Right when the seal broke smells of whiskey and alcohol burned my nostrils. This one got me pumped since I love bourbon. Poured dark brown and plenty of dark tan head. Taste was mainly carmel and sugar up front then a strong blast bourbon and wood on the finish. Each drink left me wanting more. I did not share this bad boy with anyone; damn I’m greedy. It had me walking funny thats for sure. I enjoyed this more than the BA Nummer.


 mreusch (741), Olathe, Kansas, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Feb 28, 2009  
750ml bottle, #84/461, with a big thanks to BlackForestCO for yet another rare treat! Pours a slightly hazy burgundy brown with a one finger creamy tan head. Aroma is bourbon, oak, dark fruits, and vanilla. Flavor is more of the same, a little prickly on the tongue, but overall pretty smooth with a lasting finish. Stronger on the barrel aging for sure, but works pretty well for me; enjoyed every bit as much as the Barrel Aged Yeti. Thanks again Jake!


 ericandersnavy (1127), crossroads, Texas, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Feb 18, 2009  
Bottle # 161/461 thanks to lumpy. poured a brown/ruby with an off white head and some lacing. aroma of caramel, bourbon, dark fruits, and oak. flavor of caramel, dark fruits, and alcohol. medium-full body and no carbonation.


 bu11zeye (5570), Frisco, Texas, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/103/515/20
Feb 18, 2009  
(750ml bottle, #161 of 470, bottled Aug 08, courtesy of Lumpy) Pours a cloudy amber body with a small off-white head. Aroma of oak, bourbon, caramel, orange, and earthiness. Flavor of caramel malt, cherry, toffee, dried dark fruits, hops (floral), vanilla and bourbon.


 ilovedarkbeer (1365), Dallas, Texas, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Feb 16, 2009  
Bottle # 161/461 thanks to lumpy. Nice pretty deep amber reddish color with a ring of canvas colored bubbles for a head. Nose is vanilla, boubon, caramel, and some citrus. Taste is the same with a thick long finish. Solid beer but extended barrel time is better for the yeti.



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