Great Divide Belgica

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Ale
Denver, Colorado USA

Poured from bottle into Tulip. Bright orange yellow with billowing head and great lacing. The aroma is all Belgian - banana, cloves, pepper, pulpy ripe fruits. Some citrus hops, but they take a backseat to all the Belgian stuff; slight detection of alcohol. Starts peppery, turns more sweet in the middle (banana and other fruit), with a strong bitterness in the aftertaste that gets stronger and stronger after taking each sip. Despite a little bit of pine, the bitterness almost reminds me more of a very dry Pilsner than an IPA. Although good, something doesn’t quite gel here. High carbonation, relatively light body, and very dry. Nice beer that could easily warrant another, although the moderately high alcohol and strong bitter aftertaste prevent too much consumption.

I saw a big vapor on opening the (12 oz) bottle (something I do) and what a pleasant hit. Confused about it’s advertised non-style. It had the expected sourness of a Wit, not particularly hoppy, but citrusy. Carbonated like a pilsner.

Pours a light honey amber with a smallish white head. Yeasty, spicy citrus dominates the aroma - but more of an earthy citrus than a hoppy citrus. Flavor has a ton of yeasty, fruity esters - very grassy and bready/biscuity. Hops are a bit stale. Nice effervescent mouthfeel, and a full body... but the flavor is a bit off. Somewhat like their Fresh Hop - I think these guys should stick to the stouts, because they make some killer dark beers.

Had to buy this in Michigan for some reason even though Great Divide distributes to Chicago. Whatever. Golden pour with white head. I can smell this beer as it sits on my desk, and it smells sweet. As I bring the glass close, it gets more spicy, herbal even. Kind of a citrus peel and spice hop flavor. This isnt as bad as I thought based on the ratings. In fact, try it. This is kind of like the cute girl your friends don’t think is cute but turns into girlfriend material.

Cloudy golden coloured body with a thinish, fast-fading white head. Aroma of pale malt, yeast, wheat, citrus and a very mild dose of hops. Medium-bodied; Very strong yeast flavour up front with wheat and citrus definitely coming out with some light spices and coriander seed on the back edge. Aftertaste shows some hop bitterness, a touch of caramel, but a good well-rounded quality that fringes on a belgian tripel, but the hops are definitely more present in this one. Overall, a good beer, a nice idea and definitely worth trying if you can find it. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Norm’s in Vienna, Virginia on 02-October-2009, sampled at home in Washington on 21-October-2009.

Bottle. Translucent gold with a tall, frothy white head. Yeast and citrus notes instantly bounce out of the aroma as do floral hops, light pine and spice. Taste is big spices, pine, citrus fruit, honey, lemon zest, and flowers. Body is light-medium and very bubbly. Lots of carbonation with this. Ends with more spices, peppery notes, citrus, pine, flowers, yeast notes, pear, and flowers.

Bottle. Pours slightly hazy golden orange with a short white head that diminishes quickly to surface cover. Aroma is a little unusual and has notes of yeast, citrus, bubblegum, honey and clove. Flavour mirrors the aroma pretty closely. Mouthfeel is also surprising: quite thick for a blonde ale, almost syrupy, with a lingering mildly bitter finish. This is different, to be sure, but is still pretty nice, maybe not the sort of thing I would drink every day though.

Interesting beer and style. Spicey, probably a bit too. REduce the spicey and it would be good. Too lingering.