Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Denver, Colorado USA

22 oz bottle, bottle 2/13/09. Pours a dark black with a thick creamy dark brown head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet chocolate, cream, and coffee. Some roasted and charred malts and black licorice come out as it sits and then take over.

The flavor is sweet lactic chocolate at first with a big charred roasted bitter finish that dominates. It’s very acidic and just sits on the tongue. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and a little watery.

Overall, it started off so promising, but the charred tarry finish is just too unpleasant. And where are the coffee flavors? This reminds me a lot of the oak aged Yeti (with all of its faults). The regular Yeti is far superior to both in my opinion.

lots of semi dark chocolate, empty espresso cup, chocolate and coco powder Aromas .. .
quite a bit of unique flavours, the espresso is most upfront, light dark chocolate and used coffee grounds follow .. .
on the extreme side of smoothness for such a big brew!
the aftertaste is outta this world, clean yet assertive!

I think this really is the finest Imperial Stout to touch my lips!!

world class!! ..god! why did i only buy one bottle!?!?!?

Aroma is; you guessed it: espresso! It does also have a hint of vanilla, and maybe some non-dairy creamer. It has a very pure, bittersweet coffee flavor to it, with a few notes of chocolate and vanilla. Pretty thick. I want to have this with waffles.

Pros: The guys that make it are super cool.

Cons: Doesn’t have a lot of richness to it. Seems lifeless to me....tastes dead due to the lack of natural carbonation. No layers. The espresso element isn’t very bold, lacks intensity. Thin bodied. I’m liking oak chips less and less. A lot to dislike here for me.

Big thanks to keifdog for sharing this. Pours dark brown with thin mocha head. The aroma is roasty to burnt malts to go along with nice levels of coffee, chocolate and solid wood notes. The taste is roasty malts, chocolate malts, a bit of molasses and then moving right into robust wood notes and earthiness. The wood seems on the bright side and a bit too strong for my tastes and overshadows the tasty beer notes. The coffee makes a solid appearance as well.

Just had one on tap at the Great Divide Cask beer release party...absolutely amazing, right up there with Founders Breakfast stout...heavy roasted, coffee nose....body is full of yeti goodness with deep espresso mouth feel, finish is smooth and dry, just delicious...

Deep ebony with hints of brown at the base. Creamy khaki froth establishes a thick collar after slowly dwindling. Well-integrated nose of tar, pen ink, malted milk balls, burnt toffee, and chocolate-covered espresso beans. Underlying licorice, vanilla cake, smoke, and sweet resin. Soft, semi-creamy carbonation lightly pricks the tongue. Fairly viscous. Body is densely layered with oily espresso and juicy citric-tinged hop flavors. Artfully understated hop bitterness surfaces softly and gently hugs the palate. Pleasingly restrained oak contributes trace vanilla and soft tannins, but otherwise remains secondary to the beefy espresso and weighty malt girth. Clean alcohol and metallic char, soon to be tempered by the oily espresso and inky aspects, zing the palate as they merge with a dusting of black pepper. Twang of black licorice and plums accompany the multilayered waves of malts which continually slather the palate. Espresso forcefully reemerges as the hops retreat, lending a bittersweet edge to lighten the rich chocolate and robust roast. Cottony roast swipes the palate clean as it yields a bitter cocoa dryness. Belches beautifully with the occasional citric flash of hops echoing the brightly fruity core. Finishes bittersweet with dark chocolate and bitter espresso which persistently lingers. While this isn’t quite exquisite to me, it’s very close. The hops are bright and juicy yet composed, the alcohol sharp yet clean, the esters succulent and on point, good attenuation, skillfully structured malts, etc.

Pours black with a brown head that sticks around. As expected an aroma of coffee and a nice malty base. Instant coffee on the first drop, nice and smooth at first with a hot chocolate type creaminess, long bitter finish. The bitter finish is not a good one, more like day old coffee than a nice tart hop bite. Texture is impressive, only thing against this beer is the burnt coffee taste.