Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale

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

Bottle. Syrupy grapefruit nose dominates with notes of peaches, orange, pine, and grains. Thick bright amber, perfectly clear with gold and orange hues, Thin steady bubbly head leaves good lace. Subdued bitterness, held in check by a sweet citrus flavor. Finishes dry with a long, drawn-out bitterness that is well-pronounced but well-balanced. The sharp, dry palate compliments the flavors.

Bottle. Golden amber. Medium head. Fresh hoppy aroma with some grass and a hint of wild strawberries. Unexpected malts in the flavour, very dry and bitter hop finish. Very good, but I was expecting a more hoppy IPA.

Pours hazy orange with a thick white head. Weak hop aroma. This is very IPA like. Nice initial sweetness with a big hop finish. There is a lingering bitterness but it is not overpowering. Nice pale ale.

Pours a slightly hazy sediment laden gold with a tall frothy white head. Nice sweetly piney hop aroma. Intensely sweet orange/fruity flavor equally matched by the sizable bitter hop finish. The IPA of Pale Ales for sure. The finish has a nice lingering quality that really emphasizes the next sip.

A Mes rate: Bottle at Tom’s UGT Pt. 2.Golden brown with a thin white head. I had to agree with The Cad on the day. I think this was a little too old. The hops were not as full on as I was expecting and as a result there was a little too much caramel malty notes showing. That said it was still plenty enjoyable with a lingering grassy hop finish. Restraint is rare in this style of beer and I take my hat off to GD for not going OTT.

This is a really good beer. A murky darker shade of orange, not a big head but still some nice sticky lacing. Fruity hop aroma and potent for a Pale Ale. Grapefruit hoppy flavor, slightly sweet maltiness, which sneaks out more as it warms, bitter and a little dry. Nicely balanced. A lot of flavor and a lot of hops for a Pale Ale, which seems like it could be an IPA. Perhaps Great Divide put an IPA in a Pale Ale bottle so we’d be shocked at the flavor. Whatever, it worked, this might be the best Pale Ale I’ve ever had. Re-rate 11/2/2008. 2008 batch. Amber color and pours with a thick off-white head. Great retention and lots of lacing. Aroma is hoppy pine and some malt in there too. Taste seems a little more citrusy/floral hops with sweet malts. Really solid beer but I think I rated it a little too high initially. Significant price increase for 2008 too.

Bottle at shack party dance off tasting. Alround rating: Biscuity, citrus, bittering hop, good sessionable ale, that i think would have been better fresher.

Bottle at Magic_dave6’s disco dance tasting. Slight cloudy golden, thin off-white head. Nose is light oaking, lots of hop and grassiness. Mouth is very harsh hoppy, grassy with a touch of floral tones. Palate is bitter hops. Bit grating.