Great Divide Hades

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

Up front it’s just lemon and some raw grain (a bit bready). A light hoppiness in the back and a bitterness makes this feel more like a golden ale with some belgian yeast. A little bit of a lemony tang and some hints of corriander. Pretty good, but hardly memorable. Probably the first beer I can think of that crosses Belgian and American without taking it to IPA or Imperial extremes. I guess I feel like it’s fine, but I’d rather have either a full out Belgian or IPA, rather than a dumbed down cross breed.

This beer poured out a very pale shade of yellow and developed a steady head that was smallish when compared to the standard bearer Duvel which supplied the Tulip glass. The smell was clean, sweet, and floral. The hop notes typical in the other Great Divide beers were completely absent. The was too cloyingly sweet for a beer of this style. I prefer my Belgian Pale Ales bone dry, and the yeast strain they chose seemed not up to par to do the job needed. Pepper, vanilla, and pear notes were present, but candi sugar dominated them all. Mouthfeel was medium, but lacked that necessary crisp snap. Not a good choice if one needs to start on Journey towards Belgian style beers.

Pours clear, pale golden with a nice, white, mostly diminishing head. Yasty nose with some floral hop aroma and notes of light malt and fruits like apples. Sweet flavour with spices like coreander. Watery texture. Light bodied. Pleasant bitter finish. Enjoyable and balanced but nothing special. Too expensive compared to the quality.

It’s golden like the average pilsner and the head is huge and nice. The aroma is spicy, slightly fruity, sweet and yeasty. The flavour has sweetness, notes of spice, yeast, light fruits and a citrussy bitterness in the finish. It’s quite OK and harmonic, but not outstanding - so stick to the nice US style you have!

In the bomber bottle from Total Beverage. Pours dark gold with a large thick and creamy white head. Fruity aroma. Flavor is like Juicy Fruit Gum with a candy lemon drop (but not citrus). A fairly boring beer otherwise.

Bottled in July ’07: Pours a sparkling golden with a thin, wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of lightlt sweet, toasty pale biscuity malt with some floral noble hop notes and an authentic Belgian yeastiness. Body starts fairly full and toffee sweet with an earthy grassy bittering hop presence and some doughy yeasty notes before a drier, biscuity finish. A pretty nice and quite drinkable Belgian ale.

22oz. bottle poured a light golden color with a good dose of carbination and a one finger head of white foam on the surface. aroma has a distinct yeast, light sweetness, back ground hops, and some grass. mouth feel is medium light, nice yeasty floral, hops to give some spice, smooth malt, and finishes with flowers and yeast. nice brew with a distinct flavor, good carbination, and a nice level of sweetness.

Bottle. Weak light caramel, bonbon aroma. Clear, shiny, very pale yellow colour. Small white head. The flavour is a lot like a tripel, slightly sweet with a little spices. Semi-rough bitterness. Well-balanced. Nothing out of the ordinary, but well-crafted.