Great Divide Hades

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

Bottle: Fairly clear golden pour with a thin whtie head. Very light hop character inthe aroma. Some estery fruitiness, lemon-zest, yeast, dough, and some crystal malt. Simple. Dense, tightly carbonated body. The flavor has an evident Belgian yeast character overall. There’s some banana esters, along with mild balancing spiciness. The alcohol gives it a peppery touch. The sweetness in the background is slightly reminiscent of bubblegum. A decent Belgian effort. Quite quaffable.

Appearance: Pours a clear, sparkling light yellow body with a white, creamy head. Smell: A sweet-smelling grainy nose with hints of yeast, pineapple, banana, and perfumy hops. Taste: Again, sweetish and grainy, but with a pronounced, sweet lemony flavor and lesser notes of yeast and banana. Light, spicy hops lend a bit of bitterness to the lightly acidic, semi-sweet finish. Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Moderate carbonation. Drinkability: I will say that when faced with the task of soothing my harried nerves after navigating my way through Atlanta traffic, the Great Divide Hades did a bang up job.

Draught at Bocktown. Huge banana esters, sweet with honey, orange peel and bubblegum. Little fruity hops. Light golden clear with thin lacing head. Medium heavy watery body with medium carbonation. Light alcohol presence, starts sweet with a tripel type sweetness, warming and sweet. Banana and bubblegum, wheat chalky bitterness in the finish. Floral hoppiness in the after. Like a watery tripel with sweet but not cloying after.

Not much aroma and very yellow in color with lots of head. Beside the aroma and color though, I loved this. A good light Belgian spice, reminiscent of saisons. Nice and sweet, smooth.

Bottled June 2007, Sampled April 2009
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three finger thick, slightly meringue like, off-white colored head that leaves some nice lacing on the sides of my glass. The beer is well carbonated with lots of bubbles rising up through the murky, orange-gold colored beer. When held up to the light the beer shows a white-gold color that is similar to a Wit because of the haziness. Fruity aromas of pear and green apple subtly perfume the aroma along with a spicy, almost pepper like character. The finish has some cracker-like grain notes to it that can be somewhat pronounced at times. There is perhaps a touch of herbal honey aromatics here as well. Not a bad aroma, I find that it is pretty nice too. Coming back to the aroma after drinking this for a bit, it can be quite aromatic; spicy, herbal and with a solid fruit backbone, it is really starting to grow on me a bit more than it did initially.

The first sip is lightly sweet tasting with a fruitiness that accentuates this. The beer finishes with a touch of a carbonic bite as well as some lingering, light, but biting bitter hop notes. There is a touch of metallic character here, some touches of white pepper, a definite ginger note and some lingering, turpene driven clove like flavors that lingers on the tongue. The fruit notes remind me most of pears, but there is also a touch of sweet green apple. The hop character is pretty subdued, but there is a touch of herbal hop character that goes along with the more apparent hop bitterness.

Quite a bit fruitier than Duvel, and it is also a fair bit sweeter too. It is quite a bit different than Duvel, but it similarly needs to be enjoyed with a dedicated full bottle and a bit of time as it starts to grown on you if you spend some contemplative time with the beer. But this is quite a bit better than the beers reputation had me thinking. This is definitely an enjoyable beer that is a bit too easy to drink given the beer’s strength.

Bottle. Pours an average yellow with a decent head and a lively body. Aroma is very pungent alcohol, with notes of Isopryl coming through like a Mack truck on a menthol high. Also has notes of yeast, sweet grapefruit, and a touch of dough. Flavor is off-floral, with bits of grassy hops and lawn clippings. Bitter finish that leaves a thin film. Not bad, but Great Divide has made much better.

22 oz bottle. Pours a slightly hazy straw yellow body under a minimal fizzy white head that retained as a thin covering. Nose is very doughy and bready with some light hoppiness and some light yeast. A little spice and grassiness. Flavor is light and airy with doughy malt, a little bitterness on the finish, and some light yeast derived spiciness. A light wheat malt note throughout. Mouthfeel is light bodied with a spritzy fizzy pinpoint carbonation level. A little bit of a sticky chewiness on the finish. OK, but not especially memorable or unique.

Bottle (65 cl) shared with gnoff, marsiblursi & larsniclas. Shady golden, medium white head. Yeasty, spicy, peppery, slightly sourish. Medium bodied and smooth. Nicely balanced with a dry finish.