Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Denver, Colorado USA

Bottle. Pours deep red amber with a medium tan head. Potent citrus aroma- grapefruit, lime, but also room for a bit of toffee and apples. Grapefruit bitterness punches the tongue with just a hint of caramel. Great, even if unbalanced.

Had this on tap at the Great Divide tap room last night. It is everything a DIPA should be, it’s very boozy and very hoppy at the same time, the combination of the two gives it sort of a "hot" palate, but not harsh. The hop flavor is fantastic, very spicy and floral. The aroma is very full and hops dominate. It was a deep gold color with decent head retention. Also, I picked up a pretty mean beer buzz.

12oz bottle. Pours a bright, clear orange-amber color; off-white head with solid retention and mixed-bubbled lacing. Lots of aggressive, piney and earthy hops in the aroma; slightly astringent, but generous with toffee maltiness underneath. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: intensely chewy and quite agressive hop character (following the nose): piney, earthy bitterness, chewy malt underneath (caramel, toffee, nuttiness); not even close to balanced - a straightforward hop-bomb that’s a bit too astringent and too aggressive for me to really enjoy this. Not exactly my ideal hop profile, and low on the drinkability scale for me. Some hop-numbness on the tip of the tongue, which is nice. Lengthy, numbing finish: earthy and piney bitterness, chewy candy sugar and caramel.

bomber into tulip. Pours amber orange with medium sustained head. Aroma is grass, hops, pine. Creamy mouthfeel with malty sweetness quickly giving way to dry bitter finish. There is a lot to rate here but it’s not my favorite IIPA.

bomber into pint glass. Completely transparent copper brown color with perfect, slightly off-white head and soft carbonation; nice lacing and lasting head. Aroma is all hops, primarily floral with a sweet citrus undertone. Smells really fresh and juicy. Hop flavor is ironically different, primarily piney and biting instead of soft; very refreshing and strong hop character. Though extremely bitter, the finish is smooth and comfortable. As it warms the alcohol comes out, but goes well with the strong piney hops. Nice on the palate: coating with soft carbonation and smooth medium body.

The beer pours a reddish copper amber color with a lazy cameral colored head that doesn’t hang around. The nose is weak. But the taste makes up; the beer is all about hops I get a mix of aromatic sweet hops balanced with a bitter tasting hop. A very good beer overall.

22 oz. bomber. Vibrant, copper/amber pour with an active head. Nice lacing. Sweet, malty pine/spruce nose is not overwhelming, but rather enticing. Flavor tends toward the malts over the hops, although the bitterness builds over the back of the tongue and into the throat. Nothing is overdone here except the overall product. A really well-balanced brew. You’ll feel the alcohol later, but it’s well-hidden in the drinking.

As brutal an imperial IPA as the Greek hero from whom it takes its name. Hercules makes Chuck Norris look like a fanny. When he wasn’t slaying hydras and lions, Hercules was wrestling the three-headed dog that guards the gates to Hell. Beat that, Chuck. I don’t know who guards the gates to Heaven, but I’ve rarely felt closer than after a bottle of this fine IIPA. It made a perfect nightcap. Must have spent almost an hour of happy sipping, while my senses gently scrambled and nudged me towards bed. Appearance: cloudy caramel with an orange tint and some sediment. Short, enduring head. Aroma: classic APA fruit salad - ruby grapefruit, lychee, passionfruit. Palate: thin to medium. Australian IIPAs always seem to be thicker in body - why is that? Flavour: as subtle as a roundhouse kick. Mint oil, resins, blackcurrant jam, biting alcohol. Drying finish. Lovely stuff. (355ml bottle from the IBS, Perth. BB April 2008)