Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

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

Bottle from Specs, Kehma, TX; Nose of hops, orange, and a little vanilla note; crystal clear copper color with a small beige head; flavor of hop bitterness, some caramel, and a sweet floral taste; medium body with a bitter hop finish.

Pours hazy orange with short, thick creamy head and wispy lace. Wafting hop aroma smells like a fir forest. Flavors are also piney but with a smattering of soap, pineapple, and overripe banana. Mouthfeel is soft and creamy but also oily. Heavy and alcoholic. Alright for a hop assault but lacks a certain fruity sparkle.

Bottle: Smells of caramel and malts, with a little spice. Pours deep brown with a reddish hue. Hazy. Medium light brown head. No lacing. Tastes of malts, caramel, and some type of fruit, peach perhaps. Not as biiter as I would prefer. Easy to drink, though taste of alcohol is clearly present. One of my least fav. I2PAs, but not bad overall. Lacking bitterness and dryness of a really hoppy brew.

66 cl bottle. Amber colour with a fizzy head. Extreme aroma of hops and only hops. Also very hoppy flavour with a alcoholic finish, a great tasty beer, endeed.

Cloudy straw color with minimal lace - very herbal and spicy aroma, with some yeasty mustiness, a tiny bit of sweetness (honey, toffee) - not as sweet as a lot of imperial IPAs, which is a nice change, but still malty enough to make things interesting (some caramel, grain and rolled oats give it an almost barleywine-like quality) - hoppy, but not overpowering - reminds me of 90 minute and Ruination - heavy but very drinkable.

The aroma is very hoppy, piney, and malty. The appearance is a deep amber with a nice foamy head. The flavor is bitter as it should be with pine and caramel malt. The palate is good as is this beer.

The beer after evacuating the 22 ounce brown bottle set up residence in my glass a slightly hazy burnished copper color, the head is Brontosauric in size, semi-creamy in texture and a toothsome light tan color, the lace forms a tight seal around the glass to conceal its charms. Nose is blessed with a hop floral spiciness, sweet malt at the back, citrus like in its crispness, fresh an appetizing this noise, start is sweet, nice malt profile, the top is middling in its feel to the palate. Finish has a benign acidity, the hops wallops your palate to full attention and it stays that way to the very dry and sweet finish, a real nice refreshing beer on this hot Arizona summer day, my thanks to Argo0 for a chance to sample this fine beer.

(Bottle) Amber colour with frothy, beige head. Fruity nose with grapefruit, orange peel, pine needles, caramel and dried apricots. Huge hop aromas. Fruity, hoppy taste with notes of orange peel, grapefruit, pine needles, resin and dried apricots. The hop flavours are backed up by a solid malt structure with caramel, nuts and a touch of ryvita. More than medium body. Fairly sweet with a puff of alcohol towards the end. Seriously bitter finish. So beautiful and so brutal. Lovely beer!