Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

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

On tap at the Bocktown Bar & Grill in Robinson. First let me begin by saying IPA is not my favorite style, so don’t expect a glowing review of this beer, tho it is well within it’s style. Pours nice, almost transparent yellow orange with a nice head. Head is alabaster ivory and it really hangs in there. Good hoppy floral aroma that sticks out in your face. Of course the flavor is hops, hops and more hops. Am I chewing on a big grapefruit peel? Seems like it. Exceptionally hoppy, can’t ignore that fact. It really overwhelms the flavors of this beer, but I guess it is supposed to. This is an excellent example of the style. If you like hos, you gotta have this on you must try list. One step above titan as far as hops go. Finish is similar to the effect you get when you eat an almost ripe grapefruit rind. Never would have guessed this is 9%, it is hidden well.

I have had this beer a couple of times. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a bright caramel color with a huge yellow-tan head. The aroma is strong peppery and piney hops. The mouthfeel is thick and syrupy. The flavor is strong fruity and piney hops with a sweet caramel and molasses element. The finish is bitter and hoppy. Of note I have had this beer on draft a few times and find it to be less thick, yet more sweet and fruity. I like both versions but l like the draft a bit better.

Thanks to Lord Gorlock for sharing this one while on World Tour 2004! A slightly off white sticky head forms above this light amber beer. Malty aroma, toasted marshmallows darkly toasted. The flavor starts sweet and finishes bitter. Alcohol well hidden. No faults, but I’d like more hops and a touch more body to score this higher. A good choice for someone wanting a little less hop intensity.

Fruity, juicy hop aroma, perhaps a bit faint compared to other beers of this style, but appealing, resembling pineapple upside-down cake, flowers and with a gentle background earthiness. Medium-dark orange-amber color, lightly hazy with a very fine, creamy head and highly intricate lacing. Flavor is truly impressive; while powerful and massive, manages to exude incredible balance, the gigantic hop bitterness and flavor intertwined inextricably with the clean, sugary malt sweetness, and this is especially evident in the finish, with the expected rush of hop resins meeting a profound and luscious malt foundation. Richly full body, palate is smooth, creamy, warming, expansive...basically faultless. A little swirl of yeast would’ve persuaded me to give this a 5 in appearance, and a little more of this aroma probably would have garnered an 8-9. Those are about the only (minor) complaints I can generate. Either way, I feel this IIPA can go head-to-head with any other out there. Mightily flavorful, huge and yet *very* dangerously drinkable. Oh, yeah. Thanks, Jeff!!

Poured a deep copper amber orange color. Sublimely hoppy and rich with quality malts. Biting but well-balanced iimperial ipa worth its weight in gold. One of the better ones out there!

Draft at Brouwer’s Cafe Hopfest ’06. Red-amber with a slight but lacy pale yellow head. Flowery pine and grapefruit aroma. Medium-full body with light carbonation. Taste of nuts, and fruit. Bitter aftertaste. 20061103 - Also tried the bomber This is still a great DIPA. Has the full spectrum of hoppy goodness: pine, grapefruit, flowers, resin, herbs. Amazingly tasty. One unusual thing - it poured a hazy copper color that cleared up after a few minutes.

22oz bottle. A damn good double IPA. Poured a very murky, swamp water brown orange, with a fairly small off white head.....great lacing. Nose was nose quite as floral as I would have expected, the only reason this beer didn’t score a 4+ in my book.

rusty brown with little head turning to some lacing..deep caramel & aged malt aroma with a touch of toasted almond & liquor drenched coffee cake...flavors balanced between aged malts and resiny hops..a refined sipper for sure, with super resiny hops and a touch of spiced caramelized orange. Im not sure how old this bottle is, but it tastes like its had a good year or so in the bottle...but its still undoubtably bitter.