Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

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

What a great beer to pour! The magnificent head mixes with the body and watching the separation is an experience. The foam itself is big tan and soapy with plenty of staying power. Aroma is powerful hops featuring piney, tart, and citrus. First taste is a WOW! This is an incredibly strong tasting beer. Hercules is an apt name! Again, hops dominate but there is some sweet malt underneath. The malt comes out as toffee. A bitter after taste is balanced by a lip licking sweetness that is unique to this beer. The alcohol content is quite high here but is not really noticeable in the flavor. This was a surprisingly well balanced beer with copious amounts of flavor. It is like an IPA stout!

By far one of the best looking double IPA’s I’ve laid my eyes on! Absolutely gorgeous glowing cloud of orange, deeper in color towards the top then at the bottom where it keeps some golden highlights. Massively stacked inch high head of dusty yellowed whipped froth that becomes crusty and lumpy as it muddles down to a thick haze remaining present. Lace in thick globby ink blot sheeting and strings. Aroma is redolent with highly sweet citrus and soft dry pine, a bit juicy and oily thick with some resinous qualities, but set back some and moderately present on the nose. Lots of alcoholic vapors seep through like volcanic gases about to rupture the top of a fault-lined island of hops. Taste is wowfully juicy with citrus flavors, fresh, clean, with a good load of skins and pulp of every kind play softly in the front but gain a huge acidic return at the finish. Nice bitterness of orange and grapefruit acids and hop oils coat the end for a good long while along with a finespun slow drying pulpy action. Slight sticky toffee-like malts way in the back. Floating pineyness vapors and alcoholic esters pass into the finish as well. Uff-da - yum! There’s no doubt that this has a Herculian amount of hops. Quite complex and full of citrusy things including the flowers and blossoms too. Akin to Dreadnaught in its hop profile. A yummy puree of hops are to be enjoyed and awed upon while trekking up this mountain. Feel is quite smooth for the seemingly end of hoppy citrus thats been given. Big full body with fluffy edges. Thick, fat, juicy, super fine citrusy bitterness. Oily but dry finish thats incredible to undertake. Yum! A great beer by Great Divide.

draft @ redlight redlight 2nd rating. Strong piney resinous aroma, with bitter grapefruit peel Pours orange amber with a solid white head. Strong pine flavors upfront, with toffee and caramel malts following, with citrusy hops finishing it out. Bitter with a strong sweet background, for a double ipa it is pretty balanced! excellent beer. Fresh hop aroma, a little spiciness, a little sweetness. Poured amber orange. Very well balanced it has great hop character and still a big malt beer lives in there somewhere too. Great beer.

The aroma is like candied pineapples. Flavor carries on the evergreen-caramel flavor. Nice.

Dark rouge pour. Woody hops on the nose with earthy elements. Very creamy mouthfeel. Taste is soil hops. Has a clay feeling with hops that came from the ground. Has also a small amount of fruit, but not citrus. Dark fruits, but only in the slightest. A heavily aged double. But flavorful.

WOW!!!!!! this is hops and alcohol!!!!!!!& t hats it lotsa hops !!!!!!!!&# alcohl!!!!!!!&# love it......some malt hides but still hops and alcohol!!!!!!!&

Bomber. Pours redish copper with large foamy white head. Great lacing. Good floral hopps in the nose. Taste is malty and hoppy. Very refreshing and tasty. light caramel and citrus come through in the end.

Copper color with a thick creamy head. Hoppy aroma with very floral aromas. Hop flavors with a slight caramel and malty character. You can almost bite into the hops.