Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

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

Oh yeah this is a bomber! Nice strong aroma of hops and citrus, just the way i like it. Tiny pieces of sediment seen in reddish orange colored beer, perfect half-inch head. Sticky residue left behind. Flavor is of hops, citrus tang, and some wood and earth. My kind of beer and the rating proves it. Thanx to Kaggie97 for tracking this down for me.

Virtually perfect in every regard! Pours a wonderful amber into the glass, with a tiny retentive head that slathers the entire glass with sudsy lace. Tons of pine and lavender floral accents to the nose, with nice grapefruit hues. The flavors are HUGE and complex.... an initial grapefruit, with "other" citrus(es) and nuts, caramel/toffee malts, and a great pine-hopped finish. Huge, huge notes of pine last for a long, lingering time on the back palate. The carbonation levels balance the pine notes to a tee. For a higher ABV, the only time you really note any alcohol is after the pine settles, post-finish. This is so "everything" an IIPA should be. Perfectly integrated... honestly! Astonishing, just awesome!

Orange/amber color with an off white head that fades leaving nice lacing. Big hop nose - pine, citrus, grapefruit. Fairly malty flavor gives way to the on rush of more hops. Long lingering bitter finish. Alcohol noticeable but not overly so. Excellent.

July 2, 2006; 12 oz. bottle

This is pretty over-the-top, but I guess that’s what IIPA’s are all about? The aroma is wonderful; hops are very bitter, but balanced as well as can be expected by chewy malts. Piney, citrusy and, as another reviewer mentioned, on par with Stone Ruination Ale.

Add’l comments, May 13, 2007: This may be the perfect IIPA. Incredibly smooth & well-balanced for the extreme bitterness. I’ve adjusted the "palate" score from "4" to "5" -- the first perfect score in that category this rater has ever given . . .

Hello, Hops! Wait, a nice malty flavor. Oh my god, bitter beyond belief. This brew is balanced even though it is extreme. It’s a delayed reaction like eating a habanero pepper. It’ sweet, then hoppy, then overwhelmingly bitter. I love this!

One of my first double IPAs, preceded only by 90 minute, I believe. A wonderful beer. Much better balanced than the likes of some DIPAs. Great beer all around.

Pours a dark copper to amber color and makes a modest offwhite head that lingers for quite a while. Aromatics are nutty and sweet, yummy pine cones. Flavor opens up with a moderate bitterness, followed by a nutty character and lots of pine, grapefruit, caramel and sweet chewy finish. This is really good! This one is thick on the palate, leaves a lingering syrupy quality and warmth from the alcohol. I look forward to finding this one again... its very drinkable. Sadly, it is not available in my area.

Poured a darker orange with a foamy off white head that laced the glass. Strong aroma of bubblegum, orange and floral hops. Strong but very balanced hop flavor, mainly due to the perfect addition of malts. Picking up some grapefruit, other citrus and a pine finish. A great imperial IPA. I think I like DFH’s 90 min a bit more. But this one is still very solid. Glad I picked this up even though I was not farmiliar with the brewery.