Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Poured from bottle into Snifter. Relatively dark reddish-brown that glows ruby red in the light. Minimal head but leaves light lacing lines. Aroma of brown sugar, toffee, cherry, dark fruit, English hop spiciness and alcohol; the English hops become more apparent as it sits in the glass. Complex malt profile that seems both sweet and dry at the same time. Hard for me to separate the individual flavors, but cherry and caramelized sugars appear to be in the mix, with notes of bitter chocolate, peat and a stale mustiness. The English hop spiciness/bitterness is apparent throughout, especially at the finish. However, it does grow more malty and deep as it warms. Low carbonation, full body, with a mostly dry (and warming) finish. Very nice example of an Old Ale which begs to be sipped. However, I feel like I enjoyed it a little more less year when it was a little lower in alcohol and the malts seemed to be richer in comparison to the spicy hops. Not sure if the beer or my palate is different. Either way, still a great beer.

Dark ruby tinged amber liquid. Decent head which has good retention and some pretty good lacing. Big, dark roasted coffee hits first. Strong, sweet maltiness follows. Hints of chocolate ice cream. Slight vanilla caramel notes. Good dark fruit presence. Tobacco notes. Nose is quite complex and inviting. Like a chocolate coffee malt. Hefty roasted malt backbone. Sweet caramel/brown sugar notes. Hints of espresso. Nice dark fruit presence, here. Good yeast presence. Slight oakiness. Very nice and silky smooth. Great carbonation level. Tasty, tasty, and quite drinkable. Many more of these shall be consumed, now that they are readily available to me.

Bottle, 2009 vintage. Pours a clear, dark red liquid with a medium-sized head. Smell is mostly of caramel and nice, fruity hops. Taste is very well-balanced. A rich malt background with notes of caramel and toffee, but also some hops giving a fruity character and some bitterness. Some roasted notes in the end. A really nice brew.

Pours a nice brown color with hints of red. Off-white head that lasted with decent lacing. Chocolate, malt and alcohol in the aroma. Malty and very bitter for the style. Bitterness starts right up front and lasts quite awhile. Hints of malt and chocolate but I get a lot of alcohol in the taste.

Deep, dark copper - lots of bitter molasses on the nose. Flavor is the nose,with a choclate bitterness and aboozy malted milk ball thing as it warms. OK

Bottled. Light brown-big tan head. Aroma is caramel, molasses, and syrup. Flavor is very syrupy, and also in texture. Bready and sweet. Back bitter bite is off putting. A lot of flavor packed into this brew, but odd.

Tasted blind. Pretty copper/ruby body, reasonable off-white head. Nose is dusty chocolate, not quite grapes, not quite raisins. Rich caramel maltiness. Flavor is robust malt, raisins, lightly astringent hops, dark chocolate. Finish has cocoa, raisins, tingly hops. Somewhat slick mouthfeel.

Has a deep dark amber color. Aroma is of roasted malts, dried fruit, and some caramel. Taste is of sweeter malts, chocolate, caramel, and a little dried fruit in the back end. Leaves a bitter sweet aftertaste. This is a pretty good brew.