Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Old Ale
Denver, Colorado USA

Bottle into red wine glass. Pours a dark reddish brown, murky, with a thin, soapy off-white head. Nose is loaded with cocoa mixed with a caramel sweetness. Fruity esthers and some boozey alcohol almost run wild. Nice nose, very intense, but very new too. Put a little age on this one to refine it a bit and I think it’d take it to a whole new level. Taste has lots of cocoa, a bit of brown sugar, and a leafy hop presence - almost vegetal. Seriously, it’s like someone chucked in a dry leaf towards the finish. Some warming alcohol on the finish. As the beer warmed from cellar to room temperature, the leafy hop presence receded and left an earthy bitterness instead. Still a bit leafy, green, vegetal, but no longer dominatingly so. Much more palatable, though this is still a beer that would come into its own with some time in the cellar. Mouthfeel is fluffy, a bit creamy, lively, and a bit syrupy. Weird beer at first, but as the palate acclimated, got better. Split the difference in the score.

Draft @ Cockney Pub. Red, golden brown body, creamy lasting white head with good lacing. Hoppy aroma, citrus and malty caramel. Well balanced flavor.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a tan head of good duration, with attractive lacing, over a clear coppery red brown body....nose is green pine resin and cocoa malty with dried fig.....initial taste is mild hops which gradually build towards a bitter finish ending with cocoa overtones...mouthfeel is medium to heavy.

Tap. Pours a deep reddish-brown with a fluffy off-white head. Aroma is heavy malt with detectable dried fruit, malt, and rye. The taste was a bit bitter up front, with rye, malt, nuts, dried fruit, and slight caramel detectable. Slight alcohol burn on the finish. I liked this.

4 oz beer flight, draft ( i think) at Old Chicago Peoria, IL. Pours dark brown. Very woody aroma of cedar. The alcohol is there every bit of the way. Very good stuff.

This was done very well. The hops play a big part here and work with the other flavors as opposed to detracting from the taste.

12 ounce bottle that I have had for a few months in my fridge. Poured a beautiful dark amber color with a one finger width tan fluffy head. The aroma consisted of a lot of malt with some caramel, nuts, and dark dried fruit. The taste was a bit bitter because of the amount of malt present. I could pick out some characteristics that were similar to a bock though... some light chocolate hints with nut and dark fruit. I was very surprised by this ale... I usually do not care for winter brews that much... this one was very enjoyable though.

Bottle from Bottleworks. Great coffee and malty aroma. Pours clear amber with a nice orange head. Tastes sweet but has a good caramel malt. Lingering aftertaste.